First Seeds Arrived

[JT in Japan]

Hello All, As I start on this journey to create a palm nursery (aka "retirement plan for moi") in Japan, I'll share some of the steps along the way. I've just received my first shipment of seeds, from a US supplier. They arrived without any customs interference (lucky, I think). I picked a large variety to start with, hoping that most of them have a fighting chance in my climate (see list below).

Next steps: soaking, then germination.

Cheers,
JT

1 Archontophoenix alexandrae - King Palm

2 Bismarckia nobilis - Bismarck Palm

3 Dypsis decaryi - Triangle Palm

4 Hyophorbe verschaffeltii - Spindle Palm

5 Nannorrhops ritchiana - Silver Mazari Palm

6 Roystonea regia - Cuban Royal Palm

7 Syagrus romanzoffiana - Queen Palm

8 Trachycarpus fortune - Windmill Palm

9 Trachycarpus wagnerianus - Miniature Chusan Palm

10 Washingtonia filifera - California Fan Palm

11 Wodyetia bifurcate - Foxtail Pa

[doranakandawatta]

Hello John,

You are now boarding for a long a lovely journey! I know how exciting it is when you have small round seeds in hand wondering how and when germination will come.

Surely other Palmtalk friends will give you advicse about sowing technics.

About your list, you could try: Archontophoenix maxima and cunninghamia, Caryota sp, Rhopalostylis...Satakentia likiuensis.. and other species of cooler areas.

Best regards

Philippe

[Kris]

Wish you all the best with those seeds,and keeps us posted.

And if you want to know more about the germination of those seeds,you may visit this link and click for details of the seeds that you have...

http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/small.shtml

Hope this helps.

Love,

kris.

[John in Andalucia]

Don't soak them for too long as most of those species will germinate readily, the Trachycarpus seeds especially.

From experience, I can tell you that Nannorrhops are highly tolerant of wet conditions during germination, but require plenty of heat. I once had the best germination on 1000 seeds of N. arabica when the seeds were in a large, enclosed plastic container under full, blazing sun. The temperature inside was probably around 48 Celsius and the seeds were in a sludgy mix of water and soil. At their peak, I was getting around 20 germinating each day. Some seeds will also germinate submerged in water, as the embryo swells and triggers germination.

[gyuseppe]

Rule number 1

Notice where buy seeds

the seeds because sprout ,must be fresh, not old seeds

[JT in Japan]

http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/small.shtml

Thanks Kris. I was looking for just this type of all-in-one-page resource. Very helpful.

JT

[AlekLO]

Happy germinating Josh.... ; )

[Kris]

http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/small.shtml

Thanks Kris. I was looking for just this type of all-in-one-page resource. Very helpful.

JT

You are welcome..

Love,

kris.

[Jonathan]

Rule number 1

Notice where buy seeds

the seeds because sprout ,must be fresh, not old seeds

Thats the best advice that anyone will ever give you.

Go to RPS and buy from the 'New' selections and you cant go too badly wrong.

Cheers,

Jonathan

[JT in Japan]

Here we are with the cleaning. This is a first for me, so I'm likely doing it bass-ackwards. I had the seeds in water for about 20 hours, then decided to clean them while I changed out the water. I used a bleach-water mix (1 : 10), but only kept them in for about a minute (I got nervous). Most of them still have a couple days of soaking ahead of them; I used normal bottle watter (ie, not tap water).

JT

The Queen, Syagrus romanzoffiana:

General setup:

[chocapik]

Here we are with the cleaning. This is a first for me, so I'm likely doing it bass-ackwards. I had the seeds in water for about 20 hours, then decided to clean them while I changed out the water. I used a bleach-water mix (1 : 10), but only kept them in for about a minute (I got nervous). Most of them still have a couple days of soaking ahead of them; I used normal bottle watter (ie, not tap water).

JT

Hi,

seems that you're giving your seeds a threat !

I'm sure you will end up with a nice tropical looking garden.

Have a carefull look at the watering (moist but not muddy), the air (don't let some fungus arrive on your seeds, make sure you provide fresh air daily if germinte in bags) and the temperature.

[JT in Japan]

Here I am with a Syagrus R. I've soaked it for 5 days. Just wondering: I've read about removing the shell, but am not clear on if that's the shell in question in my hand, if there was another outer shell already removed, or what. Reason I ask is this existing shell is rock-hard. I could barely score it with a really sharp knife. How am I supposed to removed it without damaging the innards?

Thanks,
JT

[Zeeth]

Don't worry about removing anything from those, just sprout them like that

[Grasswing]

Well, I tried germinating syagrus without the fibres, but they were very fresh so they germinated fast. But they can be suspectible to mold.

There is no other outer shell. As you can see here from the picture of John in Andalucia:

The whole fruit is orange.

Regards Andrew

[JT in Japan]

And the first seeds have sprouted!! A big congratulations to Washingtonia filifera, the California Fan seeds, for their efforts at putting out. Umm,... you get it. It only took this little guy 13 days to throw off the shackles of shell-dom. Good on yer, mate!

Still waiting on all the others.

JT

[KennyRE317]

And the first seeds have sprouted!! A big congratulations to Washingtonia filifera, the California Fan seeds, for their efforts at putting out. Umm,... you get it. It only took this little guy 13 days to throw off the shackles of shell-dom. Good on yer, mate!

Still waiting on all the others.

JT

016.JPG

i had some Pritchardia beccariana bust out of the shell in right under a week

[JT in Japan]

With my first batch of Licuala Dsyantha potted and sprouting, I'm noticing some mold issues with several of them. See the pics below. The single seed is obvious; the rack of pots is less so but if you look at the left side, third down, you can see an even layer of mold starting to grow across the surface.

Obviously this is excess moisture, so let me give you the conditions, and perhaps some experts can advise how drastic the measures I take should be.

Environment:

Mix is 2:1 vermiculite to peat moss (finely ground powdery stuff)

I watered the whole lot 5 days ago, since everything seemed dry after a particularly hot weekend where we were away.

Sitting on a shelf in the sun room, daytime temps can get to 35-40C, nighttime always around 19C.

Rainy season has just started this week so air is very moist.

Do I have to throw pot and mix away as well as seed?

Do I need to protect non-molding plants somehow?

Thanks,

JT

[_Keith]

Try weak Chamomile tea as a fungicide before you through anything away. I have used it to save many a seedling from damping off.

[JT in Japan]

Try weak Chamomile tea as a fungicide before you through anything away. I have used it to save many a seedling from damping off.

Hi Keith. Thanks for the tip. I'm guessing you mean give them a light spray? Or soak them as if I were watering?

JT

[JT in Japan]

It's been about 6 months since I got into this palm growing thing, so it's time for a progress report. First, the germination results. I'm pleased that I've got about 80 plants to care for over the winter, but you can see from the stats below, that I've got a lot of unsprouted seeds. The biggest batch, 500 of them, have been germing in tupperware containers, in a good potting mix, for almost 4 months with not a single sprout, so that's a disappointment. I've just gone back to an earlier vendor and bought another 200-300 seeds to see what I can get moving through the winter.

[JT in Japan]

Here is a Licuala and a mystery plant from ColdPlants.com that Garry tells me might be a Trachycarpus Fortunei. The whole bunch of Licualas from Garry are coming along nicely. I've killed a few through either over- or under-watering, and I might have scared a few more when I put them outside under the hot Japanese sun (they were shaded, but not fully).

[JT in Japan]

These Dypsis Decaryi are really growing nicely. They've got 2-4 leaves each, and some are getting some nice height. I'm liking these guys.

[JT in Japan]

Here's a Wodyetia Bifurcata that is coming along soooo slowly. It sprouted on July 30, so over three months ago, and this is as far as it's gotten. That's less than an inch of height. And it looks very fibrous, not similar to the other palms of that age at all. I really hope he makes it.

[JT in Japan]

Here's an Euterpe Edulis that is growing into a kooky spiral. Actually one of my queens is coming up in much the same way so I guess it's just the way of the seed.

[JT in Japan]

Here is a Syagrus romanzoffiana, not the curliest one, but that leaf has a nice bend to it.

[JT in Japan]

Here are the best sprouters of the bunch, my Washingtonia filiferas, which I recall someone corrected me and said filiferas don't have any red in the stem like this one, so it must be... (I forget). But I put these all into long pots, and I think they like it much better. This one just started showing some yellow tips a week or so back, so I think I was shorting them on the water.

[JT in Japan]

These Bismarkia Nobilis, two of them, are coming along great guns. I put them into huge tubs already, having heard they don't like their roots being disturbed at all.

[JT in Japan]

Finally, I bought 6 Bottle Palms, Hyophorbe lagenicaulis, locally. They were already a few seasons old, but they've really charged through the summer. Each of them has put out at least three new spears. I've kept 5 of them potted, and put one in the garden. Let's see what happens.

[PalmnutVN]

Great germination list and some nice palms you have growing away there

Surprised the Hyophorbe, Roystonea and the Trachys failed for you though. These are all notoriously easy to germinate and I would actually go as far as suggesting that the seed you purchased wasn't actually fresh, if it wasn't rot or over watering that caused their demise of course.

I've found in the past that Trachy seeds do tend to germinate better at lower temperatures i.e the mid to high 20s rather than the higher, tropical temperatures that most others require.Nevertheless, palm seed has a tendency of surprising you and you may well see some results over the coming months, especially from the Trachycarpus seed.

[Grasswing]

Hello John,

thanks for your report!

Great germination list and some nice palms you have growing away there

Surprised the Hyophorbe, Roystonea and the Trachys failed for you though. These are all notoriously easy to germinate and I would actually go as far as suggesting that the seed you purchased wasn't actually fresh, if it wasn't rot or over watering that caused their demise of course.

I've found in the past that Trachy seeds do tend to germinate better at lower temperatures i.e the mid to high 20s rather than the higher, tropical temperatures that most others require.Nevertheless, palm seed has a tendency of surprising you and you may well see some results over the coming months, especially from the Trachycarpus seed.

I had almost no success with germinating Trachycarpus this year. I don't know why?

Regards,

Andrew

[Alicehunter2000]

Interesting thread.........where in Japan are you located? Is it warm enough for many of the palms you got going on? I liked the suggestion of some of the cooler hardy palms from New Zealand ect. Like your record keeping...you seem very organized...I'm sure you will be successful.

[JT in Japan]

Interesting thread.........where in Japan are you located? Is it warm enough for many of the palms you got going on? I liked the suggestion of some of the cooler hardy palms from New Zealand ect. Like your record keeping...you seem very organized...I'm sure you will be successful.

Hi David,

I work in Tokyo, but our weekend house is 3 hours south on the coast in a small town called Shimoda. A very nice sub-tropical micro-climate there, so warm enough for many palms, but I'm sure ill be pushing the envelope with some that I'm germing now. I want to grow as many exotics as possible. All anyone can see along the coast are Trachies, Butias, and Washies. Time for a change!

JT

[JT in Japan]

Hi All, I thought I’d give an update on my seedlings, started last June (2013). First, an inventory report. I’m not having much success in the propogation department. 11% is a dismal failure, I’d say, but not for lack of variety of methods.

Now, onto the seedlings themselves. First highlight is my Foxy Lady, Wodyetia bifurcata, sprouted in July ’13, and potted in Aug ’13. Now, just coming into August 2014, we see two fronds (straps?). Very slow to grow, this one. It didn’t move at all between January and June, and only in the past 2 weeks has pushed out the junior leaf.

I really like the broad look of the Syagrus R. straps. These Queens looks regal, and stand over all the others except the washies. These were potted out on July 04, 2013.

I love the intricate first pinnate fronds of the Dypsis Decaryi, potted out in June 2013. I’ve got two that are coming along nicely, but you can see both have some severe browning. I’m thinking I left them in the early summer sun too long and burned them. Any ideas? I’ve since shaded the shelf they sit on, so I’m hoping they’ll recover.

These Nannorhops Richianna are interesting in that they’re growing like soda straws, just thin and straight up. No depth to them, or breadth, or even character at all. But they’re one of my most successful groups, in terms of germination success. I’ve got about 12 of them potted out, since June last year.

I’ve got two Heart of Palm (Euterpe Edulis) coming along nicely. They’re showing breadth across the strap, and multiple straps all dancing around each other. Very pretty, this one.

Finally my washingtonia filibusta (?). I’m really pleased with this bunch. About 2 dozen potted out last year, and all thriving. There’s browning along most tips, but we just came out of our rainy season (first week of June, for 5 weeks), so I’m thinking they were getting too much water. Could also be too much sun, which I’ve since taken care of with shade on the veranda. What do you think, another season and they go in the ground? I particularly like their broad stems (? Trunks?), a result I think of keeping them on this breezy outdoor veranda for 9 of the past 12 months. I’m hoping it means they’ll grow strong.

[Zeeth]

I had equal bad luck with RPS recently. I ordered Pritchardia schattaueri, Beccariophoenix madagascariensis and Dictyosperma album and only have 1 B. madagascariensis to show for it. After all of my P. schattaueri either failed to germinate or were overcome by fungus, I talked to a Palmtalker about getting a few seeds from a botanical garden in Hawaii and I've had an excellent germination rate of those, so I know that that something else was going on. I ordered only seeds labelled as "new" on the website as well. Nothing against the website or Toby, as I understand that it must be a struggle to maintain a website with such seed diversity for plants that generally store poorly. That was just my experience.

[Phoenikakias]

Now, onto the seedlings themselves. First highlight is my Foxy Lady, Wodyetia bifurcata, sprouted in July ’13, and potted in Aug ’13. Now, just coming into August 2014, we see two fronds (straps?). Very slow to grow, this one. It didn’t move at all between January and June, and only in the past 2 weeks has pushed out the junior leaf.

DSC_1765_HRJT.jpg

John, I suggest you use deep pots for the Wodyetia, using very porous material for the deeper layers (I use pumice) and and equally light but moister medium for the surface (I use a mix of perlite, coco-coir, peat, sand and rotten wood.

First pic taken in late January 2014 and second pic in late June of same year. Sicnce then a second leaf has emerged on many of the seedlings. I wish I had available even deeper pots and of course plenty of them so that each one could accomodate only a single seedling, single seedlings grow even faster.

[JT in Japan]

I talked to a Palmtalker about getting a few seeds from a botanical garden in Hawaii and I've had an excellent germination rate of those, so I know that that something else was going on.

Thanks for the feedback, Keith. For my part, I don't think I can blame a particular seed vendor (though I agree they must face aging inventory issues, more than a traditional business!), I'm trying a lot of vendors, and having crap luck with all of them, so it may very well be me. Trouble is, I'm trying every method on the books, and just can't get anything to pop.

Jt

[JT in Japan]

John, I suggest you use deep pots for the Wodyetia, using very porous material for the deeper layers (I use pumice) and and equally light but moister medium for the surface (I use a mix of perlite, coco-coir, peat, sand and rotten wood.

First pic taken in late January 2014 and second pic in late June of same year. Sicnce then a second leaf has emerged on many of the seedlings. I wish I had available even deeper pots and of course plenty of them so that each one could accomodate only a single seedling, single seedlings grow even faster.

DSC02074.JPGDSC02422.JPG

Thanks for the suggestion, Phoen. I'll give it a try..

JT

[Zeeth]

I talked to a Palmtalker about getting a few seeds from a botanical garden in Hawaii and I've had an excellent germination rate of those, so I know that that something else was going on.

Thanks for the feedback, Keith. For my part, I don't think I can blame a particular seed vendor (though I agree they must face aging inventory issues, more than a traditional business!), I'm trying a lot of vendors, and having crap luck with all of them, so it may very well be me. Trouble is, I'm trying every method on the books, and just can't get anything to pop.

Jt

I'm not sure how many botanical gardens exist in Japan with palm trees, but I find that to be my best method of securing seeds that germinate well.

(PS. Wodyetia bifurcata is colloquially known as the foxtail palm, the foxy lady palm is the name for the Wodyetia X Veitchia hybrid)

[JT in Japan]

(PS. Wodyetia bifurcata is colloquially known as the foxtail palm, the foxy lady palm is the name for the Wodyetia X Veitchia hybrid)

Thanks Keith. I need the regular edumacation. :-)