Germinating Needle Palm Seeds! (Baggy Method)

[PalmTreeDude]

I collected these Needle Palm Seeds from Hilton Head island in August, today I cracked open the outer shells and soaked the small seeds for about 4 and a half hours. Not too long, but I think it is good enough. I took the seeds and put them in a plastic baggy with dirt and shook it around and now it is resting on my heat mat, I hope they germinate! 

 

 

[Laaz]

Needle seeds should be light tan. Looks like you still have the "egg" shell on them. Take a pair of pliers & gently squeeze them until you hear a crack & then remove the shell. Easier if the seeds are dry.

[Laaz]

And be prepared to wait, they can take months to germinate.

[PalmTreeDude]

1 minute ago, Laaz said:

Needle seeds should be light tan. Looks like you still have the "egg" shell on them. Take a pair of pliers & gently squeeze them until you hear a crack & then remove the shell. Easier if the seeds are dry.

I already did it, those are the insides of the 'egg' shells, they were a tan color, but you can't really see it in the picture. They are pretty small, about 5mm, does that sound right? 

[Laaz]

Sounds about right. The shell is very thin, but hard to crack. You need pliers.

[PalmTreeDude]

3 hours ago, Laaz said:

Sounds about right. The shell is very thin, but hard to crack. You need pliers.

Correction, the smallest seed is 7mm the largest is 2cm. 

[DoomsDave]

5 hours ago, Laaz said:

And be prepared to wait, they can take months to germinate.

How many months?

(Years?)

I have a bunch I'm still waiting on.

[Laaz]

I have seen them take up to a year and a half. Normally 3-6 months. Home depot sells them here for $22 for a 5 gal. Not really worth growing from seed for me. I can buy a 5 Gal & cut it up into 3-4 plants. The suckers root very easy.

[Pal Meir]

I received on 2002-12-19 seeds from RPS; the first one germinated on 2003-01-03, i.e. 2 weeks after arrival. Here a photo of the 2nd seedling, germinated on 2003-01-04, i.e. after 16 days:

[Laaz]

You were very lucky.

[Pal Meir]

9 minutes ago, Laaz said:

You were very lucky.

Or the seeds germinated so fast because they were NOT (so) fresh. That is my guess …

[Laaz]

That could be as well. HD just got a truckload of 5 Gallons in...

 

[PalmTreeDude]

Lowe's sells them in 5 gal. and 7 gal. here. I will probably end up buying one from there, but I am just trying! 

[PalmTreeDude]

Anyone think I should order a Sabal minor 'McCurtian'? I think that would be a good palm for here. 

[PalmatierMeg]

Needles are relict palms with shrinking habitats. Many set seeds only infrequently and most of those don't germinate. I've tried a number of seeds over the years and have had a total of 3 germinate. In one lot the second seed germinated a year after the first, so they germinate sporadically at best. It's truly a lovely palm that struggles for me down here. I suspect my winters aren't cold enough to relieve the stress of our long, ferocious summers. My alkaline sand may also play a part. I read somewhere that some scientists believe that needle palm seeds germinated easier after passing through the gut of a giant sloth that lived during the Pleistocene. When it went extinct the palm faced a struggle to reproduce and has been in decline ever since. I don't know if that is true but I hope human intervention will keep this species extant long into the future.

[PalmTreeDude]

1 hour ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Needles are relict palms with shrinking habitats. Many set seeds only infrequently and most of those don't germinate. I've tried a number of seeds over the years and have had a total of 3 germinate. In one lot the second seed germinated a year after the first, so they germinate sporadically at best. It's truly a lovely palm that struggles for me down here. I suspect my winters aren't cold enough to relieve the stress of our long, ferocious summers. My alkaline sand may also play a part. I read somewhere that some scientists believe that needle palm seeds germinated easier after passing through the gut of a giant sloth that lived during the Pleistocene. When it went extinct the palm faced a struggle to reproduce and has been in decline ever since. I don't know if that is true but I hope human intervention will keep this species extant long into the future.

They like to sucker, I guess that is how they really spread easily, but it is a slow process. I think wildlife reservations in their native range should plant a bunch to keep them going. 

Edited November 13, 2016 by PalmTreeDude

[teddytn]

Needle Palm germination article for anyone interested https://journals.ashs.org/downloadpdf/journals/hortsci/28/9/article-p904.pdf