Sprouting Attalea speciosa

[NatureGirl]

A friend gave me a few fresh Attalea speciosa seeds. I’ve tried them a couple times a long time ago and Never had any luck. Anyone germinate these things? I was told to soak extra long which I’m going to do. Thanks.

[JubaeaMan138]

Never germinated these guys. But I bought one couple years ago from a grower out here in so cal man are these slow it’s currently in a 5 gallon still filling up with roots . I will say it’s slow but grows steady . If u get these germinated I’d live to buy one from you !! Also anyone out there have any pictures of there speciosa ?

[John hovancsek]

I had germinated A. Cohune in a 3 gallon pot and the root went all the way down so one thing for sure make sure it is in a deep pot

[mike in kurtistown]

Charlene, speciosa is the one Attalea that I have never got to germinate, though I have tried numerous times. The others have been a struggle. I made two plantings of four or five butyracea seeds (in the same pot) over 15 months and finally got one to sprout. Now, it's a 5 ft tall plant in the ground. I got maripa germination, three from the same seed after three years, and another after FIVE years. The two in the ground are growing rapidly. I sowed 12 cohume seeds, had one germinate in five months. The only easy ones were were guacayules from seeds given me by the late Al Bredeson in west Hawaii Island. My phalerata seeds from MKD weren't too much of a problem. The three plants in the ground have become monsters. See below.

[NatureGirl]

Well Congrats on your germination skills Mike, and those are some gorgeous specimens! I too did fine with A.phalerata, though seeds are quite different. But, did not know I would most likely have to wait yrs for these to sprout (hopefully months). I wonder if I should even bother keeping them on heat mat, or just leave outside on their own? I’m sure u know where these came from, same source as I’ve had a couple times w/no luck. I even think I buried a few in the ground (like we do sometimes w/Acrocomia) with no results.

[kurt decker]

I've sprouted lots of those, they aren't easy. I've done it two ways with fairly low percentage results, but I've gotten results. The most successful method I've done is just to put the bare seeds in a black pot, put them under a palm where they get half sun half shade all day, and get watered by the irrigation and then dry out everyday. I've gotten about 40% germination that way in the summer months. Another way that people have told me they've had great success with, I've had mixed results. Put an inch of SLIGHTLY damp spagnum in the bottom of a black pot, pile the bare seeds on top of that, flip another black pot over on top of them and put it out in the sun and let them cook. You have to make sure they don't get too wet. They have a super thick endocarp, and it seems like it takes heat to get them to push through it. I've never had a single one sprout by planting them.

[mike in kurtistown]

That makes sense - an application of heat. Here in east Hawaii Island, it just doesn't get hot (85 deg F in summer), and it's even hard to depend on sunlight for heat, because it's so often cloudy. But I would try one of those methods if I ever get more of them.

[NatureGirl]

Thanks Kurt, I'm definitely gonna try your method w/moss and bucket. If you think about it, that's probably what would happen in nature. They would just drop off the tree and lay on top of soil. Since we're going into our coldest months, I'll keep inside on the heat mat and then when warm enuf, move outside in the black pot w/cover, that would super heat them especially in summer. I look forward to some results....