Palm ID and Seed Germination Tips?

[mas_fuego]

I have a neighbor down the street that has five of these so I am hoping the seeds are true. Can anyone help me with the tree and germination tips?  Trunks are super thick. You can see the storm grate in the background and the light pole for scale. The frons have these super aggressive spikes if that helps.

Here are the seeds I collected on the ground and off the tree.

Thanks!

 

Edited August 10, 2019 by mas_fuego
added info

[Jeff985]

phoenix canariensis aka Canary Island date palm. Can’t help you with germination. 

[mas_fuego]

18 minutes ago, Jeff985 said:

phoenix canariensis aka Canary Island date palm. Can’t help you with germination. 

Thanks. I will figure all this out one day. Super thankful for a forum that is hospitable to folks with less knowledge.

[The Silent Seed]

Hi,

I have grown these from seeds, and it's super easy! Just remove the "fruit" from around the hard part (seed.) Plant about an inch deep, and wait. They'll pop up pretty quickly. And yes as above, they are Canary Island Palms. 

Enjoy! 

[mas_fuego]

27 minutes ago, santoury said:

Hi,

I have grown these from seeds, and it's super easy! Just remove the "fruit" from around the hard part (seed.) Plant about an inch deep, and wait. They'll pop up pretty quickly. And yes as above, they are Canary Island Palms. 

Enjoy! 

Should I put in a baggy in hot room or does temp not really matter?

[The Silent Seed]

I never use the baggy method personally - I just put them in a pot of dirt and wait. I don't pay attention to temperatures - which might result in slower germination, which is fine with me. My plant house is always warm, anyway. 

[zoli]

Don't worry about temperatures with these. They'll germinate just fine in most living rooms within a month or two. They'll prefer a deeper pot, as the radicle tends to drop down about 3-6 inches before sending up the first shoot. They are tough palms and are a fairly easy grow. Especially if your location is South Florida.

[mas_fuego]

So six inch deep pot is deep enough? I was planning 1 gallon grow bags I think i will fill about 8 - 10 inches. That is if I can get them to germinate. 

[kinzyjr]

Hello @mas_fuego.  Canary Island Date Palms are among the easiest palms to germinate and grow.  The grow bags will work fine for germination as will open air containers.  You don't have to overthink this one.  Strip the flesh off of them, soak them for 24-48 hours and change the water a few times, place in moist soil for 2-4 weeks with warm temperatures.  This does the trick every time.  It's probably harder to stop them from germinating.  As far as a starter pot goes, you'll want something deeper rather than wider just to give the root system some room to develop.

[mas_fuego]

Do I need to dry them out first? Or should I just start soaking them after I take the husk off?

[kinzyjr]

1 hour ago, mas_fuego said:

Do I need to dry them out first? Or should I just start soaking them after I take the husk off?

Just start soaking them. 

[mas_fuego]

Well, they are starting to pop.

Couple questions:

1. When do folks start to pot them up after they pop? Is a plastic drink cup deep enough for first pot?
2. Do they need heat after they sprout? Or can I pot up the ones that have started a root and leave them off of the heat?
3. Anything I am missing?

[Sabal Steve]

That Looks to be a Phoenix hybrid.  Pure (or more pure) canariensis has thick petioles, and a generally more robust crown.  That one almost looks like it has some Phoenix rupicola, mixed in.

[zoli]

When do folks start to pot them up after they pop? Is a plastic drink cup deep enough for first pot?

I don't know this for a fact, but my understanding is that it is best to not let the radicles (primordial roots) contort or twist in any way once a seeds sprouts. This suggests that you should pot them up to prevent this from happening, preferably in something that is tall enough to accommodate Phoenix species' rather long radicles. I sprouted a few of these myself over the summer and they are in 9" tall pots with the roots already protruding from the bottom.

Do they need heat after they sprout? Or can I pot up the ones that have started a root and leave them off of the heat?

If you're in Florida, then I would say that you already have enough heat to make these guys happy. 

Anything I am missing?

Probably. The thing I love about horticulture is that it is both a science and an art at the same time. You kind of have to be good at both to really do well. Like many things in life, this takes experience, time, and often luck. That said, I'd leave your seedlings out of full sun for at least a year and make sure that they dry out a little between waterings. Fertilization can be tricky, but less fertilizer is usually best. The jury is still out on when exactly you should start and how much exactly and what kind is best. Come to think of it, I may actually start a separate thread on that soon.

[Jim in Los Altos]

I agree with Steve. That does not look like a pure P. canariensis. Besides the open crown, the trunk is not as massive. It looks like it may be mixed with Phoenix sylvestris or other Phoenix species. 

Edited August 29, 2019 by Jim in Los Altos

[mas_fuego]

6 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I agree with Steve. That does not look like a pure P. canariensis. Besides the open crown, the trunk is not as massive. It looks like it may be mixed with Phoenix sylvestris or other Phoenix species. 

Possibly, but the picture is deceptive. The trunk is massive. 

[mas_fuego]

9 hours ago, zoli said:

When do folks start to pot them up after they pop? Is a plastic drink cup deep enough for first pot?

I don't know this for a fact, but my understanding is that it is best to not let the radicles (primordial roots) contort or twist in any way once a seeds sprouts. This suggests that you should pot them up to prevent this from happening, preferably in something that is tall enough to accommodate Phoenix species' rather long radicles. I sprouted a few of these myself over the summer and they are in 9" tall pots with the roots already protruding from the bottom.

Do they need heat after they sprout? Or can I pot up the ones that have started a root and leave them off of the heat?

If you're in Florida, then I would say that you already have enough heat to make these guys happy. 

Anything I am missing?

Probably. The thing I love about horticulture is that it is both a science and an art at the same time. You kind of have to be good at both to really do well. Like many things in life, this takes experience, time, and often luck. That said, I'd leave your seedlings out of full sun for at least a year and make sure that they dry out a little between waterings. Fertilization can be tricky, but less fertilizer is usually best. The jury is still out on when exactly you should start and how much exactly and what kind is best. Come to think of it, I may actually start a separate thread on that soon.

I was banking on these needing a less deep pot. oh well.

 

Thanks

[Fusca]

9 hours ago, zoli said:

Is a plastic drink cup deep enough for first pot?

When I don't have liners I've used 32-oz or 44-oz drink cups for most seedlings and they work pretty well.  As you can see they are taller than the standard 1-gal container.

[mas_fuego]

3 hours ago, Fusca said:

When I don't have liners I've used 32-oz or 44-oz drink cups for most seedlings and they work pretty well.  As you can see they are taller than the standard 1-gal container.

Well I was hoping closer to this: 

Looks like I am about to make a whole bunch of soil.

 

[awkonradi]

Hey mas-fuego (cool name), I wouldn't over think this.  Yes, you can start them in plastic cups like that, and they will grow fine.  As they get bigger, their roots will mass at the bottom, and then it will be time to move them into bigger containers, or just plant them in the ground.   As others have noted, you're growing a robust species or hybrid, which should be happy in your climate.

[mas_fuego]

28 minutes ago, awkonradi said:

Hey mas-fuego (cool name), I wouldn't over think this.  Yes, you can start them in plastic cups like that, and they will grow fine.  As they get bigger, their roots will mass at the bottom, and then it will be time to move them into bigger containers, or just plant them in the ground.   As others have noted, you're growing a robust species or hybrid, which should be happy in your climate.

Thanks, then I am running with that.

[Jim in Los Altos]

On 8/29/2019 at 4:52 AM, mas_fuego said:

Possibly, but the picture is deceptive. The trunk is massive. 

It’s wide but not Canary Island Date palm wide. Based on the nearby light pole for comparison, I’d say it’s a hybrid. CIDP would be more massive. Also, the leaf bases on the trunk are much less thick that CIDP. 

Edited September 1, 2019 by Jim in Los Altos

[mas_fuego]

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

It’s wide but not Canary Island Date palm wide. Based on the nearby light pole for comparison, I’d say it’s a hybrid. CIDP would be more massive. Also, the leaf bases on the trunk are much less thick that CIDP. 

That trunk is about 5 get tall. They have 7 of them.