Germinating Latania Lodigessi

[chocolatethunda]

Good morning all,

I stumbled upon a few seeds of what I think to be Latania Lodigessi.

Anyone have any suggestion or methods for germinating these?

1. Soil Medium? (perlite, peat moss?)
2. Does the sinker/floater test apply to these seeds too?
3. Heat mat?
4. Depth Pots?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[palmfriend]

Hi Robert,

 

I purchased very few seeds (I think in February/March), soaked them in water for three days and put them in peat moss - my preferred method. After a

few weeks the first one sprouted. I checked the internet here and there, main point was to put it into a deep pot (30cm/11") because the plant is

"checking out" the depth and decides then to grow or not... (I didn't use a heat mat since March is already pretty warm over here but I usually do

during our winters when temps may drop under 20C/68F. )

However, here we go:

Planted out two months ago...

Pot seems to fit since the plant is growing fast, looking really good and already pushing the next spear. I use a mix of Miyako islands soil which is a

bit alkaline and some soil for vegetables. I will reduce the amount of the vegetable soil when re-potting to get it used to our soil or I am going

to plant it out straight (maybe next year) - we will see. 

 

I hope it helps a bit,

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

 

[Frond-friend42]

On 8/21/2020 at 8:27 PM, palmfriend said:

Hi Robert,

 

I purchased very few seeds (I think in February/March), soaked them in water for three days and put them in peat moss - my preferred method. After a

few weeks the first one sprouted. I checked the internet here and there, main point was to put it into a deep pot (30cm/11") because the plant is

"checking out" the depth and decides then to grow or not... (I didn't use a heat mat since March is already pretty warm over here but I usually do

during our winters when temps may drop under 20C/68F. )

However, here we go:

Planted out two months ago...

Pot seems to fit since the plant is growing fast, looking really good and already pushing the next spear. I use a mix of Miyako islands soil which is a

bit alkaline and some soil for vegetables. I will reduce the amount of the vegetable soil when re-potting to get it used to our soil or I am going

to plant it out straight (maybe next year) - we will see. 

 

I hope it helps a bit,

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

 

Lars--I'm curious about your used of peat moss. I've moved away from it over some posts about some kind of bacteria. What do you find its advantages, and, do you like it for a germination medium for all species (im assuming you grow a whole spectrum of palms). 

Ben

[palmfriend]

On ‎8‎/‎24‎/‎2020 at 12:16 AM, Frond-friend42 said:

Lars--I'm curious about your used of peat moss. I've moved away from it over some posts about some kind of bacteria. What do you find its advantages, and, do you like it for a germination medium for all species (im assuming you grow a whole spectrum of palms). 

Ben

Ben,

I am never ordering many seeds of a species - usually a package of ten, sometimes two ten-seed packages of the same species - and honestly I am too curious to

know if they have sprouted or not or getting into trouble (eg. rod). With this in mind I needed a medium I can check easily without pulling out or touching the seeds (too much)

every time. That`s why peat moss is perfect for me since you can easily increase the moisture level (spraying some water) or reduce it (sqeezing the medium). But you

have to be aware of the surrounding temperatures (summer or winter) and if air circulation is necessary (zip locking or not).

Helpful is a thick layer of peat moss (let`s say 10cm/4") instead of a thin one because the moisture is kept longer and you can put the box with the peat moss on a heating mat

without risking that the peat moss dries out too quickly. Furthermore it seems that some seeds prefer it to be completey covered by the medium while others have no problem

to be put on top - so, a thick layer of peat moss serves both... I had seeds in peat moss for years (J. chilensis) or for very few weeks (C. renda) and I had never significant trouble

with bacterias.  Of course I have lost some seeds due to rod but never large scale and sometimes I get some super tiny insects inside which I treat with spraying some

insecticide on it - that usually helps.

Alright, I hope it helps somehow.

best regards from Okinawa -

Lars

 

 

[Frond-friend42]

Yes. Thanks.

[chocolatethunda]

On 8/21/2020 at 10:27 PM, palmfriend said:

I hope it helps a bit,

 

Thanks Lars, much appreciated! Will look into it!

[chocolatethunda]

Let's see how they'll go.

I'll keep everyone posted!

 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

These were really easy to germinate and trouble free for me. You should have no issues with some heat. 

[chocolatethunda]

1 hour ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

These were really easy to germinate and trouble free for me. You should have no issues with some heat. 

Thanks TexasColdhardyPalms,

Did you have them in deep pots when germinated or did you transplant them?

[chocolatethunda]

I think it might be beginners luck (sowed August 25th, 2020), but I noticed 3 of them already started germinating (September 9th, 2020):

 

[kinzyjr]

10 minutes ago, chocolatethunda said:

I think it might be beginners luck

I'd rather be lucky than good

[chocolatethunda]

Hey guys, just on updated on the Latanias, I transplanted 4 of them that already germinated and that were in storage bin. Now they're in 16" pvc pipes just like I have the Bizzies in.
I'm not sure if Latania Lodigessi are like Bismarckia that are prone to root disturbance, hopefully they like their new accomodation. Looking forward to that first spear.
 

[chocolatethunda]

Has anyone seen a Latania seed like this before? It looks peculiar to me

 

[chocolatethunda]

Am I over my head or should I be excited that this is the start of the first leaf/frond? 

[chocolatethunda]

Quick update on 3 Latania Lodigessi seeds that have germinated (last two are the same), either they're slow growers or I'm very impatient, excited nonetheless:

 

[chocolatethunda]

Shooting up nicely, I'm so excited about these. Are Latanias prone to root disturbance like Bizzies ?