Bismarckia nobilis from seed - progress

[D. Morrowii]

I struggled a bit to get my first Bizzy to sprout and only 1 did from this batch which I think was my second or third try. The first pic was taken April 3rd and the second was taken today October 3rd 2021. 6 months of growth from when the first leaf broke the surface give or take a day or two. Maybe a minor achievement to many but I’m kind of proud of this little palm lol. After maybe 3 months of trying it finally worked, Next milestone will be a palmate frond hopefully soon!

[Plantasexoticas]

Congrats! Looking good already and lucky you to live in an area where you can plant this beautiful palm outdoors. 
 

Mine have to stay in pots. 

[Scott W]

Great job! 

I'm assuming you're leaving it in the pot...if so, did you cut the bottom out of it and cut it down the side?

I was thinking about this when I plant my seedling in the ground so as not to disturb the roots.

[D. Morrowii]

1 hour ago, Plantasexoticas said:

Congrats! Looking good already and lucky you to live in an area where you can plant this beautiful palm outdoors. 
 

Mine have to stay in pots. 

Thanks! This is one that I wont have to worry about. I have others that will have to be brought in though. 

12 minutes ago, Scott W said:

Great job! 

I'm assuming you're leaving it in the pot...if so, did you cut the bottom out of it and cut it down the side?

I was thinking about this when I plant my seedling in the ground so as not to disturb the roots.

Thanks Scott, the bottom is cut out. Since I didn’t have any deep pots at the time I stacked 2 one on top of the other. The bottom pot was removed before I put it in the ground but I didn't split the top one. Maybe I better carefully do that sooner rather than later…

[aztropic]

I wouldn't disturb it. It will split the pot on it's own...

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

[D. Morrowii]

13 hours ago, aztropic said:

I wouldn't disturb it. It will split the pot on it's own...

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

You think so? I kind of hate to be wondering if it inhibiting growth later. Maybe Ill use shears to cut the top down 5-6” in two spots and score the lower part with a razor. Shouldn't disturb the roots that way. Thanks 

[aztropic]

I've got a couple currently busting up cement rings. A plastic pot is NO CHALLANGE!  

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

[floridaPalmMan]

17 hours ago, D. Morrowii said:

6 months of growth from when the first leaf broke the surface give or take a day or two.

Wow that's a lot of growth for only 6 months.

What the heck are you doing that I'm not lol? Do Bizis just grow that fast?

[D. Morrowii]

20 minutes ago, aztropic said:

I've got a couple currently busting up cement rings. A plastic pot is NO CHALLANGE!  

 

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona

Yeah I’d say that palm doesn’t seem to be too bothered by the concrete lol I doubt a nursery liner would have much effect. Was that poured in place?

12 minutes ago, floridaPalmMan said:

Wow that's a lot of growth for only 6 months.

What the heck are you doing that I'm not lol? Do Bizis just grow that fast?

I keep it watered and have been applying fertilizer regularly the Florida summer heat might have been a major influence as well!

[D. Morrowii]

Happy 1st birthday to my B. nobilis. 

[Billeb]

3 hours ago, D. Morrowii said:

Happy 1st birthday to my B. nobilis. 

So cool. Huge sentimental value watching that one grow from seed to its future massiveness. Happy Birthday. 
 

-dale

[D. Morrowii]

Thanks Dale, definitely more meaning to the ones you sprout yourself. 

[Chris Chance]

I have to say it's amazing to have one growing from seed. I have one that I sprouted years ago. Now it's starting to explode. I planted it close to a wall but I think it will be okay I figure it will eventually grow past the wall.

[tinman10101]

On 10/3/2021 at 3:33 PM, D. Morrowii said:

Maybe a minor achievement to many but I’m kind of proud of this little palm lol. After maybe 3 months of trying it finally worked, Next milestone will be a palmate frond hopefully soon!

 

 

This is awesome. One of my most coveted palm is one I received from seed from China and sprouted myself.  It is a Trachycarpus Winsan and now over 15 feet tall.  "There are many like it but this one is mine"   It is one of my proudest palm for the fact that I was a newbie and sprouted it myself to my surprise and raised it from a seed.  

You will feel the same.  

[D. Morrowii]

15 hours ago, Chris Chance said:

I have to say it's amazing to have one growing from seed. I have one that I sprouted years ago. Now it's starting to explode. I planted it close to a wall but I think it will be okay I figure it will eventually grow past the wall.

Good looking Bismarck Chris!

6 hours ago, tinman10101 said:

This is awesome. One of my most coveted palm is one I received from seed from China and sprouted myself.  It is a Trachycarpus Winsan and now over 15 feet tall.  "There are many like it but this one is mine"   It is one of my proudest palm for the fact that I was a newbie and sprouted it myself to my surprise and raised it from a seed.  

You will feel the same.  

Thanks Tin! We are on the same wavelength. 

[JLM]

20 hours ago, tinman10101 said:

This is awesome. One of my most coveted palm is one I received from seed from China and sprouted myself.  It is a Trachycarpus Winsan and now over 15 feet tall.  "There are many like it but this one is mine"   It is one of my proudest palm for the fact that I was a newbie and sprouted it myself to my surprise and raised it from a seed.  

You will feel the same.  

Exactly how i feel about my palmettos, they are native here, but i grew this one from seed as a first try at germinating palm seeds. They are now approaching 2 years old and one of them is going palmate! My bizzy i germinated from seed last year, it seems to be doing well after the winter. Hoping to see a lot of new growth this summer. 
 

On 4/3/2022 at 9:15 AM, D. Morrowii said:

Happy 1st birthday to my B. nobilis. 

That is some beautiful progress! Cant wait to see it at 2 years old.

[tinman10101]

On 4/3/2022 at 7:15 AM, D. Morrowii said:

Happy 1st birthday to my B. nobilis. 

just a side note ... it is said the more purple it is when young .... the more white or silver it will get.  not sure if i find this is true but yours should be nicely silver by the looks of its youth.

in my experience, mine are moderately silver but i am glad i have a green one as well.  

[D. Morrowii]

I hope you're right about the color Tin, the more blue - gray - silver the better in my opinion.

[D. Morrowii]

A day early (have to travel for work tomorrow) but here are some birthday #2 progress pics. The growth over the last 12 months has been pretty spectacular! To me at least, around 6’ to the tippy tops of the tallest frond. Not to mention double spears should be opening in the next week or two. 

[Plantasexoticas]

2 hours ago, D. Morrowii said:

A day early (have to travel for work tomorrow) but here are some birthday #2 progress pics. The growth over the last 12 months has been pretty spectacular! To me at least, around 6’ to the tippy tops of the tallest frond. Not to mention double spears should be opening in the next week or two. 

Incredibly growth rate!!! Stunning and one of my favourite palms 
 

 

[kinzyjr]

@D. Morrowii That's growing really fast!  You picked a winner!

[D. Morrowii]

@kinzyjrIt was literally the only seed out of the first 2-3 batches I tried that I was able to get started so it kind of picked me😂 I’m just grateful that it grew at all. 

[andrebazhen]

How is it going?

My potted Bizzies are 9 month old now and have only 3-4 leaves (no fertilizer), could you tell perfect day-night temperature in your opinion? Of course they have growing lights and south window sun

[D. Morrowii]

On 1/30/2024 at 6:22 PM, andrebazhen said:

How is it going?

My potted Bizzies are 9 month old now and have only 3-4 leaves (no fertilizer), could you tell perfect day-night temperature in your opinion? Of course they have growing lights and south window sun

I’ve been tempted to take a new pic of it lately but was going to wait until its 3rd birthday about 2 months from now. It is still growing like crazy! I’ll get a pic when I get home from work on Friday or Saturday. Hot is all I can say regarding the preferred temp. 85-95 degrees F. 

[Bkue]

That’s awesome. Keep up with progress pics. I have a couple new sprouts going myself and 2 bought. One was about your size and 1yr later 3x the size. The other much bigger and 5yrs in the ground and nearly 3ft wide trunk and 20ft tall. Went from no trunk to 4ft and fat in a couple years. 
 

they don’t like transplant so get it where you want it asap. Make sure you have room. They get wide. 

[Chris Chance]

Amazing progress! It's crazy how fast these grow when they're happy!

[RichardHemsley]

Fingers crossed mine will grow as fast. Have 4 seeds from 10 that have germinated in the last 6 weeks,  and initial growth is quite slow.

[Cristóbal]

6 hours ago, RichardHemsley said:

Fingers crossed mine will grow as fast. Have 4 seeds from 10 that have germinated in the last 6 weeks,  and initial growth is quite slow.

I have germinated perhaps 300 bismarckia seeds, and tried different ways to increase the germination percentage in these past years. It is my experience the plastic bag method is the best.

If you have fresh seeds you can germinate perhaps 90% of the seeds using the coconut fiber and plastic freezer bag method. Soak the seeds in water for 3 days, changing the water each day, then soak them in 100% daconil or other type of fungicide for half hour, then dry with a paper towel. Boil to coconut fiber to sterilize it, then squeeze out the water with your hand. When you squeeze it and only several drops of water come out, then it is ready to put in a plastic freezer bag. Each one liter/quart bag you can fill with 4 or 5 seeds. Fill each bag with 5-6 cms/3 inches of coconut fiber, and place these bags in a plastic box with a heating pad under it. You want the temperature to be 30-33C/85-90F. You will be able to germinate many more seeds using this method.

[D. Morrowii]

10 hours ago, Chris Chance said:

Amazing progress! It's crazy how fast these grow when they're happy!

Thats for sure and this one seems to be happy in its home. Hows yours doing? 

7 hours ago, RichardHemsley said:

Fingers crossed mine will grow as fast. Have 4 seeds from 10 that have germinated in the last 6 weeks,  and initial growth is quite slow.

Good luck Richard, I hope they grow fast for you. Even if they grow slow I think they are still worth it. 

[D. Morrowii]

Here she is this afternoon. 

[Johnny Palmseed]

So I saw this palm yesterday and the picture doesn’t do it justice. It is massive - easily 10’ tall and probably more. I was in Lowe’s yesterday and they had a couple in large pots and they weren’t even close to this size. I have trouble comprehending that it is only 3 years old but it really does show that Bismarckia are best grown when planted young. I didn’t look at the prices for the potted ones but I’m sure they were hundreds of dollars.

[Harry’s Palms]

Yes , they are really great statement palms and I love them . When I first bought my house , I bought one in a 5 gallon pot . The manager of the nursery was a palm collector and IPS member and started me on my palm obsession . He gave me a super deal on it ( I paid $100) . He warned me about the palm “ they are candy to gophers”. I planted it on my south facing hill and lined the hole with wire fencing material . It grew well and I would stand at the top of the hill and admire it. One day , after pouring a cup of coffee , I walked out to the edge of my patio to look down at my , now two year old Bismarckia , it was laying on its side! The gopher had eaten the roots right up to the trunk! I have other palms on the hill and the only ones the gophers go after are the Bismarkia and the Kentia . I have a gardener who is very good at eradicating them , but my neighbors aren’t as vigilant so I constantly have to deal with it . I just can’t have a Bismarkia down there . 

[Bkue]

That is awesome. I have a 10x20 propagation area for palms and assorted yard tropicals. I have yet to get anything that good out of it other than a few coconuts arguably. Good job. 

[Chris Chance]

On 2/1/2024 at 8:05 PM, D. Morrowii said:

Thats for sure and this one seems to be happy in its home. Hows yours doing? 

Mine is doing great! Last summer it exploded and it looks amazing! Loving the bright silver and proud I grew it from seed. 

[D. Morrowii]

7 hours ago, Chris Chance said:

Mine is doing great! Last summer it exploded and it looks amazing! Loving the bright silver and proud I grew it from seed. 

Heck yeah! Thats some great progress, looks fantastic!

[Harry’s Palms]

I was cruising through town a couple of days ago and happened to look down between a couple of houses and spotted a very nice one that I had not seen before. Strange because they look like rental bungalows or maybe apartments with a gravel parking area. I didn’t get a very good look but I will go back and see if I can get a photo of it. I sure wish my hungry gophers would let me grow one ! I planted a B. Armada in its place . Harry

[palmfriend]

Hi,

status update from Okinawa...

Seed grown, planted out Sept.2020.

Here it is now...

Feb. 2024. (must be about 9 or 10ft. by now)

 

Lars

 

 

[D. Morrowii]

Looking great Lars! 

[palmfriend]

On 2/18/2024 at 11:54 AM, D. Morrowii said:

Looking great Lars! 

Thanks a lot! I hope it was ok to chime in - no hijacking intended!

Your's is looking great, too - it is just impressive to see how this species performs when the conditions are fitting their needs.

Next challenges over here are the typhoons and the rhinoceros beetle. The latter had already tried but couldn't get into the 

palm - it was already too strong - so let's hope for the best. 

 

Lars

 

[D. Morrowii]

7 hours ago, palmfriend said:

Thanks a lot! I hope it was ok to chime in - no hijacking intended!

Your's is looking great, too - it is just impressive to see how this species performs when the conditions are fitting their needs.

Next challenges over here are the typhoons and the rhinoceros beetle. The latter had already tried but couldn't get into the 

palm - it was already too strong - so let's hope for the best. 

 

Lars

 

Well thanks back and hijack away! I just like like seeing palm trees.