Seeds, plenty of seeds

[JLM]

I recieved Washingtonia robusta, Phoenix sylvestris, and Archontophoenix alexandrae seeds this morning. I have a heat mat coming in hopefully on Thursday which will be a huge help with germinating these. No more using the cable box! Any tips? I have 0 experience with any of these, although i know the robusta should pop pretty easily.  Are any of these remote germinators? Anything would be greatly appreciated!

[Fusca]

3 hours ago, JLM said:

I recieved Washingtonia robusta, Phoenix sylvestris, and Archontophoenix alexandrae seeds this morning. I have a heat mat coming in hopefully on Thursday which will be a huge help with germinating these. No more using the cable box! Any tips? I have 0 experience with any of these, although i know the robusta should pop pretty easily.  Are any of these remote germinators? Anything would be greatly appreciated!

Phoenix sylvestris definitely is a remote germinator and I'm pretty sure that Washingtonia is also.  All of my Archontophoenix seedlings have already used up the seed so not sure if it's adjacent germinator or not.  With heat you shouldn't have any problem - they all germinate easily.  

[JLM]

57 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Phoenix sylvestris definitely is a remote germinator and I'm pretty sure that Washingtonia is also.  All of my Archontophoenix seedlings have already used up the seed so not sure if it's adjacent germinator or not.  With heat you shouldn't have any problem - they all germinate easily.  

About how deep does the first pot need to be for the sylvestris and archontophoenix? I have plenty of 2 liter bottles that ive been collecting over time for deep rooted palm seedlings. This will hopefully be the first time i have ever germinated a crownshaft palm, which im kinda excited about.
I know for washies i can just use solo cups.

[Fusca]

35 minutes ago, JLM said:

About how deep does the first pot need to be for the sylvestris and archontophoenix? I have plenty of 2 liter bottles that ive been collecting over time for deep rooted palm seedlings. This will hopefully be the first time i have ever germinated a crownshaft palm, which im kinda excited about.
I know for washies i can just use solo cups.

Phoenix seedlings tend to be a bit more root aggressive but not necessary right away like with Bismarckia or Hyphaene.  I've used 30 oz drink cups to start them (maybe 6" tall) .  Archontophoenix can start smaller, but they grow pretty fast.

[JLM]

29 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Phoenix seedlings tend to be a bit more root aggressive but not necessary right away like with Bismarckia or Hyphaene.  I've used 30 oz drink cups to start them (maybe 6" tall) .  Archontophoenix can start smaller, but they grow pretty fast.

Thanks for the info!

[Reyes Vargas]

6 hours ago, JLM said:

I recieved Washingtonia robusta, Phoenix sylvestris, and Archontophoenix alexandrae seeds this morning. I have a heat mat coming in hopefully on Thursday which will be a huge help with germinating these. No more using the cable box! Any tips? I have 0 experience with any of these, although i know the robusta should pop pretty easily.  Are any of these remote germinators? Anything would be greatly appreciated!

Where did you get Phoenix sylvestris seeds from?  I've been looking for some myself.

[JLM]

1 hour ago, Reyes Vargas said:

Where did you get Phoenix sylvestris seeds from?  I've been looking for some myself.

Exotic Cactus on Amazon
Imo, not a bad price for 50. We'll see how they grow!

[JLM]

Alright so heres the deal
Got the heat mat in on one of the last few days of December, seeds have been on the heat mat since i got it, soil temp has been steady at about 90F-95F
Germination by type:
W robusta - 4/12
P sylvestris - 2/? - i need to recount, but i think its around 21 total right now
A alexandrae - 0/12
Other older seeds:
S romanzoffiana - 0/3
B odorata (?) - 0/5

[kinzyjr]

@JLM Did you strip the fiber off of the Archontophoenix alexandrae seeds?  If none happen to sprout and you want a few, let me know and I'll send you a few seedlings.

[Scott W]

8 hours ago, JLM said:

Other older seeds:
S romanzoffiana - 0/3
B odorata (?) - 0/5

Butia can take much longer, upwards to two years, and according to some papers like more heat.  Also, most experience around at best a 50-60% germination rate in that time.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322309345_Optimization_of_Butia_odorata_Seeds_Germination

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346502774_Fertilization_in_Butia_odorata_seedlings_formation

[TheMadScientist]

I can only add information on the Butia Odorata.  @Scott W is correct on the lengthy germination time doing it natures way....BUT, if you search this forum using "odorata", I think around 2011 to 2013 time frame, look for a post by John Case in Brentwood - Bay area.  I believe he still holds the PT record at 19 days (mine sent by John Case was 38 days) using a bench vise, putting the north and south ends of the seed into the recessed screw locations holding the jaws...PUT A SMALL TOWEL OVER THIS BEFORE SQUEEZING OR YOU'LL BE KNOWN AS THE PIRATE PALM SEED GERMINATOR.  Upon hearing the slight "cracking noise", you might be able to remove the outer shell.

[JLM]

On 1/11/2022 at 5:27 AM, kinzyjr said:

@JLM Did you strip the fiber off of the Archontophoenix alexandrae seeds?  If none happen to sprout and you want a few, let me know and I'll send you a few seedlings.

I did on most of them except for two, i didnt know whether i was supposed to do that or not. About how long do they take to germinate? It hasnt been too awfully long since i put them on the mat.
 

On 1/11/2022 at 1:53 PM, TheMadScientist said:

I can only add information on the Butia Odorata.  @Scott W is correct on the lengthy germination time doing it natures way....BUT, if you search this forum using "odorata", I think around 2011 to 2013 time frame, look for a post by John Case in Brentwood - Bay area.  I believe he still holds the PT record at 19 days (mine sent by John Case was 38 days) using a bench vise, putting the north and south ends of the seed into the recessed screw locations holding the jaws...PUT A SMALL TOWEL OVER THIS BEFORE SQUEEZING OR YOU'LL BE KNOWN AS THE PIRATE PALM SEED GERMINATOR.  Upon hearing the slight "cracking noise", you might be able to remove the outer shell.

Haha, ive done the cracking thing before with no luck, they ended up molding pretty bad everytime. Ill see about trying it again soon after my run with what is assumed to be covid is over.

[kinzyjr]

2 hours ago, JLM said:

I did on most of them except for two, i didnt know whether i was supposed to do that or not. About how long do they take to germinate? It hasnt been too awfully long since i put them on the mat.

For me, somewhere between 2 weeks and 8 weeks typically.  I usually strip the fiber off as well.

[JLM]

--Update--
Germination by type:
W robusta - 4/12
P sylvestris - 3/? - still havent counted 
A alexandrae - 0/12
Other older seeds:
S romanzoffiana - 0/3
B odorata (?) - 0/5

The first sylvestris to germinate out of the batch is already being aggressive, i checked on it 24 hours ago and the actual seed was still at soil level, when i checked again a couple of hours ago the seed had been pushed up the side of the container by the root itself. 

[JLM]

Update:
I have 6 Washy seedlings and 2 germinated phoenix seeds that have taken off, no movement above soil yet though. More seeds soaking in water on the mat.

[violar]

Washingtonia robusta seeds are the easiest seeds to germinate. Go get a Styrofoam cup from a fast food restaurant, put the seeds inside, turn on the hot water from your faucet and fill it up with the hotest water that comes out. Put the lid on the cup and repeat for this every 24hrs for 5 days and they will start to germinate. 

[Las Palmas Norte]

On 12/25/2021 at 9:55 PM, JLM said:

Exotic Cactus on Amazon
Imo, not a bad price for 50. We'll see how they grow!

I did a quick Amazon search ... LOL. Suited for Canadian climate ... too funny.

 

[JLM]

8 hours ago, Las Palmas Norte said:

I did a quick Amazon search ... LOL. Suited for Canadian climate ... too funny.

 

LOL!

[JLM]

UPDATE:
W. robusta: 5 seedlings
P. sylvestris: 4 seedlings
S. romanzoffiana: 2 seedlings

I did not get any of the others to germinate. I will mention though that the germination rate was higher than the survival rate. I had most of my queens germinate out of the 12 seeds, with only 2 that lived long enough to produce leaves.

I have another pot of recently germinated seeds that have not popped up yet, ill be watching though. Cant remember all of whats in there but i think its like 3 queens and a sylvestris. Time will tell. I have also turned off the heat mat for the time being to let these seedlings get old enough for larger pots before starting anymore seeds. I only 6 pots big enough to fit 4 seedlings per pot, but i currently have a queen and 2 sylvestris filling 3 of them. The other three have other seedlings in them.