Pollinating Ravenea glauca timing and advice?

[Tracy]

Any experience or advice on when female flowers are open and receptive with Ravenea glauca?  The male seems a little more clear when it is shedding pollen.

Female flower spathe was cracked for a long time before it opened whereas the male just seem to pop open overnight.   Any other feedback on the time it takes for seeds to develop after pollination is of interest too.  I am interested in doing this less to propagate this species and more interested in learning for some of the rarer ones I am growing.   Granted I have never my others are a long way off from being sufficiently mature.

[SHEP]

Tracy, are these two trees, or are these dioecious?  Usually, for me, I will have one tree (both same age and batch of seeds) when male mature first, sometimes by weeks, then the female flowers.  At least for my large Phoenix Rupicolas, and Lytocaryum, and my very old, Trachycarpus Nanus. Cecile

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, SHEP said:

Tracy, are these two trees, or are these dioecious?  Usually, for me, I will have one tree (both same age and batch of seeds) when male mature first, sometimes by weeks, then the female flowers.  At least for my large Phoenix Rupicolas, and Lytocaryum, and my very old, Trachycarpus Nanus. Cecile

Hi Shep, Ravenea is a dioecious species.  My male plant is in the backyard and has been flowering for at least a couple of years while this is only the second flower spathe on the female.  The prior female flower spathe opened during a period when my male was not flowering, so I am fortunate now to have both the male and female flowering simultaneously.  The female plant is on the opposite side of the house.  While it is possible that I could get bees traveling from the male to the female plant, it certainly is not guaranteed since there are plenty of other flowering plants in between to distract them.  I anticipate that I would need to hand pollinate the female by either collecting some pollen off the male flowers or just cutting off a male inflorescence and bringing it around to the female and attempt to dust the female flowers.  I don't think this is like Chamaedorea species where hand pollination involves fine tipped paint brushes to dust the female flowers, but then again I don't know.

I am aware that in other parts of the country there are natural pollinators for Chamaedorea's making hand pollination unnecessary, but I have never had any success depending on local pollinators here with my flowering Chamaedoreas.  Any experience others have had with Ravenea that can be shared would be appreciated.

[Tracy]

I suspect that this species of Ravenea is pretty easy to pollinate because it does seem to be readily available for sale.  It appears that my effort pollinating is going well to this point.  Anyone know how much longer the fruit will be held on the inflorescence before it is ready to harvest for Ravenea glauca?  This is just over 4 months now from pollination of the female flowers.

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, Tracy said:

I suspect that this species of Ravenea is pretty easy to pollinate because it does seem to be readily available for sale.  It appears that my effort pollinating is going well to this point.  Anyone know how much longer the fruit will be held on the inflorescence before it is ready to harvest for Ravenea glauca?  This is just over 4 months now from pollination of the female flowers.

Well done on pollinating with my chameadorea adscedans i harvest the seeds when the next flowers appear an indication to me the seeds are ready to harvest not sure with the ravenea it could take two flower seasons or one best to wait until they start to drop off of or the birds or rodents get them then you know there ready for sure good luck it’s a shame customs in Australia changed the import laws with phytosanitary certificates required now a lot of palm species will become even more rare now that home gardeners cannot export but I respect our laws there there to protect our environment just some laws are a bit ridiculous (kharpa beetle) for the multi billion dollar grain industry has greater power over near extinct species of plants 

[Tyrone]

7 hours ago, Tracy said:

I suspect that this species of Ravenea is pretty easy to pollinate because it does seem to be readily available for sale.  It appears that my effort pollinating is going well to this point.  Anyone know how much longer the fruit will be held on the inflorescence before it is ready to harvest for Ravenea glauca?  This is just over 4 months now from pollination of the female flowers.

You’ve got nice healthy seeding specimens there. I don’t know how long yours have to go before being ripe, but earlier this year at the palm park on Reunion island I recall seeing the fruit being a dark blackish colour when ripe. They were dropping all over the ground there. 

[happypalms]

On 4/20/2023 at 12:56 PM, Tracy said:

Any experience or advice on when female flowers are open and receptive with Ravenea glauca?  The male seems a little more clear when it is shedding pollen.

Female flower spathe was cracked for a long time before it opened whereas the male just seem to pop open overnight.   Any other feedback on the time it takes for seeds to develop after pollination is of interest too.  I am interested in doing this less to propagate this species and more interested in learning for some of the rarer ones I am growing.   Granted I have never my others are a long way off from being sufficiently mature.

Thanks for the photos Tracy it appears I have two male palms in my garden and two yet to flower so hopefully a female will be present one day 

[Tracy]

3 hours ago, happypalms said:

Thanks for the photos Tracy it appears I have two male palms in my garden and two yet to flower so hopefully a female will be present one day 

I love the sweet and spicy fragrance from the male flowers.  Have you caught a whiff of your plants' flowers ?

[happypalms]

13 hours ago, Tracy said:

I love the sweet and spicy fragrance from the male flowers.  Have you caught a whiff of your plants' flowers ?

No I haven’t they just about to flower nw I shall keep a nose out for them my rothmania globosa is flowering now so that’s all I can smell in my garden a very fragrant tree 

[Tracy]

I noticed a few seeds now dropping so popped off the flesh rather easily and set these aside to finish cleaning.  I was planning to use the baggy method and heat to try germinating them.  Anyone have experience and know the typical timeline for Ravenea glauca seeds to sprout?

[happypalms]

23 minutes ago, Tracy said:

I noticed a few seeds now dropping so popped off the flesh rather easily and set these aside to finish cleaning.  I was planning to use the baggy method and heat to try germinating them.  Anyone have experience and know the typical timeline for Ravenea glauca seeds to sprout?

Good score those seeds well done on pollinating them iam still waiting on my female flowers (two male plants so far) to appear within the other three I have that have not flowered yet 

[Tracy]

49 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Good score those seeds well done on pollinating them iam still waiting on my female flowers (two male plants so far) to appear within the other three I have that have not flowered yet 

Male plant was about 3 years ahead in production of flowers even though the plants were similar in age.  Puberty hit him faster than than the girl.

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, Tracy said:

Male plant was about 3 years ahead in production of flowers even though the plants were similar in age.  Puberty hit him faster than than the girl.

Hi Tracy thank you for the palm information boys are always faster than the girls to hit puberty my garden and palms are producing seeds mostly chamaedorea sp my chambeyronia flowered for the first time last season and is flowering again I give my garden another 5 years and a lot of the interesting exotics will start producing flowers I hope being a 20 years plus age garden so not to long to go 

[Tracy]

On 9/1/2023 at 4:58 PM, Tyrone said:

You’ve got nice healthy seeding specimens there. I don’t know how long yours have to go before being ripe, but earlier this year at the palm park on Reunion island I recall seeing the fruit being a dark blackish colour when ripe. They were dropping all over the ground there. 

Here is the color of the ones dropping off my plant.  They were more an olive green when hard but the flesh is soft as they drop off and turn this fleshy color.

[happypalms]

23 hours ago, Tracy said:

Here is the color of the ones dropping off my plant.  They were more an olive green when hard but the flesh is soft as they drop off and turn this fleshy color.

Also a rule we had when picking fruit 🍎 is that if it is difficult to remove from the tree it’s not quite ready if it kinda falls off in your hand then it’s most likely ready 

[Tracy]

On 10/10/2023 at 7:02 PM, Tracy said:

Here is the color of the ones dropping off my plant. 

47 minutes ago, happypalms said:

if it is difficult to remove from the tree it’s not quite ready if it kinda falls off in your hand then it’s most likely ready 

Look ma.... no hands!

[Tyrone]

On 10/8/2023 at 10:32 AM, Tracy said:

I noticed a few seeds now dropping so popped off the flesh rather easily and set these aside to finish cleaning.  I was planning to use the baggy method and heat to try germinating them.  Anyone have experience and know the typical timeline for Ravenea glauca seeds to sprout?

Tracy it’s been a while since I germinated these, but I do know that viability is short so get them into germination media immediately. If my memory serves me correctly about 4-6 weeks is all these need at moderate temps of 26-28C. Fresh seed should give you great results. I’ve never germinated ultra fresh seed, so my seed from online was getting a bit past it once quarantine checked them and released them, posted them on etc. Old seed will give you lower or no germination and bad seed will just simply rot. Good seed will reward you. 

[Tracy]

On 10/12/2023 at 3:47 AM, Tyrone said:

Tracy it’s been a while since I germinated these, but I do know that viability is short so get them into germination media immediately. If my memory serves me correctly about 4-6 weeks is all these need at moderate temps of 26-28C. Fresh seed should give you great results. I’ve never germinated ultra fresh seed, so my seed from online was getting a bit past it once quarantine checked them and released them, posted them on etc. Old seed will give you lower or no germination and bad seed will just simply rot. Good seed will reward you. 

Checked on my baggy wrapped in aluminum foil on top of my water heater for heat.  Seeing some positive signs but will allow the seeds to remain in the baggy a bit longer. 

[Tracy]

As my male Ravenea glauca matures and gets a little taller, it seems to have increasing numbers of flower spathes emerging.  It is really loaded up right now, ready to pull the trigger any day!  My female seems a bit further behind but it is also a little less mature.

[happypalms]

Hi Tracy nice palm have you been successful in collecting any pollen and if so what technique was used thanks it’s one palm I really want to get seeds from the ones in my garden