Any tips on growing Jubaea chilensis from seed?

[Carapace]

Hi, I'm quite new to the palm world, I've got like 8 Trachy. fortuneii seedlings which are doing well in pots and a bigger Chamaerops planted in the ground. I've fallen in love with Jubaea's tho, so I ordered 30 seeds from rarepalmseeds.
I have an idea on how to germinate these, I know I must soak them for like 2-3 days and then keep them warm and humid, but if any of you have any tips on germinating them it would be great to hear those!
Also, let's say they germinate, in the first year of their growth, can I keep them outside on a southfacing balcony in winter? We used to have quite harsh winters but in the last 10-12 years our winters have been very mild, with the lowest temp last year being -8c for a few hours during the night and we never had 1 single day of freezing temps during the day.

[Fusca]

There's plenty of information on this subject here - I've included a few threads below.  In my experience they seem to germinate better with a fluctuation in temperatures, ie very hot during the day and cool down at night like they would experience in nature.

 

[Jonathan]

I think that's good advice from @Fusca

I germinated a bunch of them several years ago...initially I had them in bags on a heat mat, but after a year, still no germination, so I threw the seeds out into the garden. About a year after that, I found a little clump of maybe 12 seedlings growing happily, so dug them up and potted them. 

I've had good success with Parajubaeas in Styrofoam boxes (no lid) in pure perlite. Sit the seeds on the surface, cover lightly with sphagnum moss and keep them just slightly damp, when the moss dries out, water them again. I had them in an unheated poly tunnel, so temperatures fluctuated night and day, germination started after 3 months. If I was to try Jubaea again, I would use this method.

[Las Palmas Norte]

Patience. 40 years worth of patience.

>>> Jubaea From Seed

[Enar]

Mine germinated on my countertop in a ziplock bag with a moist paper towel (after soaking a few days) I make sure I use bottled water for the most part and you may even want to sterilize the seed somehow. 

[fr8train]

I've tried several times with this palm and squirrels always get to the seeds before they can germinate. Out of all the palms I've tried, they seem to be the most attractive to pests. Even when they fall out of the palm they get eaten very quickly on the ground when many other palm's seeds are left alone. So a bit of something to keep in mind if you try sprouting them outside. 

[CascadiaPalms]

beautiful palm but takes a very long time to grow.

[Banana Belt]

In 1983 I planted two dozen Jubaea seeds 3 seeds per pot.  One sprouted shortly and then another, but is took almost two more years for another to sprout.  I knew next to nothing about sprouting or growing Jubaea, one died but the other two I planted in the ground around 1989 .  

I posted on these Jubaea on Palmtalk couple years ago.  It takes patience to grow a Jubaea, but the reward is worth it.

Recently the older palm which sprouted in 1983 finally produced fruit and nuts.  It took 41 years from seed to make another seed.  Jubaea are slow growers for many years and need care and protection from damaging frosts when young, but when they are close to their trunk growing stage, they bulk up rapidly and accelerate in growth becoming very hardy.  Today these two palms are:

[Banana Belt]

 

1 hour ago, CascadiaPalms said:

very long time to grow.

True, but once they get to the Trunk growing stage they accelerate rapidly.  Graph below is year by year approximate growth of a Jubaea planted from seed.  They grow at a parabolic rate slow in early years, speeding up and then rapid during adult trunk stage.  When in the trunk stage Jubaea will add about 18 inches of vertical trunk every year, which is pretty fast considering how much weight is being added.  Jubaea when adults probably add more weight per year than any other palm as they truly are heavy-weights.

Anyone wanting to grow a Jubaea without having to wait during its years of slow growth are advised to get one that is already 20 years old or before it starts a trunk.  There is a marked increase in growth at about 20 years when each new leaf is substantially bigger, and then another acceleration between 30 and 36 years when the trunk starts.

[Carapace]

On 12/7/2024 at 4:57 AM, fr8train said:

I've tried several times with this palm and squirrels always get to the seeds before they can germinate. Out of all the palms I've tried, they seem to be the most attractive to pests. Even when they fall out of the palm they get eaten very quickly on the ground when many other palm's seeds are left alone. So a bit of something to keep in mind if you try sprouting them outside. 

Thx for the advice, but I don't think I'll be able to sprout them outside, maybe in 30 years when the weather warms up enough during the winter for a little seedling to survive :).

[Carapace]

On 12/7/2024 at 1:20 AM, Enar said:

Mine germinated on my countertop in a ziplock bag with a moist paper towel (after soaking a few days) I make sure I use bottled water for the most part and you may even want to sterilize the seed somehow. 

Could spraying the seeds with rubbing alcohol work? Probably.
I'm gonna sterilise the soil itself though, I'm gonna cook it in the microwave the day before I plant the seeds, I'm also gonna use some sphagnum moss on top, which from what I know has antifungal properties.

 

[fr8train]

On 12/14/2024 at 5:24 AM, Carapace said:

Thx for the advice, but I don't think I'll be able to sprout them outside, maybe in 30 years when the weather warms up enough during the winter for a little seedling to survive :).

I'm in Texas so I was hoping the 40C+ days and hot nights would do the trick like the have with other tough to germinate seeds, but the squirrels got them first lol

I was able to get a bunch of Trithrinax campestris to come up this way, which is a very difficult palm to germinate from what I've heard, but again, zero luck with Jubaea chilensis.

[tarnado]

On 12/6/2024 at 8:52 PM, Banana Belt said:

Recently the older palm which sprouted in 1983 finally produced fruit and nuts.  It took 41 years from seed to make another seed. 

Holy moley extra spicy guacamole

Did you share any pictures of the flowering, fruiting/seed production?

[Banana Belt]

 

45 minutes ago, tarnado said:

flowering, fruiting/seed production?

Last inflorescence from the big Jubaea was couple weeks ago which I cut and sent half off to be used for pollinating.  The very first fruit and seeds produced last month were not abundant with only about half of the nuts fully mature.  These came in the middle to end of fall, which is not best time of year to produce fruit.  The complete inflorescence was about 4 feet long and weighed about 40 pounds.  Interesting how many of the Palm books and experts on Jubaea have said that they don't produce fruit or seeds until 40 years old, so my palm did so right on time 41 years.

[amh]

My experience is limited, but I have had good luck with surface sowing in community pots placed in a shady area outside. The seeds needed heat, but germinated best with daytime temperatures between 32C. and 35C

[tarnado]

On 12/17/2024 at 2:37 PM, Banana Belt said:

Last inflorescence from the big Jubaea was couple weeks ago which I cut and sent half off to be used for pollinating.

This is so awesome, thanks for sharing the pictures - and pollen with others, too!