widmill palm seed help

Discussion in 'Outdoor Tropicals' started by strongbad, Jul 12, 2004.

  1. strongbad

    strongbad Member

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    I have seeds from a windmill palm.do they need to be dryed befor germinating or can i germinate them at anytime.
     
  2. Wes North Van

    Wes North Van Active Member 10 Years

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    trachy seeds

    If the seeds are this years crop they won't be ready till Feb but if they are from last year a good test to see if they are OK is put them in water. If they float they are no good but if the sink you are in business. Soak them for 24 hours then remove the skin, plant them in 50% perlite and 50% peat moss put in a ziploc baggie. Make sure the soil medium is not too wet but just wet enough to squeeze a bit of water out. Zip the bag and wait. They should germinate in a month or so.

    Good Luck
     
  3. skipper46

    skipper46 Member

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    When to Pick?

    I have a Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) that is 28 years old and 16 feet tall. This summer, for the first time ever even though it blooms every year, it has produced ~100 seeds that are still on the tree :). Is there any way that these seeds are fertile since I have only the one windmill palm? I have had no problem germinating our South Carolina native cabbage palm by broadcasitng its seeds in my shrubbery beds but do not want to make a mistake with these rare (for South Carolina) seeds. What is the recommended time to remove these seeds from the tree and do I allow any time between picking and trying the baggy method? Thanks for any advice.

    skipper46
     
  4. Wes North Van

    Wes North Van Active Member 10 Years

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    Seeds

    I would wait until Jan or Feb for your trachy seeds. If there is another opposite sex palm close by, it is possible. Sometimes it is possible for a palm to get both types of flowers but this is rare.

    I am assuming your SC cabbage palm is a sabal palmetto. I picked my seeds in December.
     
  5. skipper46

    skipper46 Member

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    windmill seed help

    Wes,

    Thanks for the advice. After harvesting the seeds, do I immediately do the baggie or wait some time? Wouldn't you agree that one setting of seeds in 25 years of windmill blooms is rare? I guess I won't know until March. I'll let you know.

    Yes, sabal, our State tree and in the center of the State flag. I have one I transplanted in 1975 from the coast as a seedling. It is 21 inches in diameter with all boots and is 13 feet tall. It's the envy of the neighborhood since all the others in town were transplanted as mature trees without boots.

    Jim Ferguson
     

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  6. Wes North Van

    Wes North Van Active Member 10 Years

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    Trachy seeds

    After you have soaked the seeds for 24 hours then put the seeds in the ziploc bag with the soil mixture.

    It is very unusual for it to take that long. Trachycarpus are not real fans (No pun intended) of extreme heat that your area can get so perhaps that is what happened, I really don't know.
    They normal produce flowers with a trunk of three to four feet.

    I have about a dozen sabal palmetto seedlings. I would love to get a good sized one. They are a great looking palm especially with the boots.
     
  7. skipper46

    skipper46 Member

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    Windmill Seed Help

    Right, but do I wait any time between picking and soaking them? Our spring temperatures were a little below normal this year. Do you think that is why the seeds set this year? There were 8 flowers but only one of them set.

    We have sabal seedlings to waste here but I guess the distance is prohibitive.

    Anyway, thanks for all the help.

    Jim Ferguson
     
  8. Palm Nut

    Palm Nut Active Member 10 Years

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    I picked some off the palms downtown Vancouver this spring. Some I soaked for 24hrs, some I didn't. I originally started off with peat pellets. I'd say 85% of them sprouted.. but it took several months. I then put them in baggies and they really started to develop. Once they started forming fronds, I moved them to pots. Unfortunately, 1/2 of them continued to grow. Now, today, they are about 4" long.
     
  9. skipper46

    skipper46 Member

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    Thanks for the information. 1/2 of 85% is not bad. I hope I can do that well this coming spring. Rather than all seeds by the baggie method, I think I will try for some one seed per small container with a good potting soil in a large, glass covered aquarium with just a little water to keep the humidity high. I use this method for rooting all kinds of stuff. I read that palms are prone to being shocked if transplanted and I will try to avoid transplant shock by starting them in a pot and allowing tiem for a healthy root system first. Even if germination percentage is less, it might pay off. Any advice to the contrary? I know my sabal mentioned earlier in this thread did not grow at all for four years after transplanting.

    Jim Ferguson
    Columbia, SC
     
  10. Jim Ferguson

    Jim Ferguson Member

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    Windmill Seed Progress and Question

    Wes, at al.,

    I did the baggie method on ~450 trachy seeds as described in earlier posts. I put some in a potting soil, some in sphagnum moss and some in living sheet moss. I also did a gallon pot of potting soil with seeds thinly covered with peat moss "under glass". So far, I see 13 seeds that have produced a white "root", I guess, that protrudes from the seed above the surface of the substrate and then curves downward. What is the next step and when?

    Jim Ferguson
    Columbia, SC
     
  11. Wes North Van

    Wes North Van Active Member 10 Years

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    Jim

    I sent you a message.

    Cheers
     
  12. I've located about a dozen Windmill Palms here in Raleigh, NC. Most are fruiting profusely. So from what I'm reading here, I should wait till the dead of winter to harvest the seeds. Or does location affect harvest date? That is, should seeds at more northerly locations be harvested earlier? We had a very hot, dry summer here and the weather has cooled some only in the last week or ten days.
     
  13. Wes North Van

    Wes North Van Active Member 10 Years

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    When the seed is a dark colour they are probavly ready. Here in Vancouver that is around Jan / Feb. Noth Carolina is a zone 7, I believe so it may take longer but by March I would think you are in business.
     
  14. GJeffers

    GJeffers Member

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    Hi Jim,

    I came across your posting by doing an internet search for sabal palmetto seedlings in Columbia. I also live in Columbia, SC and have a Salbal Palmetto. I harvested seeds in December of last year and planted them in the spring. Today I noticed that some of the seeds have began to germinate. What luck have you had with the seedlings that you had germinate? So far, I only have a little white sprout coming out of the seeds. I'm wondering what the best method would be to replant them and care for them. Any suggestions you might give would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Gary Jeffers
    Columbia, SC


     

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