Jump to content
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LOGGING IN ×
  • WELCOME GUEST

    It looks as if you are viewing PalmTalk as an unregistered Guest.

    Please consider registering so as to take better advantage of our vast knowledge base and friendly community.  By registering you will gain access to many features - among them are our powerful Search feature, the ability to Private Message other Users, and be able to post and/or answer questions from all over the world. It is completely free, no “catches,” and you will have complete control over how you wish to use this site.

    PalmTalk is sponsored by the International Palm Society. - an organization dedicated to learning everything about and enjoying palm trees (and their companion plants) while conserving endangered palm species and habitat worldwide. Please take the time to know us all better and register.

    guest Renda04.jpg

Rare Palm Seeds - RPS


PALM MOD

Rate this Seller  

130 members have voted

  1. 1. How would you rate this seller?

    • POSITIVE - Would recommend to others
      92
    • NEGATIVE - Would not recommend
      37


Recommended Posts

Thought I'd drop in a quick note that I received my batch of seeds today. About 20 different varieties half small packet orders and half large orders.

It took 2 weeks to process order and I called them twice after I read some of the feedback here wasn't too great. I was feeling a bit anxious.

Aussie customs took less than a week, so that's not too bad.

Seeds look great on the whole, well packaged and they are currently soaking in Nitrozyme with not too many floaters initially. I'll check again tomorrow and see how that's going. The really expensive Pelagodoxa Henryana seed looks excellent so far and 1 floater looks like a dud to the eye (and floats).

So far I'm quite happy with the purchase. Will keep you informed....

Andy

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is now...

~ Chinese Proverb

 

10344842_10152443920736742_914492094660907758_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nope. Was especially worried about the Pelagodoxa but they looked great and were nice and weighty.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is now...

~ Chinese Proverb

 

10344842_10152443920736742_914492094660907758_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...

Well...

On 27/12, I ordered (one more time but I think the last one) some seeds...

Each time I ordered seeds from RPS, condition of the seeds is wery bad and seeds are dry at 90%...

This time, I ordered some germinated seeds too....

Since dec27, no news...

RPS is definitly the worst website for ordering seeds !!!

  • Upvote 1

My palms collection : http://www.palmiers.eu

My B&B : bannongresort.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I just noticed that my replies which I thought were my concerns in ordering seeds.....have been deleted. AND I really would like to know why and what did I say that was so negative!

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a fair bit of censorship that goes on in here #justsaying

Dont be badmouthing the main sponsor Jeff ;-)

Edited by NApalm
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just noticed that my replies which I thought were my concerns in ordering seeds.....have been deleted. AND I really would like to know why and what did I say that was so negative!

Jeff - Just as your latest post above, your previous posts were not in line with the written policy for this forum. In addition, this is not a forum to discuss things which can and should be handled privately. Apparently you felt a need to publicly address Toby, and attempt to discuss your orders with him. And now you're doing the same in an attempt to publicly discuss my moderating. Both of these things should have been handled directly and privately between you and Toby, and between you and me.

You already asked me privately, and I explained it all to you - privately. Why do you also have to bring it up in public? It just invites more off-topic comments like the following.

There's a fair bit of censorship that goes on in here #justsaying

Dont be badmouthing the main sponsor Jeff ;-)

Please read the Rules and Guidelines for this forum - it clearly explains what is allowed to be posted here. And BTW - there have been plenty of negative comments allowed about our "main sponsor." However, this is not the place for inquiries and attempted discussions with a vendor about the status or delivery schedule of individual orders. And please, if you are critical of something "forum-wise," first give me the opportunity to explain things to you privately.

Any further comments that are off-topic, or do not conform to the policies of this forum, will be deleted as well.

Thanks to those of you who help make this a fun and friendly forum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

I have ordered a number of times and after following feedback from this thread only ordered fresh or NEW seeds in recent shipments. There have been some very mixed results still with some Dypsis almost 100% however this is the exception so I have found it is not worth it to deal with RPS. I have had great results dealing direct with the collectors so guess the trading of seeds vastly reduces the viability.

To be fair I have sent them an email some months ago to let them know and see what they might have to say (or do) but like many others here have had zero response.

I have wasted time and money with this company and wont be ordering again. If I treated my customers like this I'd be out of business...

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is now...

~ Chinese Proverb

 

10344842_10152443920736742_914492094660907758_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I bought some seeds again because my last order was good..

On18/06, I ordered and paid :

my order :

Elément: Borassodendron borneense (one seed)

Prix unitaire en EUR: 17.10

Quantité: 1

Prix total en EUR: 17.10

Elément: Dypsis andapae

Prix unitaire en EUR: 19.80

Quantité: 1

Prix total en EUR: 19.80

Today, I received envelop with only 7 seeds of Dypsis.... Envelop was in good condition...

What should I say ? Again,the service at RPS is bad !

:-(

My palms collection : http://www.palmiers.eu

My B&B : bannongresort.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I got heliconia seeds from RPS over 2 past years, but to my disappointment all of the seeds were dead, with none germinated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a wholesale order recently with RPS and Tobias seemed pretty good with customer service then, even answering a few questions for me via email. I think we all need to realize that seed viability is not under his control. When I buy thousands of seeds that I know are super fresh and viable from local dealers, sometimes I am lucky to get 25% germination rates at times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok but when you pay for 10 fresh seeds (New arrival on the website) and you receive only 7...and 3 are already dead.. and you have no news from RPS : Don't you think that RPS is very bad ???

My palms collection : http://www.palmiers.eu

My B&B : bannongresort.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok but when you pay for 10 fresh seeds (New arrival on the website) and you receive only 7...and 3 are already dead.. and you have no news from RPS : Don't you think that RPS is very bad ???

Philippe,

I am sorry some of your order was unfortunately sold out already, but you were only charged for seeds delivered. Silke has sent you several e-mails to explain that. As you apparently have some complaint with nearly every order, perhaps you should consider purchasing from a supplier that not so very bad as you claim we are.

Best, TOBY

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Philippe,

I am sorry some of your order was unfortunately sold out already, but you were only charged for seeds delivered. Silke has sent you several e-mails to explain that. As you apparently have some complaint with nearly every order, perhaps you should consider purchasing from a supplier that not so very bad as you claim we are.

Best, TOBY

Silke sent me one email to explain the problem regarding the seed of Borassodendron after writting my message on Palmtalk and sending many emails to RPS...but I didn't receive email regarding the poor quality of the Dypsis and the seeds missing !!!
  • Upvote 1

My palms collection : http://www.palmiers.eu

My B&B : bannongresort.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gentlemen, I believe your conversation is not in compliance with the forum rules. Please take this conversation offline, perhaps via PM. Thank you.

John Case

Brentwood CA

Owner and curator of Hana Keu Garden

USDA Zone 9b more or less, Sunset Zone 14 in winter 9 in summer

"Its always exciting the first time you save the world. Its a real thrill!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

10 x Sabinaria magnifica inside within 6 days after payment.

What can I say?

THANK YOU SO MUCH TOBY AND SILKE!!!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Sabinaria above ground here too Jos - +1 happy camper that is.

Over the last 5 or so years i have done several smaller and larger orders, with mixed results. My first ever seed order came from RPS, and i still have 1 Butia Yatay from that seed.

Generally i've observed two themes in RPS seed: there seems a clear relationship between price/exclusiveness and quality. More special seeds germinate well, more "common stock" seeds are hits and misses. I suspect these species are stocked in large amounts, resulting in the observed.

Secondly: seeds marked new in newsletter do better. Ive been quite consistent in ordering seeds as they are fresh/new, and generally get >70% of species to pop. The rest is my clumsiness i assume. Motto here is to not order old seed. With a bit of homework we know when seed is fresh. I also tend to eat seasons vegetables for a reason....

Responsetime, accuracy of delivery and delivery times are good - not a single issue over all these years. 1 species missing on stock lead to message and replacement with other (more expensive) species.

With last two orders over 500 US$ each in last 2 years i'm quite OK with rating RPS as positive. The extras in both large orders were well appreciated too. Thx Toby

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I value RPS as a tremendous resource for palm horticulture.  I agree that seed viability is more likely with inventory listed as 'New arrivals". 

I have no patience for complaints about RPS, not  pricing, ID, viability, or customer service.  RPS has limited control over age of seed when obtained, and what  label is on the seed lot. Let's really examine seed collection. 

Get a passport, travel to a foreign country, overcome language barriers, arrive at the species location (can be difficult with localized populations), arrive at the time of year for ripe seed, physically procure the seed (tall palms, difficult to climb, dense undergrowth requiring machete,) export the seed from country of origin (often illegal), import the seed to home country (For USA see Aphis 587 permit), OK ?

Or, a person can complain about seeds delivered to his home,.. seeds ordered with a few mouse clicks,... while sitting around in his pajamas  !!

peace out, and namaste to all,   :)  

IMG_2787.JPG

  • Upvote 7

San Francisco, California

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 It can sometimes happen that some species do not germinate,I personally try to buy always   new seeds marked in the newsletter and do better and germination is always been  good for me,
in recent weeks, I  have got seeds of 3 species of chamaedorea,(new seeds for sale )  look seed really good,if not there was rarepalmseeds, I do not know where I could find these seeds

GIUSEPPE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On Tue Nov 10 2015 05:01:54 GMT+0530 (Sri Lanka Standard, Darold Petty said:

I value RPS as a tremendous resource for palm horticulture.  I agree that seed viability is more likely with inventory listed as 'New arrivals". 

I have no patience for complaints about RPS, not  pricing, ID, viability, or customer service.  RPS has limited control over age of seed when obtained, and what  label is on the seed lot. Let's really examine seed collection. 

Get a passport, travel to a foreign country, overcome language barriers, arrive at the species location (can be difficult with localized populations), arrive at the time of year for ripe seed, physically procure the seed (tall palms, difficult to climb, dense undergrowth requiring machete,) export the seed from country of origin (often illegal), import the seed to home country (For USA see Aphis 587 permit), OK ?

Or, a person can complain about seeds delivered to his home,.. seeds ordered with a few mouse clicks,... while sitting around in his pajamas  !!

peace out, and namaste to all,   :)  

 

i'm agree with you,we can only hope palm seed germination

.here is another incident , there are some foxtail trees with full of red ripen fruits on a cafe parking , and owner give it free to customers and but most customers told seeds were  never germinated,

another noranbaya tree in a nursery and owner told only 30% of the seeds germinate

.we have a cane palm tree almost all of it's seeds germinate &  i planted more than 12  fresh arenga seeds but  0% germination  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I agree with Darold. RPS started my palm bug, I never could have believed such a site existed. If all of my seeds had arrived dead I still would have appreciated getting to see and touch things so rare and precious, and maybe... alive.

It was when my Puya raimondii sprouted that I was really a fan. Then my Aloe thraskii (from my birth country)... and Musa velutina. Then my Yucca filifera, Ceroxylon, Jubaea, Dypsis, Chamaedorea... are you kidding me? I dont even want to go to sleep at night, I feel so insanely blessed to have such a collection of sprouts in my humble bedroom, although sometimes I have waited weeks for their arrival.

The prices of palm seeds, soil, tools and fertilizer in general feels so reasonable to me as well, but I am in awe of modern horticulture.

positive vote

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

My experience coincide with most of what has been said. A lot of times, the seeds are great, sprout readily, and lots of the seeds I ordered are now nice and healthy palms, but sometimes they just seem old and rot quickly. The ones marked as NEW typically are better than others, but not always. The communication with RPS is average at best. Overall experience is positive though.

On 12.11.2013 23:58:04, Toby said:

Our webmaster is working day and night on a relaunch of our website. This will include replacing our dated software, a state-of-the-art shopping cart with online customer accounts, a greatly improved ordering process with fully transparent shipping cost, online tracking of order processing and shipping and much more. The new shopping cart will also be fully searchable, let you choose seeds based on what is suitable for the climate you live in, and will boast a plethora of additional search and filter options to help customers navigate though our extensive and ever growing range of seeds. I apologize if this sounds too pathetic but I hope we can shine with a much improved website and improved service and customer information in 2014.

I am a project manager as well, and I know projects get delayed. But based on my memory, the website still looks the same as in 2013. None of the changes have been implemented. It is 2016 after all. Is there any hope for us customers that any of this will come true?

Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, Hamal said:

My experience coincide with most of what has been said. A lot of times, the seeds are great, sprout readily, and lots of the seeds I ordered are now nice and healthy palms, but sometimes they just seem old and rot quickly. The ones marked as NEW typically are better than others, but not always. The communication with RPS is average at best. Overall experience is positive though.

Ditto: Those are also my experiences with RPS since 2002. :indifferent:

My photos at flickr: flickr.com/photos/palmeir/albums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Including my current order that is enough route I have purchased over 100,000 seeds from RPS. I try to purchase only the new arrival palm seeds, but the agave, yucca, sotol, and cycads have always been of high quality.  Some seeds are notorious for pests (large sabal seeds, brahea decumbens, t. Lactisectus) and come with a few critters,  but overall I have had a positive experience, and you cannot beat the variety of seeds offered ands is why I keep coming back. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

I have had generally good luck with seed orders from RPS but am reluctant to order in the future. I placed an order almost three months ago and after five emails with my order number etc. I have not had any response. It is very frustrating.

El Oasis - beach garden, distinct wet/dry season ,year round 20-38c

Las Heliconias - jungle garden ,800m elevation,150+ inches rainfall, year round 15-28c

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

I placed my first ever RPS order 10 days ago but they still haven't even charged my card. Is this normal?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is pretty normal, especially since in Germany we are at the end of two weeks of spring break. When I order from them, it can take up to three weeks to receive the seeds, even though German postal service typically delivers overnight.

  • Upvote 1

Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They just charged my card.

For you guys in Florida, how long does it usually take for the seeds to arrive? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Opal, it usually takes 1-2 weeks for them to charge your card.

I would say that I have had mixed results with RPS, I know I have spent over 10K with them since 2004. That may not be a lot but it adds up. 

I will agree that it is hard to get fresh seed and keep it fresh, I know there are going to be some that just won't perform well, but they do offer a good service as far as that goes. 

One problem I have is I contact them via email, questions about an order I want to place, and get no response, ever. To me, not responding at all is worse than staying "go to hell" because it's basically saying you aren't worth my time to respond. Meanwhile, I'm trying to hand them $500+ and I wonder if they really have profitable intentions.

If you read this thread, can you respond to my emails? I'm trying to give you money here!  

  • Upvote 2

Christian Faulkner

Venice, Florida - South Sarasota County.

www.faulknerspalms.com

 

Μολὼν λάβε

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On April 25, 2017 at 6:53:21 PM, Opal92 said:

They just charged my card.

For you guys in Florida, how long does it usually take for the seeds to arrive? 

It can take several weeks for seeds to arrive from Germany. So far I haven't had a problem with non-delivery. Germination results can vary. I've learned the following from my orders: 1) I only buy seeds listed as "New" and 2) I avoid buying tiny seeds, which are almost never viable by the time I get them. I also research each genus of seeds I am considering, as some palms are very difficult to germinate, i.e., Neoveitchia. For example, I've never had success germinating any sp of Butia, so I avoid that whole genus. And I try not to be sucked into buying extremely price-y seeds so I won't be heartbroken if I fail with them. And it never hurts to go on PT about any species. I did that recently regarding seeds of Areca catechu dwarf and avoided making an expensive mistake.

One more tip: DO Not be talked into wasting money on seeds of variegated palms. Your chances of getting variegation are 2 to 4 out of 1,000 seeds - if you are lucky. Seed vendors never release that info, which irks me no end.  One vendor pulled a "gotcha" on me when I was a newbie and I don't want anyone else being suckered.

  • Upvote 4

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

It can take several weeks for seeds to arrive from Germany. So far I haven't had a problem with non-delivery. Germination results can vary. I've learned the following from my orders: 1) I only buy seeds listed as "New" and 2) I avoid buying tiny seeds, which are almost never viable by the time I get them. I also research each genus of seeds I am considering, as some palms are very difficult to germinate, i.e., Neoveitchia. For example, I've never had success germinating any sp of Butia, so I avoid that whole genus. And I try not to be sucked into buying extremely price-y seeds so I won't be heartbroken if I fail with them. And it never hurts to go on PT about any species. I did that recently regarding seeds of Areca catechu dwarf and avoided making an expensive mistake.

One more tip: DO Not be talked into wasting money on seeds of variegated palms. Your chances of getting variegation are 2 to 4 out of 1,000 seeds - if you are lucky. Seed vendors never release that info, which irks me no end.  One vendor pulled a "gotcha" on me when I was a newbie and I don't want anyone else being suckered.

Thanks for your advice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I'm having a pretty good first experience with RPS so far. The 2 species of Eucalyptus (which btw weren't listed as "new" on the website) sprouted after just 5-6 days, and Araucaria cunninghamii is just now sprouting.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately, you never know what kind of quality you get (new or not new). I just received a package with three different species. Two species were already germinated 100%, the third species 100% floaters. Sometimes they still sink after 24 hours, but that shows it is a bit of a gamble...

And BTW, other than PalmTalkers with mature and fruiting garden palms whose seeds they are willing to ship across the world, what are the alternatives?

Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...