Finding pure Washingtonia fiiferia seed source?

[big103]

Hi all my first post here.

As the title says i`m looking for pure strain Washingtonian fiilfera seeds. I have seen several seed companies sell online including shefields seed company and over 12 dozen ebay sellers. I was thinking of ordering from shefields but wanted to ask has any body had experience with there stock? Has anybody tried ebay? I know ebay is a huge gamble.

I know this palm hybridizes with its cousin w. robusta real easy which gives you filabusta. Were I live robusta is everywhere any filifera seeds I find will be a hybrid. Unless some one know of a grove of this guys in the bayarea that drops seeds.

Any help appreciated.

Edited November 7, 2017 by big103

[Kris]

Dear Justin,

Washy filifera seeds are available in the web site given below,they even ship in small quantities.I have tried this site and has given me great results too.

 http://rarepalmseeds.com/small.shtml

http://rarepalmseeds.com/pix/WasFil.shtml

Iam growing a washy filifera in our house garden but it has not flowered yet.If it did i would be happy to send w.filifera seeds for you.The seeds could be pure since no one is growing these palms in my city.Since its growing in hot wet/humid tropics it may appear a bit different  to washy filiferas seen in California and new mexico.

Here are the visuals of that palm :

Love,

Kris.

 

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, Kris said:

Dear Justin,

Washy filifera seeds are available in the web site given below,they even ship in small quantities.I have tried this site and has given me great results too.

 http://rarepalmseeds.com/small.shtml

http://rarepalmseeds.com/pix/WasFil.shtml

Iam growing a washy filifera in our house garden but it has not flowered yet.If it did i would be happy to send w.filifera seeds for you.The seeds could be pure since no one is growing these palms in my city.Since its growing in hot wet/humid tropics it may appear a bit different  to washy filiferas seen in California and new mexico.

Here are the visuals of that palm :

Love,

Kris.

 

Kris, that is interesting that your filifera hasn't flowered yet considering its height.  I wonder if your high humidity has anything to do with that?  After living in the Houston, Texas area (very humid) for several years I wondered the same thing - thousands of large washingtonias everywhere but only the very tall flowering.  Here in San Antonio it's much less humid most of the time and I see much shorter ones (less than half the size of yours) flowering and producing seed.  Of course the vast majority of these are likely hybrid filibustas.  Maybe the robustas and hybrids have different flowering habits?  By the way, I like how you have yours neatly trimmed. 

Jon

[Anthony_B]

Why not just take a road trip to the desert and get some from the local natives?  It could be a fun day trip or weekend/overnight.  Just something to consider!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

I stopped buying washingtonia seed online because of contamination (with robusta) despite the claim of "pure"seed and spent the time/money to make a trip to california and picked a few hundred thousand from isolated native stands that i only grow now. I have seen a difference in 1g hardiness of plants in the ground compared to rps seed or any other seller on ebay.  The 24" tall $8 1g plants that i offer here are all grown from that seed. 

[big103]

Thanks guys for the replay

Kris that is a great looking palm you have.

Yeah I have a feeling i`m going to have to find a grove of this guys somewhere in socal desert. I go to a horticulture school which sells a lot of CA       native plants. Thought it would be something cool to offer to the public. They seem to be hard to locate.

Thanks for the info texascoldhardy. I saw a lot more of them in socal but robusta seem to be ever were, even there in the Mojave desert. Like a weed. I did see an isolated grove wish i would have stopped now and got some.

Oh well that seems to be half the fun of growing plants is the tracking them down part. Looking on forum and auction sites. Maybe going to a grove.

Edited November 8, 2017 by big103

[Kris]

Dear Justin and Jon,

Thanks for your kind comments on our Washy palm.And a suggestion to Justin,If you are very particular in growing those lovely palms from seeds thats fine.But if you are in search for the true/pure W.Filiferas i would suggest you buy them from nurseries or farm which specializes in that particular variety.Why don't you contact Joseph of TexasColdHardyPalms for your requirement and pricing.I do not know how close your location is to his.

Like always i keep telling our members should encourage those palm dealers who are in our forum.Since Washies are very difficult to identify till they grow up to a size.Just by seeing the old boots,fronds,leaf colour or the hair like hangings on the leaf will not help to ID.In farm grown varieties the nursery guy knows what he is growing.

Ready made palms is what i call instant satisfaction..

I did not have the luxury of having palm nurseries in our city or state.So had to start from seeds,few bought from online dealers and mostly from our forum members as gifts.

Slow growth and heavy trunking are the main qualities of a Washy Filifera palm.BTW iam a fan of Washy Filifera palm too.

Love,

Kris.

[Darold Petty]

Big 103... The W. filifera grove at Anza Borrego State Park is fairly isolated, and it is a short hike (about 1 mile) from the parking lot. This is a beautiful oasis, with lots of bird and animal life attracted by the shade and water. 

  I would be confident with seed collection from this site.