I am just too excited to keep it for myself...

[palmfriend]

Hello everyone,

it is my first topic at all - so, please don`t be too strict if you find any mistakes - but I am, as mentioned,

just too excited not to bring it up!

Ok, what is it?

After buying small packets from those traders here and there who had palm seeds from THAT palm available what I was

looking for, I checked and waited and checked and waited for almost a year and finally got slowly disappointed and slightly

disenchanted, because it seemed that those seeds immediately died right after they had popped up, every time.

So, I checked all my seeds with some kind of unexcited routine shortly after that weekend, when that huge cold wave rolled

down the eastern US, parts of Europe and East Asia - there was even a very light snowfall in northern Okinawa (the first

for 115years !) - and then I almost jumped: Look, what I`ve found!

My first (and hopefully not last) Pigafetta elata! What a beauty!

It looks like a couple of days old, it must have slipped through when I checked those seeds before - and before risking anything I put it in a small pot

and placed in a warm and humid spot. (An empty aquarium with a heating mat.)

And here it is two days later:

I think it is going to make it.

Ok, and the sugar on the cake is that the first of my beccariophoenix alfredii seeds showed signs of life as well!

What a day!!!

If anyone has any kind of pieces of advice how to proceed from here - I would be very thankful! I am definitely going to plant at least one of them out in my yard.

Ok, thank you for your attention - I sometimes can`t keep it short...

best regards

 

palmfriend

 

 

[Jeff Searle]

First....your pictures are great!! Wow. And congrats on the seed germination. Sometimes it does take longer than expected.

[Alberto]

Congratulations!  You never forget your first germinated palm seed! :-) I remember when my first seeds of Trachycarpus martianus and T. latisectus germinated. Pure joy! Now this palms are beginning to form seeds for me!

[Steve Mac]

Wow nice photography. 

Don't forget to keep records, I regret not having  done that. 

[PalmnutVN]

That most certainly gives me hope. I've had a baggie of Pigafetta on the boil now for almost three months and still nothing. Needless to say, I'll keep my fingers crossed for a similar miracle... Great macro photography too!

[Flow]

What is the secret with pigafetta? I have tried three times with no success ( 2x filaris and 1x elata).

[PalmnutVN]

They need to be super fresh.... However, as the above shows, never give up hope, even with old seed

[palmfriend]

Hello,

it is almost a week ago since I started this topic and I think it is about time to thank all of you who shared this

topic with me and who gave such kind and encouraging comments. Thank you very much!

I am not an expert, so I am honestly not knowing what triggers the pigafetta elata seeds to germinate.

We had a long warm summer last year (from April to November) and a very mild winter so far (except that cold weekend

around Jan.24th/25th) and all I did was keeping them warm and moist without providing extra heat. So, all I can guess

is that it might be a shift of the overall temperature (start of the winter) but as mentioned, I do not know for sure.

During the winter season I am usually providing some little extra heat - I put the boxes and the very young seedlings in

an empty aquarium with a heating mat placed underneath to keep the seeds warm and to protect the seedlings through their

first steps of their hopefully long life.

And yes, I put asap a label on the pots because it really happens that you loose track of what is what - against my strong

disbelief as I read about that possibility for the first time... I now have two palms in my yard (grown from seeds) and I have

no clue what they are. (If I won`t find out at all what they are, I will post it. But they are still young, so, no need to hurry.)

Ok, that`s all for the theory today - now let`s move to some exciting things:

Here is the pigafetta from last week... (I am now pretty sure it will do well.)

And here it seems that "number 2" is on the way!!!

And finally...

My beccariophoenix alfredii got sisters and brothers, too!!!

I guess I am safe with them now - one of them is definitely going to make, if not all all of them. I will keep a close eye on them and of course on my

pigafettas as well!

Ok, thank you very much again for your attention and I am sorry for the long introduction - please share your thoughts/advices if you would like to,

 

best regards

palmfriend

 

[palmfriend]

Hello everyone,

it is now about six weeks ago since my first pigafetta and a few beccarios jumped into life and I thought about

giving a short update - at least for all of those of you who gave some of their valuable time to read/comment this topic

so far and might be interested in a follow up...

To keep it short, here we go:

Here is the pigafetta elata from the very first picture - now almost seven weeks old and

already...

well armed!

Here is my fastest becccario...

...no comparison to the pigafetta but it does pretty well, I would say.

And finally its good looking brothers and sisters...

...moments before they got potted for the first time.

Unfortunately the second pigafetta didn`t make it but I have still some good looking seeds, so I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Btw, yesterday I discovered that for the first time one of my corypha utan seeds has germinated! - At the moment it is probably way

too early to get excited but I am on it and will put photos of it in this topic, if it does well.

Ok, that should it be for the moment - thank you for your attention! As mentioned before, any comments or advices are welcome

any time -

best regards

palmfriend

 

[palmfriend]

Hello everyone,

it`s been a while ago since I started this little thread and after some very busy weeks (job & family) I thought

I should give a little update about what`s going on so far.

Here is the very first (and unfortunately still only) Pigafetta I have but it does very well. Look at it:

After four months, a little beauty...but...

"getting more and more ready for life".

I think I will keep it potted at least for a year before giving it a try in the yard....

In the meantime almost all of my Beccarios have germinated, now there are about twenty of them

and they do well, too!

Here is the fastest one, already getting its second leaf:

You can see in the background those cut off pet bottles - I got this idea from Robusta Env.`s thread -

which are really helpful with this species and its long roots.

*

As some of you may know, the Satakentia Liukiuensis [jap.: Yaeyama yashi(palm)] is originally from this area -

but to be very exact: from the so called Yaeyama island group (Ishigaki island, Iriomote island and a few other smaller ones)

southwest of Miyako island. There are plenty of them here as well but the most interesting thing is, you won`t find them

in the local nurseries - no way! I was looking for them all the time but without any success. There are sold on the internet but

not by a single local company... And to be honest I didn`t see the point to buy a plant from the outside (usually with a hefty delivery charge)

while living among them... So I collected seeds here and there during the last years but never got any one germinated...

until I came across that wonderful Satakentia in our botanical garden: (it must have been in December or January)

It must have been the wright time when my kids and I pulled around 30 seeds out of the ground -

after cleaning them up I soaked them in water and put them in a box with peat moss (expecting not much again)

and then it started... one after another germinated! I have now around 25 seedlings! Unbelievable!

(I will provide photos the next time, they are still too small to be presented.)

Sometimes it is probably all about timing....

Ok, finally two other good news:

My Areca lutescens (the only palm in our yard from the former owner)

started to fruit:

My first own fruiting palm!! (Yeah!!)

And finally - one of my three Veitchias

started to trunk!!

So, spring has arrived over here - and I am really looking forward to this years hopefully very long summer!

Ok, that`s it for today!

Thank you very much for following, any comments or advices are really appreciated -

best regards

 

[Kris]

Great Job And fantastic visuals...

Love,

Kris.

 

[palmfriend]

19 hours ago, Kris said:

Great Job And fantastic visuals...

Love,

Kris.

 

Kris, thank you very much for your kind words!

Btw., I have just read JT`s thread about his seedlings and got inspired to put a photo of my little indoor-greenhouse

online to show with what seedlings I am currently busy with.

Here we go:

So, everything is being laid out now, further updates will most likely be based on these seedlings (if I don`t come across some other

very interesting species... )

Thanks again for following -

best regards

(PS:the very small "Ceroxylon quind." in the center is probably a mistake while editing, please don`t mind)

 

[Kris]

Nice set up and wish you all the best.

[Josh-O]

quite the collection

[JT in Japan]

On 3/10/2016, 10:18:41, palmfriend said:

Here is my fastest becccario...

...no comparison to the pigafetta but it does pretty well, I would say.

And finally its good looking brothers and sisters...

...moments before they got potted for the first time.

Congrats on the Pigafetta and Alfredi. I have a pot of just-sprouting Beccariophoenix Alfredi as well, Lars. When they were the size of your five "siblings," I put them in loose potting soil and then outside in the garden. I want to try more community pots, to see how they come along compared to those grown in small nursery liners. I'll let you know how they go over the summer.

JT

[Steve Mac]

Wow nice photography. 

Don't forget to continue to keep records, I regret not having  done that. 

And it is easy to see who wears the pants in your house, you have got it easy. I am pussy whipped to blazers, I can't even put a zip lock plastic bag of seeds on the furniture. 

[palmfriend]

Hi there,

thank you very much for participating!

On 2016/5/14 15:42:57, Kris said:

Nice set up and wish you all the best.

Kris,

Thank you very much and I am wishing you all the best for your own projects as well!!

I`ll keep you updated!

On 2016/5/15 10:52:25, Josh-O said:

quite the collection

Josh,

this came more or less all together by "gut feelings" - based on reading threads at palmtalk, being impressed by superlatives

(e.g. Pigafetta elata: fastest growing palm in the world, Ceroxylon quind.: tallest palm in the world...), astonished by visuals

(Licuala ramsayi, Clinostigmas, Beccario.alfr., Dypsis pembana/lastelliana/robusta) and sometimes simply by "how to round up

the price on the order list" ....

So, there is no big plan behind so far but I believe that you "grow"  somehow with your plants and you start to value them again

when repotting them or putting them in the ground, running outside during a typhoon to check the protection measures because

you are afraid of loosing them...and so on. Each species gives a lot of pleasure somehow and I am really enjoying it.

(I know, a long reply but as mentioned above, sometimes I can`t keep it short - a thought should be written to the end...)

2 hours ago, JT in Japan said:

Congrats on the Pigafetta and Alfredi. I have a pot of just-sprouting Beccariophoenix Alfredi as well, Lars. When they were the size of your five "siblings," I put them in loose potting soil and then outside in the garden. I want to try more community pots, to see how they come along compared to those grown in small nursery liners. I'll let you know how they go over the summer.

JT

JT,

Thank you very much!

Well, I think I am going to put a few pots outside during the next days - but I will keep some of them inside as well. Sometimes I think I should have kept some of

my other seedlings a little bit longer inside (Clinostigma ponapense, Ceroxylon quind.) until they were more established. Some of my outside placed seedlings from

last spring are barely bigger then the much younger ones inside which are keeping up with an enormous speed.

I will keep you posted as well!

best regards

2 hours ago, gtsteve said:

Wow nice photography. 

Don't forget to continue to keep records, I regret not having  done that. 

And it is easy to see who wears the pants in your house, you have got it easy. I am pussy whipped to blazers, I can't even put a zip lock plastic bag of seeds on the furniture. 

Steve,

Thank`s a lot! I promise I`ll keep records!

And NO, it is not as it seems! I was just using the most remote unused room secretively...until my wife found out last week! But she took it cool (this time) .

best regards

 

 

Edited May 16, 2016 by palmfriend

[realarch]

Lars, looks as though you have a bad case of the 'Palm Fever'. There is no cure for it. Good on you, love it.

Tim

[Alicehunter2000]

Had to click on your name to find out where your located....Okinawa?  .... for those of us that are unfamiliar....can you give us some details about your island and some more landscape/local scenery pictures.....it's always facinating to see others growing areas. Great progression on the various seedlings. There is always something special about growing plants from seeds.

[palmfriend]

Hello there,

2 hours ago, realarch said:

Lars, looks as though you have a bad case of the 'Palm Fever'. There is no cure for it. Good on you, love it.

Tim

Tim,

thank you and yes, it seems there is nothing that can be done about it...

Btw. ...

I have just rearranged my little indoor greenhouse...expecting a new delivery from rps...

2 hours ago, Alicehunter2000 said:

Had to click on your name to find out where your located....Okinawa?  .... for those of us that are unfamiliar....can you give us some details about your island and some more landscape/local scenery pictures.....it's always facinating to see others growing areas. Great progression on the various seedlings. There is always something special about growing plants from seeds.

David,

thank you very much as well!

Well, "very" roughly spoken you may call Okinawa the Florida of Japan while Miyako island plus the Yaeyama-islands southeast of Miyako

might be seen as the Key West of Japan`s Florida. Very long humid summers, spring and fall are very short, two months of winter (Jan/Feb)

with no freezes and snow and with sometimes many sunny days and temperatures around 77F/25C (most extreme low 49F/9C but never

longer than one day max), we have a rain season as well and we are right in the middle of the typhoon area

I guess there is a lot that can be grown here and I am on the way to find out...

Two examples:

Here are...

my three years old W.robustas (I know, I have probably planted them way too dense - beginner`s mistake...)

and...

one of my cocos nuciferas (probably six years old)....

And there is much more on the way...

If you would like to know more about the origin (palm) species of Ryukyu/Okinawa, there is this wonderful thread from

Pal Meir - I can really recommend it!!

I hope that these pieces of information are helpful for the moment -

best regards

Lars

 

[Pal Meir]

Very nice thread!  — Satakentia seeds must always be super-fresh, the same with your Cyrtostachys renda seeds, I fear. — Your greenhouse looks like my living room.  — And here a photo for the Germination Album of your Alfred Beccari Family:

[Alicehunter2000]

Pal is a great source of info. especially concerning seed germination and potted plants. Very technical guy with great photo's like the one above. He is a great asset here on PT.

Those Washies will sort themselves out when they get larger....they will grow at different rates and space is much greater the higher up you go. No worries there.....the coco's is great looking palm! .... if you can grow that...you can grow an amazing number of things....what look are you going for? ..... full on rainforest look? or something more traditionally Japanese and structured?

[palmfriend]

23 hours ago, Alicehunter2000 said:

Pal is a great source of info. especially concerning seed germination and potted plants. Very technical guy with great photo's like the one above. He is a great asset here on PT.

Those Washies will sort themselves out when they get larger....they will grow at different rates and space is much greater the higher up you go. No worries there.....the coco's is great looking palm! .... if you can grow that...you can grow an amazing number of things....what look are you going for? ..... full on rainforest look? or something more traditionally Japanese and structured?

David,

thank you for your reply and your comment about my Washies! So I will let nature take its course and enjoy their 

growing.

Well, regarding our yard I think I would like to go for a kind of rainforrest - gtsteve's and Kim's garden photos are very

inspiring - because I simply like it and it might also be the best way to protect plants from the typhoons. 

Otherwise I have to leave space for our kids to play and for our BBQs, so I have to balance it out somehow.

I still haven't decided anything finally yet, I will let myself be driven by how everything grows and will then take 

steps here or there. 

In the meantime I am going to put here some updates from time to time and keep myself informed and inspired by our

great palmtalk forum -

best regards

Lars

[palmfriend]

Hello everyone,

just as a short update, I have got my new seeds today.

My currently MOST WANTED Dypsis leptocheilos, then the Heterospathe b.(just looks awesome), my final attempt on

Cyrtostachus renda (I have already bought a few packages of seeds but never got lucky), Geonoma mooreana (caught my attention somehow)

and finally (and that`s what this whole update triggered)...

..my second attempt on Hydriastele b. - and look, ALL of the seeds have germinated during the delivery (must have been a pleasant journey...)

Ok, thank you for your time again -

best regards

[palmfriend]

Hello everyone,

after another month I thought it is time for a short update again - and to keep it short, let`s go to the visuals.

Here is the most actual photo of the plant, that triggered this thread:

...my beautiful Pigafetta elata. I would say it is doing very well so far, pushing one spear after another.

Next time, when I have to repot it,...

...I got to be careful.

In comparison, germinated at almost the same time (Jan/Feb):

my fastest growing...

...Beccariophoenix alfredii. (The other 15 or 16 ones are keeping up at almost the same speed.)

My (most wanted) new Dypsis species...

D. lastelliana and (new born from the lastest delivery)...

...a D. leptocheilos! I am so glad, really!

Germination rate: 12 out of 13 (D.lastelliana) and 3 out 12 (D.leptocheilos) so far.

The Satakentias doing well, too - I have lost about 5 - but the remaining 14 are...

going to make it. What a nice strong green!

Finally, after the Pigafetta my second most exotic one...

...a Corypha utan. I have just put the upper cut off pet bottle on top of two others when the root started to touch the bottom of the first pet bottle -

the third leave came out after the "modification" and it seems it took it pretty well. (But I have no clue how long I may keep it potted - I will need

to check the forum.)

And finally, and finally... - and finally:

After a very long year with several orders and the beginning of a slowly fading hope...

May I introduce to you:

My very first Cyrtostachys renda!!! Yeah!!! 

Well, that took some time - but I got lucky after all! It might be a real zone pushing experiment, but I am really looking forward to it!

Oh,...

...here is number two... which is almost too much luck for the moment... But I am not complaining at all!

Ok everyone, that should it be for the moment - thank you for your time again, any comments or advices are as always appreciated,

best regards

palmfriend

 

[sarasota alex]

Lars, thanks for the great story and photos!

Wanted to also comment on Piggy germination. I got a bunch of super-fresh Pigafetta elata seeds last May. I divided them between three bags and left them under different conditions. The bag that I left out in the lanai in the summer heat and under sun for a portion of each day had them start to pop like popcorn in a microwaveable between mid-July to late August. And soon I had all three bags out like that. Sadly none of those seedlings survived. Some I didn't take out of their bags fast enough. I travel a lot and I noticed that if you let them sit in that bag for a couple of weeks after germination they begin to rot. I think I ended up potting about 8 of them and 6 were killed in what I later realized to be robins digging up seeds in my seedling pots. In any case - I thought all was lost, but left the few seeds that were still left in those bags. The next small wave of germinations came with 3 seedlings sprouting in November, January and February. A whopping 9 months after the seeds were collected and put in bags! Not bad for the "the seeds need to be fresh" Pigafetta elata. Only one survived to this day - the January one. It's now over 2 feet tall with a new leaf coming out every 2-3 weeks. 

[Howeadypsis]

I don't think I've  heard of Pigafetta before, a rattan palm?

It looks great with those tiny thorns!

Edited July 9, 2016 by Howeadypsis

[palmfriend]

On 2016/7/10 2:37:05, sarasota alex said:

Lars, thanks for the great story and photos!

Wanted to also comment on Piggy germination. I got a bunch of super-fresh Pigafetta elata seeds last May. I divided them between three bags and left them under different conditions. The bag that I left out in the lanai in the summer heat and under sun for a portion of each day had them start to pop like popcorn in a microwaveable between mid-July to late August. And soon I had all three bags out like that. Sadly none of those seedlings survived. Some I didn't take out of their bags fast enough. I travel a lot and I noticed that if you let them sit in that bag for a couple of weeks after germination they begin to rot. I think I ended up potting about 8 of them and 6 were killed in what I later realized to be robins digging up seeds in my seedling pots. In any case - I thought all was lost, but left the few seeds that were still left in those bags. The next small wave of germinations came with 3 seedlings sprouting in November, January and February. A whopping 9 months after the seeds were collected and put in bags! Not bad for the "the seeds need to be fresh" Pigafetta elata. Only one survived to this day - the January one. It's now over 2 feet tall with a new leaf coming out every 2-3 weeks. 

Alex, you are welcome - and thank you very much for your description about your experiences with the pigafetta seeds! Very interesting!

I still have a couple of seeds left - maybe I could initialize a jump start with putting the box out in the sun.

Btw., yesterday I repotted my pigafetta because the roots were again coming out through the holes - and because it is the only one

I have so far, I don`t want to take the risk of losing it. So, it is now in the biggest pot I am using, placed outside with getting two, three hours

of direct sun - next step will be: "releasing it in the ground"... We will see, how it goes under our local conditions -

I will keep you posted!

best regards

 

[palmfriend]

On 2016/7/10 2:57:32, Howeadypsis said:

I don't think I've  heard of Pigafetta before, a rattan palm?

It looks great with those tiny thorns!

Larry, those thorns will become much bigger and thicker from now!

I do not really know, what a rattan palm is but the pigafetta elata is known as a very fast - if not the fastest - growing palm in the

world, at least in its habitat in Indonesia. (some sources say about 4 meters growth per year) So, that got me hooked and

I am giving it a try over here. It is probably not wind proof - which is not good when growing it in the typhoon zone - but I will take

measures as far as I can.

best regards

 

[Howeadypsis]

Id love one as a house plant!

[palmfriend]

Hello everyone,

August has started, the heat is present all day and night - and until now just one typhoon which wasn`t even

close to us - rain showers every second or third day with a lot of sun, perfect for the plants! (..and weeds)

Ok, I got a lot of pictures to show - so, to those of you who are interested in being updated, lay back and enjoy:

Here is one of my still pretty young but already very nicely looking...

Dypsis lastelliana....followed by...

Dypsis leptocheilos (sry for the bad quality)...and here the big surprise from the last update...

...the fastest of my currently...

...nine (!) Cyrtostachys renda....I am absolutely overwhelmed with joy!

(In the back you can see my Satakentias.)

Here are my very well doing...

...Clinostigma ponapense....

Here, my one and only...

...Bentinckia Nicobarica - it looks pretty healthy, I think...

Next one,...

...my group of Licuala ramsayi. They are taking they time but hanging in - no loss so far.

(In the right back are two of my Ceroxylon quindiuense.)

Here is another real exotic one...

...Corypha utan - and it is pushing the next leaf,

...- oh, not really good to see, I am sorry - but it seems to like his funny looking pot. 

Ok, and here the last two updates from the "indoor-greenhouse":

...after a long time of waiting, my first Coccothrinax borhidiana seedling - I hope it will do well!

Finally...

...my Beccariophoenix alfredii - doing absolutely well so far...so, I should start to think about putting at least one of them outside or in the ground...

Last news from the outside:

The trigger of this thread - my Pigafetta elata - is now outside four almost a month...

..and is looking phantastic...and...

...dangerous... I guess for putting it in the ground I am going to need some protecting tool.

Ok, last one - in the update on May 12th I posted a picture of my trunking Veitchia joannis...

..and that`s the same one now...

...with a closer look...

...with a cold beverage for scale... Amazing! Veitchia joannis "rocks" over here!

So, let me finish this update with this nice picture of one of my plumerias -...

Ok, thank you again for your time and patience!

I am now taking care of the cold beverage...

best regards

 

[palmfriend]

Hello there,

I DID NOT intend to bump my own thread so soon but when I went outside to pick up fallen leaves

and to check some new plantings I did yesterday (some crotons and a Barringtonia racemosa),

I gave a closer look to my first planted cocos nucifera - inspired by Mr.Coconut Palm`s thread and

his latest update - btw., here she is...

...and while I was more looking for bugs or possible damages caused by them,

my eyes stopped dead and locked on this...

...can you see it??!! Ok, from another angle...

It is starting to flower!!! My first flowering coconut palm!!!

Folks, I just needed to let it out - I am really excited!

Ok, thanks again for following -

best regards

 

 

[PalmTreeDude]

Looks great!

[foxtail]

On 5/12/2016, 3:56:34, palmfriend said:

Hello everyone,

it`s been a while ago since I started this little thread and after some very busy weeks (job & family) I thought

I should give a little update about what`s going on so far.

Here is the very first (and unfortunately still only) Pigafetta I have but it does very well. Look at it:

After four months, a little beauty...but...

"getting more and more ready for life".

I think I will keep it potted at least for a year before giving it a try in the yard....

In the meantime almost all of my Beccarios have germinated, now there are about twenty of them

and they do well, too!

Here is the fastest one, already getting its second leaf:

You can see in the background those cut off pet bottles - I got this idea from Robusta Env.`s thread -

which are really helpful with this species and its long roots.

*

As some of you may know, the Satakentia Liukiuensis [jap.: Yaeyama yashi(palm)] is originally from this area -

but to be very exact: from the so called Yaeyama island group (Ishigaki island, Iriomote island and a few other smaller ones)

southwest of Miyako island. There are plenty of them here as well but the most interesting thing is, you won`t find them

in the local nurseries - no way! I was looking for them all the time but without any success. There are sold on the internet but

not by a single local company... And to be honest I didn`t see the point to buy a plant from the outside (usually with a hefty delivery charge)

while living among them... So I collected seeds here and there during the last years but never got any one germinated...

until I came across that wonderful Satakentia in our botanical garden: (it must have been in December or January)

It must have been the wright time when my kids and I pulled around 30 seeds out of the ground -

after cleaning them up I soaked them in water and put them in a box with peat moss (expecting not much again)

and then it started... one after another germinated! I have now around 25 seedlings! Unbelievable!

(I will provide photos the next time, they are still too small to be presented.)

Sometimes it is probably all about timing....

Ok, finally two other good news:

My Areca lutescens (the only palm in our yard from the former owner)

started to fruit:

My first own fruiting palm!! (Yeah!!)

And finally - one of my three Veitchias

started to trunk!!

So, spring has arrived over here - and I am really looking forward to this years hopefully very long summer!

Ok, that`s it for today!

Thank you very much for following, any comments or advices are really appreciated -

best regards

 

Hi mate, 

Which method did you used for germinate the pigafetta? 

[palmfriend]

Hi there,

I am ususally using little plastic boxes, filled with peat moss. The seeds are soaked into water for one

or two days after their arrival by mail - and thats it!

If the species is very valuable too me, I split them up and put them in more than one box to minimize loosing

them all at once due to fungus, rot etc.. I am not using any chemicals. If the peat moss looks too wet or somehow

"strange", I replace it with fresh one. The seeds are rubbed down with a paper towel, if necessary - and this

is how it works mostly for me.

It seems that pigafetta seeds have to be very fresh, and honestly I am not sure if my method is really the best

for this species. I have lost quite a few ones right after popping up - I realized it when I checked the boxes after

a couple of days - so there must be a critical moment of vulnerability but I am not an expert with this.

The method itself works with 90% of all of my seeds, the temperature is kept around 82/90F or 28/32C

which I consider as close as possible to the original habitat - the biggest mistake to be made is too much moisture

in the box.

Ok, I hope this reply will be good for the moment -

best regards

 

[palmfriend]

..and to all of those of you who were or are following this thread:

An update is planned and will be posted when fall has arrived and the growth

starts to slow down a bit - we still have around 88F/32C every day - so,

please be patient for a few more days, I am on it!

best regards

 

[foxtail]

Thanks mate.

[BPK Palm Addict]

I am interested to see the growth of the pigafetta. I'm thinking of giving one a try. 

[foxtail]

14 hours ago, BPK Palm Addict said:

I am interested to see the growth of the pigafetta. I'm thinking of giving one a try. 

Same here, have some seeds but they are  or

[palmfriend]

Hello there,

now we are heading into November, temperatures have dropped slightly down to 82F/28C - not that

much - but the humidity level has changed significantly, from around 90% down to 60, and that means

fall has arrived - time for an update.

Ok, let`s start again with the trigger of this thread, the Pigafetta elata. It is outside since a few months and

in the mid of September I told myself "Why not?!" and put "her" in the ground.

Here she comes...

The palm is now between 3 or 4 feet/1m tall, thrives constantly new spears, doesn`t like wind - we got a few typhoons

since them, but got never hit directly - is always recovering very fast and is showing more and more its "claws"...

Interesting is, this palm is armed EVERYWHERE, please look at the leaves...

...not just on the side, no, even on the surface... What a fascinating beauty.

I have backed her behind other plants, hoping to avoid cold damages during the winter when the northern wind

brings sometimes temperatures around 58F/15C, we will see how it goes. If it survives the winter, I`ll see a future....

My Beccarios are doing very well, too. All are outside, two are in the ground, one in part shade, one in full sun.

..the sunny one,...

...and the shady one...

Their brothers and sisters still potted but doing very well.

Here my Corypha Utan....

...looking very healthy. (position: part shade) I would love to put it in the ground, but I haven`t found

the right spot yet... (its mature size is a bit scaring...)

Here my rocket ship,...

..a little bit difficult to see, a Veitchia joannis...

...got its fourth ring since May(!).

Here another fast one, an absolute beautiful palm...

...one of my D. pembanas. They seem to go along with our climate, absloute no problems at all.

Here my exotic section:

a Clinostigma samoense, in the ground since last year`s spring (shady position)...

 

..here another one with a lot of sun - planted this year`s spring and keeping up pretty well (that one

is from the same batch of seeds like the former one) .

Here,...

 

..one of my two Clinostigma harlandii. Those new leaves appeared right after putting it in the

ground two and a half months ago - it seems to do well (my Clinostigma ponapense are still

struggling to get a feet on the ground - to my surprise, because Ponape is the closest location

to Okinawa and I thought they would do well... - so, no presentable photos yet)...

 

Here my one and only Bentinckia nicobarica - it does very well after putting it in the ground, too (the winter

will show if they have a future here)...

..and here one of my three Dypsis robustas. I left plenty of space around it, so - a monster is welcome

Here we have my very well doing...

..Elaeis guineensis - a tough one, being in the ground since more than two years and took all weather caprices pretty well since then.

The final good news from the outside,...

..here is one of my P.rupicola, looking beautifully and are no troublemakers at all. I am looking forward to their

development and hope they will do well when growing up/getting taller as well.

So, to be honest I have disappointing news as well...

My wonderful flowering cocos nucifera got no luck this time...

..there is probably no new seed coming out of it this time - but it is ok, I will get lucky with them one day,

five other cocos are close by, one of them will do it

Ok, let`s move inside and check what we have there:

..a few of my Cyrtostachus renda...

..and in closer distance (I will put one or two of them outside next spring and hope that they will get along)...

One of my Dypsis lastelliana (six or seven of them are hanging well)...

One of my three D.leptocheilos (one of three) - they are all looking fine...

..my small group of Coccothrinax borhidiana ( I just got three of them sprouting)...

...there were marginal losses, but the most of my Satakentias are doing fine (a few of them are already outside in potts),...

..the Ceroxylons are taking their time - one is in the ground outside but still tiny - ...

...some of my Licuala ramsayi - three are already outside in the ground but there is no significant grow

so far - and finally one of my...

..Obi palms... Unfortunately I lost many of them but three of them made it to the stage of pushing new leaves,

I am keeping a close eye on them because I want to grow this one badly...

Unfortunately Geonoma mooreana and Heterospathe brevicaulis were no success so far but I think I will pay RPS a visit again.

...

Ok, to all of you who hold out with me until now - thank you very much for your patience!!

I hope there was something inspiring for you among it or if not that you just had a got time following me through it this year -

I will keep you posted about the further developments and/or if a new shipment of seeds comes in -

with best regards from Okinawa

palmfriend