Chamadorea radicalis trying from seed!

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

DoomsDave sent me some seeds and im germinting(or attempting to) Chamadorea radicalis in my bedroom. Soaked the seeds for a few days and planted not long ago. Now its watering and waiting lol!

House is low 70s so might be slow going, might invest in a warming pad.

 

[tjwalters 188]

Low 70s is quite cool.  I typically toss the seeds into a zip-loc baggie filled with damp (not soaking wet) seed-starting medium, place them on top of the water heater, and cover them with an old tee-shirt.  That keeps them around 90F, and I get pretty good germination rates.  I'll move the baggie into the light when they start pushing up through the soil.

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

Did some research and they seem to think 70 to 90 is the sweet spot range. Ill likely get a warming pad then to help them out. This is my first time germinating palms so mistakes will be made lol. But I'll get through it! Just happy for the learning opportunity :D

[TexasColdHardyPalms 3,148]

70 is not going to cut it. You need to be in the 80s at least. 

[PalmatierMeg 5,660]

How deep are those little planters? Palms put down long radicles. You need containers at least 5-6" deep. Styrofoam cups with drainage holes work. Also, I agree, more heat.

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

They are like 4.5 and were all I had available. The warming pad will be in soon, and I was planning on potting them up before the root gets too deep. 

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

Heating pad is working great!

[TexasColdHardyPalms 3,148]

That'll get the job done.  Radicalis put out roots slowly and not really that deep so you won't have an issue with those pots unless the medium gets dry on the bottom from the heating pad, which will then burn the roots.  

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

I sprinkle a little water when the top isnt wet, but "lightly damp" Its a potting type soil so water goes right to the bottom easy. Hopefully I soaked them long enough and have good enough conditions to have them grow. Would love to have 1 as an indoor only plant and plant a few in my garden to test them at different locations. My house is weird and seems to have several microclimates like the eastern side of the house where the soil never seems to freezes, wish I could use that side but the wife said thats where she wants to put the addition in a few years so Im not about to plant things and get attached only for them to die when transplanted.

 

Anyone have a better way to water something like this than pouring water which disturbs the soil surface a little? 

Edited December 21, 2017 by mdsonofthesouth

[kinzyjr 3,777]

@mdsonofthesouth You can try using a spray bottle and misting it until it is damp.

[_Keith 746]

I just put mine in a pot full of regular potting soil and up they came, but it took about a month.

 

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

4 hours ago, kinzyjr said:

@mdsonofthesouth You can try using a spray bottle and misting it until it is damp.

 

Ill give that a try and see if it permeates the soil deep enough. 

 

3 hours ago, _Keith said:

I just put mine in a pot full of regular potting soil and up they came, but it took about a month.

 

 

I plan on potting them up eventually, but I hope they only take a month. I have heard some seeds may take 6+ months to germinate!

[_Keith 746]

On 12/21/2017, 10:28:12, mdsonofthesouth said:

 

Ill give that a try and see if it permeates the soil deep enough. 

 

 

I plan on potting them up eventually, but I hope they only take a month. I have heard some seeds may take 6+ months to germinate!

Give me some heat, as in heat matt, or something.

 

[Laaz 1,268]

Set them on top of a cable box.

[Fusca 1,656]

I did what Keith did, but mine took almost 3 months.  I've got 6 germinated so far out of 30+, but I'm sure I'll get more come spring.  Like someone else here I got at least one "non-trunking" type along with the trunking type. 

Jon

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

They've been on a heat mat that claims 10f to 20f degree raise in temps. My house keeps a stable 70f almost all year.

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

Good news or am I seeing a mirage!?!? Lol

[kinzyjr 3,777]

4 minutes ago, mdsonofthesouth said:

Good news or am I seeing a mirage!?!? Lol

 

Good news

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

51 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Good news

 

Haha thats good then! Pretty cool little hook on the top!

[Palmensammler 125]

Hi,

congrats. The seeds from Dave are really viable. Have some C. radicalis too and wait for new seeds. I love Chamaedoreas.

Eckhard

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

3 hours ago, Palmensammler said:

Hi,

congrats. The seeds from Dave are really viable. Have some C. radicalis too and wait for new seeds. I love Chamaedoreas.

Eckhard

 

Thanks! Yeah this is the first time I have done this for palms. Grown vegies and other crops but never a palm. Very excited!

[Fusca 1,656]

Here are 3 of mine - I suspect that the one on the left is one of the "trunking" types and the one to the right is a "non-trunking" type since they emerged at the same time.  Too early to tell what the new one in the front is yet.  I've kept these outside and probably should keep it inside because they haven't moved much lately!

Jon

 

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

Very cool! Im a long way off from that. 

[Missi 927]

I planted my DD radicalis seeds last week. I kept the pot covered with clear wrap and just checked on them last night. MOLDY! I should have let them breathe sooner. 

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

Yeah the top to my cells has 3 vents that I "crack" so it doesnt get too "stuffy" in there. 

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

Some new growth!

 

This one is putting off its first true leaf!

 

What a difference a day makes at this point. So cool seeing these grow out and almost makes me feel bad that some of these will be tested outside....almost! Most will be babied for seeds lol.

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

 

Oh and the 4th one just broke out! 

[Palmensammler 125]

Hi Andrew,

looks fine. You will se there are more to come up soon. I received a second set of seeds from Dave and I'm excited when they will show up. What are your minimum temps outside? Heard it should be some kind of cold resistant.

Eckhard

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

1 hour ago, Palmensammler said:

Hi Andrew,

looks fine. You will se there are more to come up soon. I received a second set of seeds from Dave and I'm excited when they will show up. What are your minimum temps outside? Heard it should be some kind of cold resistant.

Eckhard

 

Thanks! Our minimums can get down to around 5f (2012 was the last time we saw 5F, before that I many years...) but its EXTREMELY rare to go bellow 15F and during normal winters the absolute lows are short lived. This year however proved that can change....

 

Ill be nursing these seeds until I have potted up every cell. Also dont know why it double posted, must be another glitch in the matrix. 

Edited February 13, 2018 by mdsonofthesouth

[Palmensammler 125]

I think 5f might be too much for the Chamaedorea radicalis without good protection.

Will try one here too as normally our coldest standard temps are around 15f to 17f. But I'll plan to protect it and to plant it into a protected area too.

Keep us updated.

Eckhard

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

Will do! Its getting and ideal setting and like I said its rare to see single digit temps. I will surely test it out though to see how it does.

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

 

Just over 2 months after put in the dirt and this one is looking good! I have 2 more in the left hand side that are starting their first fronds too. 6 total germinated so far and I couldnt be happier! Would be awesome to have a specimen to put in the ground next spring  or spring 2020 at latest to test and see their hardiness. Will get the best microclimate I have. 

[DoomsDave 8,663]

Keep the cats away!

They'll think it's grass . . . .

[DoomsDave 8,663]

On 12/12/2017, 2:57:17, mdsonofthesouth said:

DoomsDave sent me some seeds and im germinting(or attempting to) Chamadorea radicalis in my bedroom. Soaked the seeds for a few days and planted not long ago. Now its watering and waiting lol!

House is low 70s so might be slow going, might invest in a warming pad.

 

Good on ya mate!

I'd just put all in a community pot 6" across, but pampering won't hurt.

Temps should be about 80 F, for best germ.

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

16 minutes ago, DoomsDave said:

Keep the cats away!

They'll think it's grass . . . .

 

Haha no cats here! But funny you mention that as my grandma took out some sabal minor seedlings when she was weeding her garden in Leesburg. She wanted to bring them to me, but her cats had other ideas. She had 3 left after the drive home and I tried nursing them back but 1 died within a week, the second died 3 months later and the last one just died almost a year after I got it. I tried so hard but the cats mangled them too badly. Oh well maybe next time!

 

9 minutes ago, DoomsDave said:

Good on ya mate!

I'd just put all in a community pot 6" across, but pampering won't hurt.

Temps should be about 80 F, for best germ.

We keep the house at 68 to 72F range and the mat adds about 10 to 20, but its HOT and HUMID under the dome all the time. 

[DoomsDave 8,663]

1 hour ago, mdsonofthesouth said:

 

Haha no cats here! But funny you mention that as my grandma took out some sabal minor seedlings when she was weeding her garden in Leesburg. She wanted to bring them to me, but her cats had other ideas. She had 3 left after the drive home and I tried nursing them back but 1 died within a week, the second died 3 months later and the last one just died almost a year after I got it. I tried so hard but the cats mangled them too badly. Oh well maybe next time!

 

We keep the house at 68 to 72F range and the mat adds about 10 to 20, but its HOT and HUMID under the dome all the time. 

hOtter is better

 

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

I might have to put a sensor in and see what the actual temperature is. That or get a thermometer.

Edited February 24, 2018 by mdsonofthesouth

[mdsonofthesouth 525]

When should I remove these from the "incubator" and pot them up? Should I pair them/clump or single plant per pot? I have a good mess of small pots planned for nusing these along as they pop up. Thanks!

[DoomsDave 8,663]

18 minutes ago, mdsonofthesouth said:

When should I remove these from the "incubator" and pot them up? Should I pair them/clump or single plant per pot? I have a good mess of small pots planned for nusing these along as they pop up. Thanks!

I'd give each one a gallon pot when they get about 3 - 4 leaves. Once they start to go pinnate, maybe put them in fives, where they can stay for life. When you find out who the boys and girls are, maybe put two girls and a boy in a 10 - 15 gallon tub and let the fun begin!