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Growing in a box


John in Andalucia

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My palm growing these days is very different from the greenhouse I had in Spain ten years ago. Nevertheless, I'm having some pleasing results growing in heated chamber. 

Here are the contents of my grow chamber, with some notable comments:

At the back - 3 x Beccariophoenix fenestralis. I recently posted about these. I'm very happy with their progress. There's also a Chambeyronia macrocarpa in front of these.

In the 3 ziplock bags behind I have 7 x Johannesteijsmannia altifrons germinated seeds. They've each produced a 6 to 7 inch radicle and look healthy so far. Fingers crossed!

In the back-right corner - Coccothrinax miraguama. Among that lot is a sickly-looking Pseudophoenix ekmanii. Not sure why, as it sprouted and grew healthily for the first few months, and for some reason has just stopped growing.

The pale-looking strap leaves in front of those are Geonoma atrovirens. I bought these as seedlings and assumed they would just wither away. In fact the only reason for the deterioration, is that they are all pushing a second leaf!! There are 6 in total, some partly obscured by a bag of sphagnum moss containing around 30 Areca vestiaria seeds.

The 3 sprouted, round seeds in full view are Lytocaryum weddellianum.

More or less in the middle are 2 Licuala dasyantha and my pride and joy, a single Licuala mattanensis 'Mapu'. I had 2 sp. Mapu sprouted, but one failed to send out a root despite forming a spike, and slowly withered away at the seed. 

Hanging in a bag on the left, are more Licuala dasyantha. These were always an easy grow when I lived in Spain, and they haven't disappointed here in London, UK! I'm just wondering how long it will before a second leaf emerges.

The same question hangs over the 'forest' of Cyrtostachys renda growing underneath. They were the first seeds to sprout last summer, but despite growing as strong as arrows, it seems they've been one-leafers forever! I bought 100 seeds on a whim, never expecting to sprout a single one, but was pleasantly surprised to have around 50% germination.

At the very front are 3 x Cyphophoenix elegans and 3 x Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum. They're steady growers, if not a little skinny, which I put that down to the artificial light.

I'm using a heat mat in the base of the box, which is thermostatically controlled at 30 - 32 degrees Celsius (86 - 90 F)

Feel free to comment, or simply enjoy (as I do) seeing newly-emerging palms!

 

20180407_125544.jpg

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Lastly, I have 36 sprouted Ceroxylon quindiuense which I'm looking forward to potting up in the next couple of months.

Here in London I have a small patio garden, where these should do just fine. I'm thrilled to have this species.

 

20180408_163009.jpg

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VERY NICE! Thank you for sharing this eye candy!! :wub:

Do you think maybe your C. renda need more light?

Naples (inland), FL - technically 10a but more like 9b in the winter :hmm:

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Hi Missi, It's my pleasure! :D

I have artificial light in the box which seems to keep the C. renda and the Licualas a nice colour green. But as we head into summer I'm planning to swap the styrene lid on my grow box for a thick sheet of plexi-glass to allow some natural light.

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  • 2 weeks later...

That lot should keep you entertained for many years.

Cheers Steve

It is not dead, it is just senescence.

   

 

 

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It's akin to fostering in my opinion. Either that, or a hoarder. :lol:

The Joeys are coming on, although I've lost 3 out of the 7 due to the radicle rotting (that sweet smell, ugh!) - too warm, I think.

I've 6 little Iguanura elegans - they're soooo tiny!

And you can clearly see the Geonoma atrovirens pushing a second leaf.

 

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Here's what I have, what I've lost (greyed out) and what's coming my way very soon. :wub:

And yes, some I'm trying again, because I think I know where I went wrong.

 

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana
Areca catechu ‘Dwarf’
Areca vestiaria
Asterogyne martiana
Beccariophoenix fenestralis
Ceroxylon quindiuense
Chambeyronia macrocarpa
Coccothrinax miraguama
Cyphophoenix elegans
Cyrtostachys renda
Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum
Euterpe edulis 'Orange Crownshaft'
Euterpe edulis 'Orange Crownshaft'
Geonoma atrovirens
Heterospathe barfodii
Heterospathe delicatula
Iguanura elegans
Johannesteijsmannia altifrons
Kerriodoxa elegans
Licuala mattanensis 'Mapu'
Licuala dasyantha
Lytocaryum weddellianum
Lytocaryum weddellianum
Parajubaea torallyi var. microcarpa
Pinanga aristata
Pinanga bicolana
Pseudophoenix ekmanii
Rhopalostylis baueri ‘Norfolk Is.’
Rhopalostylis sapida
Syagrus lorenzoniorum
Trachycarpus princeps
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Nice list! I'm regretting not buying S. lorenzoniorum but I already have a lot of other seeds germinating and I starting to giving away some seedling due to my lack of space.

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  • 5 months later...

Earlier someone referred to my seedling collection as a 'micro jungle' - and I like that! (Thanks, Jan Jo in Cadiz.)

It's been six months since my last update, and naturally, I've acquired a few more species.

In fact it's probably just easier to say that I've doubled the previous number to 44 species. :D

My wife and I rent a very small basement flat here in London UK, so I've had to be somewhat creative to accommodate my hobby, as I'll now demonstrate.....

 

Gone is the styrene box! Well, no. Actually, it's home to nine Carpoxylon macrospermum. I bought these from a Florida lady called Daniela who sells on eBay, and they are super-fresh. Still, I de-husked and de-lidded them to have them all sprouted within a week. There 'should' be ten, except the first one I de-lidded turned out to have no embryo, which gave me a mild panic attack. 

 

20181021_112106.jpg

 

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Take a look inside...

At the top (now receiving around 8000 lumens) are my C. renda seedlings which are now just over a year old.

20181021_111926.jpg

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To the left are Pigafetta filaris...

20181021_111949.jpg

..and to the right, an A. catechu 'dwarf' a couple of D. album var. conjugatum, some S. lorenzoniorum and A. cunninghamiana.

20181021_111910_HDR.jpg

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On the lower deck..

A couple of S. amara, C. macrocarpa, more A. catechu 'dwarf' and my 2 Joeys! To the right of those are a couple of Euterpe edulis 'Orange Crownshaft'. Not sure if they should be that tall. Are they overly-stretched?

20181021_111844.jpg

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Moving along quickly...

A couple of C. elegans, community pots of C. miraguama and A. vestiara

20181021_111852.jpg

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Next to these, some of my most cherished palms..

L. macrocarpa, K. pyriformis, L. dasyantha, G. atrovirens and L. mapu

20181021_111902.jpg

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I also have another small 'grow box' on a book shelf in the kitchen.

Here live a couple of T. princeps, another G. atrovirens, P. lineare and sanderianum, L. decipiens (not sprouted - at the back), D. baronii 'Black Petiole' and C. hospita. 

In the baggie at the back are a couple of germinated B. machadonis.

20181021_112232.jpg

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Not forgetting a few I. elegans and P. borsigianum.

I have around 10 more species in baggies in here, mostly germinating, including 4 dozen Caryota. mitis 'variegata' which are sprouting well having been de-lidded. In the shadow to the right there's a L. halleuxii showing a pale white button.

20181021_112220.jpg

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Outside I have a few more seedlings.

First up are the Ceroxylon quindiuense that I showed earlier in baggies as sprouted seeds. They're now pushing a second leaf, and probably happier now that we're through the hottest summer in British history and back to cool and moist weather!

20181021_114239.jpg

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And finally..

Numerous R. baueri ‘Norfolk Is.’ seedlings.

T. princeps (in the round pot)

A community tray of sprouting R. sapida, C. humilis and R. sapida seedlings from an earlier batch.

20181021_114300.jpg

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1 hour ago, marc84 said:

Hello John

 

can you tell us what germination technique you use for such a success, temperature and germination...

Cordially Marc

Hi Marc,

Most of my seeds are germinated at around 27 C - 29 C in plastic resealable bags using a mix of coir, Seramis clay granules and fine, propagating mulch. I don't add water, as the coir is damp enough. I buy it pre-moistened in 50 litre bags.

Some seeds I 'de-lid' - i.e. expose the embryo. I do this mostly when I suspect the seeds aren't as fresh as they should be, likewise if they take much longer in habitat to germinate than other species. I use reptile heat mats to provide bottom heat.

Thinking about it, I 'de-lid' a lot of my seeds. I just go on intuition, based on who supplied the seeds, freshness, and duration of viability. I also do it to seeds that I know are perfectly fresh. I've not found it to be detrimental, and I've been using this technique for a number of years now. 

Seed quality is everything, when all is said and done. The Rhopalostylis seeds for example, came from a palm friend in New Zealand. Aside from cleaning the seeds and putting them into pure coir compost at room temperature, there was nothing more to do. Germination was around 85% after just a couple of months.

 

 

 

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I use similar germination techniques, equal parts perlite/coco coir seedling mix in 50mm shallow trays with bottom heat, soil temp 28 to 30 Celsius, in a home made heat box.

Constant heat, I found to be the most important factor for good germination rates for most seed's.

 

PhotoGridLite_1530617165083.jpg

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Nice setup! Do you grow commercially or for a hobby? If I had space I'd prefer to grow in seeds beds too.

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On 29/10/2018, 03:39:10, BPK Palm Addict said:

John,

What you have going there is absolutely awesome.  Very inspiring.

 

Joe

Thank you, Joe. I appreciate that! Not sure where it will lead me. It's very much a journey into the unknown, but I am trying to balance it out with some cold-hardy stuff. I guess I'm curious, that's all.

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On 21/10/2018, 11:08:40, John in Andalucia said:

Earlier someone referred to my seedling collection as a 'micro jungle' - and I like that! (Thanks, Jan Jo in Cadiz.)

It's been six months since my last update, and naturally, I've acquired a few more species.

In fact it's probably just easier to say that I've doubled the previous number to 44 species. :D

My wife and I rent a very small basement flat here in London UK, so I've had to be somewhat creative to accommodate my hobby, as I'll now demonstrate.....

 

Gone is the styrene box! Well, no. Actually, it's home to nine Carpoxylon macrospermum. I bought these from a Florida lady called Daniela who sells on eBay, and they are super-fresh. Still, I de-husked and de-lidded them to have them all sprouted within a week. There 'should' be ten, except the first one I de-lidded turned out to have no embryo, which gave me a mild panic attack. 

 

20181021_112106.jpg

 

Very nice. Are you in London or in Andalusia? If in London, what will you do with all he tropical palms you're growing as seedlings (apart from selling)? I would buy some from you. I am a lousy germinator.

Edited by SoulofthePlace

Average day temperatures: +17°C in the winter and +24°C in the summer. Typical Summer: 68F to 77F (20C to 25C). Typical Winter: 55F to 64F (12C to 18C). Record Low (past 5 years): 45F or +7.7C (once a winter, some winters). Record High (past 5 years): 83F or +28C (some days only). Elevation 140 m (459 ft.) to 160 m (525 ft.), latitude 38.54º. Sunset Zone: unknown

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Hi Drew, I've lived in London for the past 3 years. My forum name dates back to when I joined PalmTalk and the IPS in 2007, when I was living in Spain.

I hope to keep a few tropicals indoors for myself, donate a few of the rarer seedlings to Kew Gardens, which is only 30 minutes from my home, and yes, I'll sell those that I have multiples of, and/or are potentially too big to grow indoors. The Carpoxylon are a good example, as I only want to keep one. I'll let you know when I'm ready to send them in the post. It won't be until next Spring.

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  • 1 month later...
On 21/10/2018, 11:08:40, John in Andalucia said:

Earlier someone referred to my seedling collection as a 'micro jungle' - and I like that! (Thanks, Jan Jo in Cadiz.)

It's been six months since my last update, and naturally, I've acquired a few more species.

In fact it's probably just easier to say that I've doubled the previous number to 44 species. :D

My wife and I rent a very small basement flat here in London UK, so I've had to be somewhat creative to accommodate my hobby, as I'll now demonstrate.....

 

Gone is the styrene box! Well, no. Actually, it's home to nine Carpoxylon macrospermum. I bought these from a Florida lady called Daniela who sells on eBay, and they are super-fresh. Still, I de-husked and de-lidded them to have them all sprouted within a week. There 'should' be ten, except the first one I de-lidded turned out to have no embryo, which gave me a mild panic attack. 

 

20181021_112106.jpg

 

Actually I bought Satakentia liukiuensis seeds from the same Daniela at "Let's Grow Florida" on ebay, but seeds were mailed dry and I was advised there's no chance germinating dry Satakentia lukiuensis seeds. Sure enough over a month later not a single seed germinated in the propagator.

Also as per information advise on the following page: http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/pix/SatLiu.shtml

Average day temperatures: +17°C in the winter and +24°C in the summer. Typical Summer: 68F to 77F (20C to 25C). Typical Winter: 55F to 64F (12C to 18C). Record Low (past 5 years): 45F or +7.7C (once a winter, some winters). Record High (past 5 years): 83F or +28C (some days only). Elevation 140 m (459 ft.) to 160 m (525 ft.), latitude 38.54º. Sunset Zone: unknown

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Hi, I use aquariums as grow tanks. I have a 72 gallon, and a 75 both with 9000 lumens daylight(full spectrum) bulbs, (3 four foot bulbs each putting out 3000 lm.) I paid around 25$ for 3 bulbs with free shipping. Inside I have red latans, foxtails, Christmas palms, livistona decoras, sabals, fishtails. And other tank that was originally a reptile tank with glass doors that is 18x18x24" that I use as a carnivorous plant tank. They work great for me, the lights are on 12-14 hours a day and are able to get natural light during the day as well. By using a under tank heater I am able to warm the area for germination and by leaving an opening in the tops allows some moisture to escape to prevent mold.

Thanks Mark

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