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Germinating Sabal Palmetto seeds


JLM

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I took a trip down to Pensacola Beach yesterday ane picked up about 6 sabal seeds, i dont want an overload of sabals, but i need some tips on how to do this. I also bought another queen, almost all strap leaf, first frond with pinnate leaf is coming in. Ill have pics of both here in the next hour or so. 

Edited by JLM

Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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Maybe this will be switched over to another part of the forum instead of weather/climate. 1st pic is sabal seeds, 2nd is queen, 3rd is queens first pinnate leaf, and 4th is coconut. I should probably water the coconut, but my thing is i can see the roots of the queen trying to escape through the holes in the pot, i thought about switching pots with the coconut so the queen would have wiggle room.

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Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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31 minutes ago, JLM said:

I took a trip down to Pensacola Beach yesterday ane picked up about 6 sabal seeds, i dont want an overload of sabals, but i need some tips on how to do this. I also bought another queen, almost all strap leaf, first frond with pinnate leaf is coming in. Ill have pics of both here in the next hour or so. 

Yeah, probably should be in the Discussing Palm Trees Worldwide forums.  Either way, the Sabal seeds you have look a little old and moldy from the photos.  They typically fruit in November down here, so they are probably close to 6 months old at this point.  Ideally, they should be a consistent dark brown color and very firm.  They follow a pretty standard germination protocol (moist growing medium with 85F-95F temperatures), but they can sprout in as little as a few weeks or as much as a few years.  They are pretty sporadic, even when sourced from the same plant. 

Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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@kinzyjr

The seeds are a dark brown color, almost reminds me of a mini coconut. Seeds are very firm. They do still have a little bit of the outer shell left on them. Two of the seeds were also stuck together when i picked them up, the spot that was left could be interpreted as mold. Do i put it in a plastic bag with a moist paper towel, almost like the beans that almost everyone did in elementary school.

Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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You can use the baggy or paper towel method.  You could also use open air community containers if you would like.  These aren't a hard seed to sprout at all.

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Lakeland, FL

USDA Zone 1990: 9a  2012: 9b  2023: 10a | Sunset Zone: 26 | Record Low: 20F/-6.67C (Jan. 1985, Dec.1962) | Record Low USDA Zone: 9a

30-Year Avg. Low: 30F | 30-year Min: 24F

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They'll look like the ones in pic below if you clean them off. They have a hard smooth endocarp. If you roll them between two hard flat surfaces the exocarp and mesocarp will come off leaving a clean hard seed.

DSCN4421_zpsyetgqk0b.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

@NOT A TA

It took a couple days in the bag to look like this, all the moisture made it easy to rub off. They have not sprouted yet, but they are now in separate pots. Been very warm here, so plenty of heat and water! How can you tell when its germinating but hasnt started growing roots yet? I see a little bump on one of the largest seeds, could this be it?

Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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I've germinated quite a few Sabal seeds. I usually just bury them in a pot of soil and give them ample warmth and water. The palms will start to develop the roots first, so it may take a while before you actually see the first leaves poke through.  Just be patient and they'll emerge. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

About how long does it take to germinate @GeorgiaPalms? They have been in the pots for a while now and nothing has even germinated yet. Im beginning to wonder if the seeds are able to germinate. They came from Pensacola Beach all the way back in the beginning of March. Is this typical of a sabal palmetto seed?

Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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6 hours ago, JLM said:

About how long does it take to germinate

They're not fast so be patient, it's only been a bit over a month.

 

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I know I know......

Palms - 4 S. romanzoffiana, 1 W. bifurcata, 2 W. robusta, 1 R. rivularis, 1 B. odorata, 1 B. nobilis, 2 S. palmetto, 1 A. merillii, 1 P. canariensis, 1 BxJ, 1 BxJxBxS, 1 BxS, 3 P. roebelenii, 1 H. lagenicaulis, 1 H. verschaffeltii, 9 T. fortunei, 1 C. humilis, 2 C. macrocarpa, 1 L. chinensis, 1 R. excelsa

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Fresh seeds of Sabals will usually show signs in a month. Certain Sabals like causiarum can show there eophyll in 2 weeks. I was told Sabals are the perfect beginner seeds to germinate and I believe that Is true now =) summer heat and moisture you cant go wrong. 

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T J 

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