Fresh Bismarkia Seeds. What now to prepare them?

[Shurley]

I cut these Bismarkia seeds last Sunday near my home in South Florida.  They have fallen off the stalk since then.  What do I do with them now?  Peel them, soak them, dry them?  Are they ripe enough to be viable?  I see articles on germination but not on what's best for preparing the seed prior to starting that process.  I'd be thrilled if just one popped...

Thanks in advance for your advice.

S

[PalmatierMeg]

Bismarckia seeds are black when ripe. Those are green so I am unsure whether they are viable. Hope someone who has germinated Bizzies will chime in. I would germinate them in very deep pots - 14" treepots if you have them. They send down very long radicles and their roots are very sensitive to disturbance.

[chocolatethunda]

Hi @Shurley,

 

they actually look like Latania Lodigessi seeds. I’d put them in a ziploc and see if they’d ripen for a few days then take the seeds out soak in watsr have them cleaned up. 
 

check out my topic of germinating latania palm, I’ve have some success with these, they startet sprouting their first spear. Check it out, there’s pictures.

Robert

[Shurley]

I will take a drive to where I got them tomorrow and take some pics of the source.   I'll take some time to look for some on the ground this time.   I only want to grow one...

S

 

[Fusca]

1 hour ago, Shurley said:

I will take a drive to where I got them tomorrow and take some pics of the source.   I'll take some time to look for some on the ground this time.   I only want to grow one...

S

 

If you are hoping to grow a Bismarckia nobilis from seed try to find a nice silver one which has others planted near it.  Bismarckias are dioecious palms meaning that there are male plants and female plants so you will need both sexes to produce viable seeds.  Latania palms are similar looking to the green form of Bismarckia and are also dioecious palms.  Welcome to Palmtalk!

[Palms Brisbane]

7 hours ago, Shurley said:

I cut these Bismarkia seeds last Sunday near my home in South Florida.  They have fallen off the stalk since then.  What do I do with them now?  Peel them, soak them, dry them?  Are they ripe enough to be viable?  I see articles on germination but not on what's best for preparing the seed prior to starting that process.  I'd be thrilled if just one popped...

Thanks in advance for your advice.

S

Hi,

Similar post has occured before. I put my comments and suggestions on it. Worth reading

 

 

[Shurley]

I found a group of  Silver Bismarkias  with both sexes there.  The seeds are falling on their own and I picked up a bunch.   I read that the sinkers are the ones I want so I put them in water and of all of these only three sank.  Do I need to peel them before doing the sink test or should I go back in a few days and pick up some more?

Any info appreciated,

Shurley

[chocolatethunda]

4 minutes ago, Shurley said:

I found a group of  Silver Bismarkias  with both sexes there.  The seeds are falling on their own and I picked up a bunch.   I read that the sinkers are the ones I want so I put them in water and of all of these only three sank.  Do I need to peel them before doing the sink test or should I go back in a few days and pick up some more?

Hi @Shurley,

I'd put these in ziplocs for a few days to see if they will ripen out completely first. Afterwards soak them in water for two days (change water daily) and peel off all fruit and see which ones sink. If there are more, wait and see if they ripen completely before picking.

Hope this helps.

[Bill Free]

Thanks. I didn’t pick them, they were on the ground.  There are plenty more on the tree, will they change color soon? I’m in South Florida...

[Palms Brisbane]

On 11/4/2020 at 8:42 AM, Bill Free said:

Thanks. I didn’t pick them, they were on the ground.  There are plenty more on the tree, will they change color soon? I’m in South Florida...

Hi,

They should be fine. The sink test is when you have removed the fruit to see if seed is viable. Based on these fruits I believe they will all sink when you remove the fruit.

Put them all in bucket of water to soften the fruit flesh for a couple days. Change water if it starts smelling too much. After soaking the fruit should be easy to remove. Multiple methods to remove fruit.

Follow my steps in the above post with link and you will have Bismarkia in no time.

 

[Palms Brisbane]

Still need to repot mine. But this is them currently from that post above. Have two tubs like this.

 

[chocolatethunda]

11 minutes ago, Palms Brisbane said:

Have two tubs like this.

Hi @Palms Brisbane,

How deep are these tubs and are they perforated for drainage? Also is the medium peatmoss and perlite?

[Palms Brisbane]

52 minutes ago, chocolatethunda said:

Hi @Palms Brisbane,

How deep are these tubs and are they perforated for drainage? Also is the medium peatmoss and perlite?

40cm or 16in, yes drilled holes in bottom for drainage.

Material is coir and perlite. Peat moss is imported from canada so $$. Coir is cheaper and works great.

[Palms Brisbane]

On 11/5/2020 at 10:48 AM, Palms Brisbane said:

Still need to repot mine. But this is them currently from that post above. Have two tubs like this.

 

Update, I left mine too long in tubs... tried to take them out as they were pushing 2nd leaf. The roots were a matt covering entire base.. most snapped when trying to seperate. Very fragile 

Will see how the few that didnt snap go.

Next time I will put them in deep pots soon as germinate.

[chocolatethunda]

On 11/15/2020 at 4:35 AM, Palms Brisbane said:

 

Update, I left mine too long in tubs... tried to take them out as they were pushing 2nd leaf. The roots were a matt covering entire base.. most snapped when trying to seperate. Very fragile 

Will see how the few that didnt snap go.

Next time I will put them in deep pots soon as germinate.

So sorry to hear that @Palms Brisbane  !

I actually wanted to try this method too, but I guess I'll stick to putting them in deep pots I ordered from Stueue & Sons when I notice they germinate.

Hope you were able to save some!