Raphia australis, Kerriodoxa elegans, and more -- germination

[meridannight 12]

Just received seeds for Raphia australis, Kerriodoxa elegans, Arenga westerhoutii, Verschaffeltia splendida, Beccariophoenix alfredii, Phoenicophorium borsigianum, and Hyphaene coriacea.  Only got 2 seeds of Kerriodoxa elegans, but these were the only 2 my source had left, so I thought I'd take them and see if I get lucky.  Hyphaene coriacea was thrown in for free, the rest were my own choice. 

I'm so excited about all of these seeds. If anybody has any good tips about these I'd appreciate it. Especially about Raphia and Kerriodoxa. 

Edited November 6, 2020 by meridannight

[kinzyjr 3,688]

Hyphaene - Get a plastic tub, put down 2-3 inches of moist germination medium, put the seeds on the growing medium, cover the seeds with 2-3 inches of growing medium, put the tray on a heating pad, crank the heat up to 100F, germination typically inside of two months under these conditions.

[Frond-friend42 202]

Kerriodoxas? Anybody have tips on germinating those?

[John hovancsek 909]

17 hours ago, Frond-friend42 said:

Kerriodoxas? Anybody have tips on germinating those?

Germination should be done in a deep pot. They should germinate quickly from my experience 

[Frond-friend42 202]

Thanks John. Any Heat/humidity/medium tips?

[Frond-friend42 202]

So many failures with seeds gets me nervous every time.

On 11/14/2020 at 1:48 PM, John hovancsek said:

Germination should be done in a deep pot. They should germinate quickly from my experience 

Quickly is a relative term im guessing. I've had these for about 2 months (?) I think. Still holding my breath but one of them has popped.

[NatureGirl 1,000]

No Kerrio sprout on top visible yet, hopefully soon, but roots coming out of bottom of 6 inch pot.

[meridannight 12]

I had my first germination -- 1 Hyphaene coriacea seed has sprouted. It only took this one a month. It was in a ziplock bag since November 14, 2020. I didn't know to use a deep container with these initially, so I put them into a ziplock bag when I was planting all of these seeds in the middle of November. Today I thought I'd get them out of there and plant them in containers, and one of them had sprouted. I've heard they're sensitive to handling at this stage, so hopefully it doesn't decide to abort itself. I was as gentle with it as possible. 

As for the germination medium and environment: I kept them in slightly moist vermiculite in a ziplock bag, with temps ranging from 77 to 86 F (25 to 30 Celsius). 

[kinzyjr 3,688]

1 hour ago, meridannight said:

I had my first germination -- 1 Hyphaene coriacea seed has sprouted. It only took this one a month. It was in a ziplock bag since November 14, 2020. I didn't know to use a deep container with these initially, so I put them into a ziplock bag when I was planting all of these seeds in the middle of November. Today I thought I'd get them out of there and plant them in containers, and one of them had sprouted. I've heard they're sensitive to handling at this stage, so hopefully it doesn't decide to abort itself. I was as gentle with it as possible. 

As for the germination medium and environment: I kept them in slightly moist vermiculite in a ziplock bag, with temps ranging from 77 to 86 F (25 to 30 Celsius).

Nice work!  As long as you're careful not to snap the root, you'll be fine.  I typically use Trenta Starbucks cups for them and that is deep enough to get them ground ready.  If you have something taller, that's probably better.  It seems like it takes forever for them to put down all of those roots and then finally push a spear above ground.

[meridannight 12]

lo and behold! My Verschaffeltia splendida has come up as well! I am so happy!

I planted a total of 10 seeds, 5 were planted in this plastic box on the picture and 5 were planted in a container (where they haven't shown up yet). The medium in this box is a mix of soil and vermiculite mostly (about 40-60 or 50-50 ratio). These seeds were planted on November 11, so they took about a month to germinate.  Temperature was initially around 27-30 (81-86 F) but after about a week I got them in a place where it gets to around 40 degrees (104 F) most of the day.

I did not expect these guys so soon. I hadn't checked the box in a week, and I just thought I'd take a quick glance, and there they were! I am gonna have so much fun growing these.

[meridannight 12]

Also -- can anybody recommend what size pot to use for Verschaffeltias?

[Palms Brisbane 254]

1 hour ago, meridannight said:

Also -- can anybody recommend what size pot to use for Verschaffeltias?

Verschaffeltias grow well for me. Nice palm. I put mine in 140mm grower pots. This is about 1 year old.

 

[meridannight 12]

Well, Hyphaene was very easy.  My 3 seeds have all germinated now (germination time: 4-6 weeks). Planted Nov 14, 2020. Wish the Raphias were this easy, but they are still sitting there.