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Raphia australis, Kerriodoxa elegans, and more -- germination


meridannight

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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. 

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Edited by meridannight
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Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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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.

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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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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 

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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.

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

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Warrior Palm Princess, Satellite Beach, Florida

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  • 4 weeks later...

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). 

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Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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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.

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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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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.


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Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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

Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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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.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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. 

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Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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  • 1 month later...

Back to Kerriodoxa 's. So I just had one germination and then the root slouched off. After a few months....but it went WAY deep and I found a shoot. Is it possible that before breaking the surface it could transport all its vitality away from the seed. That would be remarkable behavior.

The roots went way deep and I dug down to the shoot and there is a lot going on down there. Could it still survive. It's in vermiculite. Should I bury it or leave it exposed? 

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On 11/6/2020 at 5:27 PM, meridannight said:

Beccariophoenix alfredii

Any luck with germinating the Beccariophoenix alfredii seeds?

Unified Theory of Palm Seed Germination

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(Where: bh = bottom heat, fs = fresh seed, L = love, m = magic, p = patience, and t = time)

DISCLAIMER: Working theory; not yet peer reviewed.

"Fronds come and go; the spear is life!" - Anonymous Palmtalker

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On 2/1/2021 at 5:45 AM, GoatLockerGuns said:

Any luck with germinating the Beccariophoenix alfredii seeds?

 

Nope, not yet. Still waiting. 

 

Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Milagros! It did the strange thing. Divested itself from the seed, went deep under, and looks to have successfully siphoned off the nutrients, BEFORE breaking the surface. Is this what they do? Do other species do this?

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22 hours ago, Frond-friend42 said:

Milagros! It did the strange thing. Divested itself from the seed, went deep under, and looks to have successfully siphoned off the nutrients, BEFORE breaking the surface. Is this what they do? Do other species do this?

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I don't think so. I think the seed is supposed to stay attached through the development of the cotyledonary leaves. Maybe it hasn't actually detached? 

Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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The Hyphaene coriacea are true monsters, by the way. I have them in 40cm deep containers (approx. 16 inches) and the tap root still wants more! Is it okay to leave them like that -- that the tip of the root sticks out from the bottom of the container, or should I plant them even deeper now? 

Edited by meridannight

Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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53 minutes ago, meridannight said:

I don't think so. I think the seed is supposed to stay attached through the development of the cotyledonary leaves. Maybe it hasn't actually detached? 

Thats what's amazing to me. That seed has long been out of the pot after exploding due to being hollowed out in a failed pinch test. In the pic you can see the remaining fibers where the primary tube (term?) emerged. I would not expect it to turn green and be increasing in size if it were dying.

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  • 1 month later...

I went and took a look at my Beccariophoenix alfredii seeds. It's been 5 months, and I knew these were supposed to be fast germinators. 3 out of 5 seemed like they had tried to germinate at some point (there was some growth on the side of the seed, which had turned brown by now).  I cut open a couple of the seeds, and the embryo was brown and smelly.  I know these seeds don't have a long viability, so maybe they were bad already when they got to me.  

I'm still waiting on Raphia australis, Arenga westerhoutii, and Kerriodoxa elegans. 

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Edited by meridannight

Species I'm growing from seed: Chrysalidocarpos leptocheilos, Licuala grandis, Hyophorbe verschaffeltii, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons, Bentinckia condapanna, Livistona benthamii.

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