Sabal minor germination ease

[ShadyDan 58]

Hey Folks,

Long time PT lurker first time poster. Thought I would share my experience with Sabal minor “Cherokee” germination. I bought ~1,000 of these seeds form RPS recently, and I am seeing ~99% germination within a month of sowing. And I though Washingtonias were easy to germinate!

Now I have to find home for all these babies in my greenhouse... I was hoping for a little more of a staggered germination! Looking forward to sharing with some friends in some colder Canadian locales (Okanagan, Niagara region) where they may be able to survive once they size up a little. 

[kinzyjr 3,777]

@ShadyDan

Nice work and welcome to the forums!

[Ben OK 203]

3 hours ago, ShadyDan said:

Hey Folks,

Long time PT lurker first time poster. Thought I would share my experience with Sabal minor “Cherokee” germination. I bought ~1,000 of these seeds form RPS recently, and I am seeing ~99% germination within a month of sowing. And I though Washingtonias were easy to germinate!

Now I have to find home for all these babies in my greenhouse... I was hoping for a little more of a staggered germination! Looking forward to sharing with some friends in some colder Canadian locales (Okanagan, Niagara region) where they may be able to survive once they size up a little. 

Welcome! Congratulations on a great germination rate. I really am impressed. Any time I have tried germinating S. minor seed, I have terrible germination rates. I have great success when I am not trying though. Just throwing them under mulch in a flower bed or in the soil in another potted plant during the summer always does the trick for me.

I hope they grow well for you.

[ShadyDan 58]

2 hours ago, Ben OK said:

Welcome! Congratulations on a great germination rate. I really am impressed. Any time I have tried germinating S. minor seed, I have terrible germination rates. I have great success when I am not trying though. Just throwing them under mulch in a flower bed or in the soil in another potted plant during the summer always does the trick for me.

I hope they grow well for you.

Thanks! Yea I think they were super fresh seeds.

I collected seed from a bunch of local windmill palms this spring and find babies popping up everywhere in my garden beds where I tossed seeds I thought were “no good”.  Also a species that germinates under heavy neglect apparently. 

Now if only my Jubaea and Butia seeds would hurry up and join the party...

[kinzyjr 3,777]

48 minutes ago, ShadyDan said:

Thanks! Yea I think they were super fresh seeds.

I collected seed from a bunch of local windmill palms this spring and find babies popping up everywhere in my garden beds where I tossed seeds I thought were “no good”.  Also a species that germinates under heavy neglect apparently. 

Now if only my Jubaea and Butia seeds would hurry up and join the party...

For Jubaea, I've had pretty quick results (~40-60 days) by putting them in a gallon freezer bag with 3-4 inches of germination medium on the bottom before I put them in, filling the bag with germination medium, sealing the bag, setting on a heat pad, and cranking the heat on for about 4 hours per day.

There are no adult Jubaea in Florida, but if we ever get a few that can hack our heat, humidity, nematodes, and soil issues - I can confirm they can actively reproduce if they can seed.  I tossed out a few seeds in the middle of summer after I figured I had enough of them to experiment with indoors.  Well, back in the bone pile, they germinated like crazy during our 95F + rainy days over the summer.  So, a few folks got some free gifts.

[climate change virginia 125]

On 11/24/2020 at 10:30 PM, ShadyDan said:

Now if only my Jubaea and Butia seeds would hurry up and join the party...

I was watching this one guy on youtube his channel name is The Palmfather and he make a perssure cooker to germinate seeds that take 3 months-to a year germinate in a few weeks