Germinating Johannesteijsmannia magnifica

[Cindy Adair 3,257]

On December 17, 2021 I received 5 seeds from RPS. 1 floated, 4 sunk, but I put them all in moist sphagnum moss in a plastic bag after soaking them in water for a few days.

 

I mostly use community pots, but have also had luck with the baggie method and wanted to visualize any success with minimal seed disturbance. Much easier in a clear bag.

I kept a group of such bags in a plastic bowl on a chair in the shade on my porch despite the now chilly (to me) night time lows down to 65 but highs about 82 F.

In a day or two I saw black mold on the floating seed, removed it and put it in an isolated bag after cleaning and H2O2 treatment. I discarded it later as it was becoming soft and more black.

In one week I saw the first evidence of germination among the four remaining! 

See the small whitish “button” below.
 

Today three show various stages of life from one more at the button stage to one with an actual root.

I quickly covered them back up with sphagnum next to some other bags for warmth and (wearing a jacket myself as it is still only 70 F) I wrote this post.

Clearly I am fully acclimated to tropical temperatures where anything below 75 with my normal breezes feels cold... It will be 80 soon so I will thaw.

My questions are these:

When is the best stage to remove the germinating seeds from the bag?

And do I keep them in some sphagnum just mixing in my usual potting mix?

Plus for this species that apparently dislikes being moved and has a long first root, what height/width of pot to choose?

I have waited until leaves are visible on some species like Verschaffeltia and without hesitation popped them into a four inch pot or whatever is handy into all potting mix and they didn’t miss a beat.

But I really want all of these to live to be planted out so am seeking general advice on making the baggie to pot transition plus any hints on Joey palm seed/seedling handling.

Thanks so much! 

 

 

 

[hbernstein 266]

Tall, narrow  "citrus"  type pots are great for most any palm. See:

https://stuewe.com/product-category/treepots-trays/

I find that the seedlings grow much faster and have much more vigor. 

[Cindy Adair 3,257]

Thanks Bernstein! I have several sizes of similar pots, but do like the look of what you suggested. Much appreciated.

 I think mine are not as wide and taller. 
 

Would you suggest planting the barely germinated seeds now or leaving them in the baggie “nursery” longer?
 

 

 

[hbernstein 266]

I would wait until they develop all develop a distinctive root, like in image #6, not just a "button".

[meridannight 35]

Nice. I ordered J. altifrons from them at about the same time, and have also planted them in the baggies for now.  Nothing going on for me yet. 

I agree with waiting till they have a clear root growing, before planting out into pots. It shouldn't be a problem as long as you handle the root carefully. 

[Cindy Adair 3,257]

Thank you meridannight and hope your J. altifrons germinate soon.

[Frond-friend42 413]

On 1/13/2022 at 9:39 AM, Cindy Adair said:

Thanks Bernstein! I have several sizes of similar pots, but do like the look of what you suggested. Much appreciated.

 I think mine are not as wide and taller. 
 

Would you suggest planting the barely germinated seeds now or leaving them in the baggie “nursery” longer?
 

 

 

Really cool. My impression from my germination experiences is that it's best to have a little shoot in addition to the root prior to potting. 

[GoatLockerGuns 738]

I grow a lot of palm varieties from seed using the baggie method and bottom heat.  I use both peat moss and sphagnum moss, as well as cheap grow lights.  I have found that, if room in the baggie allows it, I get best results if I leave the sprouted palm seeds in the baggie until one or two strap leaves appear with solid root growth.  I give the baggies just a moderate amount of light during this phase.  I think the moist baggie environment acts sort of like a mini greenhouse, and the new strap leaves typically grow faster in the baggie than when I pot them up immediately after root appearance.  They seem to get a "kickstart" on life this way.  You don't want to leave them in too long though. If the strap leaf starts getting close to the top of the baggie, or starts sticking to the side of the baggie due to too much moisture, then you will want to pot them up right away.

I would also agree to pot them in the tall, thin nursery pots for the first year or two.  If you decide to put them in pots after a strap leaf or two appear, then you will want to gradually introduce them to full sun (i.e., start in a shaded spot, and gradually move them into more sunny locations over the next month or two).

[Cindy Adair 3,257]

First one up! This is from one of the two seeds that I removed from the baggie as soon as a short root was visible and planted in a tall pot covered by a plastic bag. I removed the bag and put it in my shadehouse. 
 

The roots of the two in the original ziplock bag are getting long and twisted.

[Palms Brisbane 481]

Congrats

[realarch 6,281]

Looking good Cindy. I think you would be good potting either way, just with a decent tap root and or at least one strap leaf with a healthy green color. Richard above had some good techniques. I’ve never grown Joey’s from seed as they are readily  available here in Hilo. A quick run up the hill to grab a few. 

These can be a bit finicky for me, growing like gangbusters for a few years and then declining. They also don’t take trauma well either. Recovery from a falling frond takes forever or proves fatal. They hate transplanting as well, at least in my experience. 

I’ve currently have two that are doing well, although one is coming out of an insect attack of an emerging spear. I keep trying though as they are such attractive palms. I’ve learned to lower expectations for this particular specie, so i’t all good. 

You know I also use Asterogyne and Calyptogyne to create a similar effect. Beautiful wide entire leaves and bulletproof.

Tim

[realarch 6,281]

I took this photo of J. altifrons at a friends garden just a few miles north of here. It was perfect. Must have been 7’tall. (2m) It’s what I strive for, although geographically they live on a much older lava flow and have very deep black soil.

Tim

[Barry 95]

Wow, that is beautiful specimen! Would love to get mine to that size someday. I have a 1 gal of altifrons and magnifica, second try on these. Hopefully one day and I live long enough to see it, lol.

[PalmsandLiszt 73]

21 hours ago, Cindy Adair said:

First one up! This is from one of the two seeds that I removed from the baggie as soon as a short root was visible and planted in a tall pot covered by a plastic bag. I removed the bag and put it in my shadehouse. 
 

The roots of the two in the original ziplock bag are getting long and twisted.

Snap!

You must have started yours exactly the same time I did. I potted mine up when the roots were about a couple of inches in length; I'd not let them get tangled up in the moss, if I were you.
I've had 3/5 magnifica germinate so far (although unfortunately lost one to a thermostat mishap, so 2 is my worst case scenario).

[Cindy Adair 3,257]

PalmsandLiszt I love seeing yours sprouting too! 
 

Thanks for the encouragement and beautiful photo Tim and others!

I intend a planting day today, but I think potting up my two other germinated seeds is overdue too.

I fear I might damage the now quite long root on each of them that happened while still no shoots evident. I’ll take photos to add here when I get it done. 

No place in PR to buy these that I have ever seen, so seeds are the way to go.
 

[realarch 6,281]

Good Luck Cindy. Come to think of it, I have never seen a seeding Joey anywhere.

Tim

[meridannight 35]

On 1/15/2022 at 9:47 PM, Cindy Adair said:

Thank you meridannight and hope your J. altifrons germinate soon.

Mine are up. Just discovered roots in my bags right now. I have at least 3 out of my 11 seeds come up (haven't opened the bags yet, but could detect 3 roots so far). I bagged mine on Jan 6-9. I intend to take pictures once I get around to taking them out and planting them into containers.  Guess I gotta get some deep ones for these. 

Edited April 13 by meridannight

[Cindy Adair 3,257]

Congratulations meridannight!

My four are growing steadily. No big difference between the ones I took out of the baggie right away after a sign of germination and the ones left much longer.

Nothing yet on my J. perakensis.

[palmfriend 1,926]

Hi,

 

I just joined the club with my first J.altifron sprouts...

"Could you have smile for the camera, please?"

"Thank you!" 

Happy growing!

 

regards 

Lars

 

[realarch 6,281]

Lars, love that photo.They look like specialty candy from Osaka. Sugoi!

Tim

[PalmsandLiszt 73]

On 4/15/2022 at 8:07 AM, palmfriend said:

 

 

What are the small, dark brown ones?

Edited April 16 by PalmsandLiszt

[palmfriend 1,926]

25 minutes ago, PalmsandLiszt said:

What are the small, dark brown ones?

Front left: one Verschaffeltia splendida seed - I got one sprout so far...

Right center and back: two Butia seeds

center: a Sabinaria magnifica seed... 

 

Lars

 

[palmfriend 1,926]

9 hours ago, realarch said:

Lars, love that photo.They look like specialty candy from Osaka. Sugoi!

Tim

Tim,

a non-palmy friend of mine said exactly the same - "They look like sweets!" when I showed him a picture of the seeds. 

At a glance they could be mistaken easily for some candy indeed - especially in Japan... 

 

Lars

[meridannight 35]

Here's one of my germinated altifrons. The other ones have much smaller roots, and I left them inside the bags for now. 

 

 

 

[Cindy Adair 3,257]

Bad news first as one of my four silver Joey seedlings just disappeared. My guess is that a bird was foraging for nesting material and pulled it up with the but of sphagnum I had left around it. I removed the top dressing of sphagnum from the other three. 
 

My first of 5 Johannesteijsmannia Perakensis seeds put in sphagnum 3/12/22 has shown signs of life! I will let it stay in the “nursery” for now.

For palm seeds these two species are quick and thanks to fresh seed from rps!

 

[Palms Brisbane 481]

My silver joey couple days ago.

 

 

[Cindy Adair 3,257]

Congratulations to you!