Selecting the inflorescence

Emasculating the inflorescence (removing all male flowers)

Pollinating the female flowers with Veitchia arecina pollen

Anthesis is complete (female flowers are no longer receptive)

One month later

Two months later

Four months later (picture taken yesterday). Notice the oblong shape of the seed. Most standard Foxtail seeds are round.

This tree produces a new inflorescence every 2 months

JD, thanks for sharing. What is the difference between the male and female flowers in bud stage.

The flowers are born in triads with one female in the middle and two males on either side. The males protrude more prior to anthesis so they can be removed without harming the females. Does that answer your question?

Thanks JD, it does

Are you just shaking the Veitchia inflorescence onto the female flowers?

Zeeth, I would say brushing. The Veitchia anthers do not carry much visible pollen, so it is difficult to collect the pollen like Tim Hopper and Patric do with Cocosoid palms...

Seed harvested today! Posted them in the For Sale section. The mature seed seems to be a little skinnier than a standard Foxtail Seed. What do you think?

I guess there is no way to tell if the seeds have mixed DNA or not so would it not be better to sprout them first?

No, not necessary Ken.

Thanks JD - got your seeds a few weeks ago (15). I soaked them in a seaweed fertilizer bath for 48 hrs and set them in individual pots, covered with foil, out in the full sun (has been 90+ every day since then pretty much. Today, I checked them and all the seeds are "locked" into the soil meaning they all have a root already. (100%) I am very surprised how fast that went - less than 1 month. How are yours doing?

Oliver

Excellent post JD. Very informative as only photos can show. Thanks.

oliver,

nicely done! we are getting reports of 100% germination in 3 weeks from our other customers too. yes, ours just began putting down root last week.

JD

I've got sprouts coming up too! I ended up losing 2 seeds out of the 5 from squirrels digging them out of the pots and eating them but I put the other 3 in our screened patio to sprout so they're safe and beginning to sprout. The seeds definitely are a different shape/size than normal foxtails.

Keith,

We sent you 2 replacements correct?

JD

No but it was really on my end that I lost them, you obviously don't have control over the squirrels at my house, so I wasn't complaining, just making an observation.

Hello JD,

I just ordered some seeds from you and would like some guidance on how to germinate them (Wodveitchia, Mule Palm, and Leptocheilos X Decaryi).

Any pointers about germination and how to maximize it? Is the process the same for all of these seeds?

I have a heat mat and a strong desire to succeed...

Thank you!

Thank you!

Zeeth, sorry, had you confused with another customer

Sonotaps, for the wodveitchia and leptocheilos x decaryi, place seeds flat in standard potting soil. just wedge them into the top of the soil (so that a little bit of the side is still visible). make sure the soil is moist, not wet. place a plastic cover of some kind on top of the container and keep on your heatpad. make sure your heatpad doesn't have an "auto-off" feature. i use a meat-temperature checker (about $3) to check soil temp. it should be 75-95deg at all times. germination should be in 3 weeks on wodveitchia and 6-8 weeks on Lepto x Decaryi.

for the xButiagrus, the baggie method seems to work. place in a bag of moist spaghnum moss and spray with some fungicide. i use Captan50. keep in direct sun for most of the day, but allow to cool at night. make sure the bag is sealed well. you should see tap roots pop out in a couple months.. pot them up into their own containers.

Zeeth, sorry, had you confused with another customer

No problem! I'll post pictures of the sprouts once they throw a leaf or two

Thank you, JD.

The two "racing stripes" on each of these hybrid seeds are very pronounced in this batch. I presume it is part of the Veitchia genetics carrying on into the new hybrid seed. Has anyone seen racing stripes on a standard foxtail seed before?

Hello,

I got the seeds. Is it a bad thing if some of the seeds are floating from a viability standpoint? Soaking first in clean water for a day and then sowing them.

Soak for a few days and they should sink, It's doesn't mean they're not viable. ... or just plant them right away.

are seeds of hybrids viable? if so what are they ?

Steve,

All of our seeds are F1, meaning first generation made from 2 different parents. Seeds produced by a hybrid are F2 and are either interspecific (Syagrus x Syagrus) or intergeneric (Butia x Syagrus). We find that most interspecific F2 seeds are viable, while most intergeneric F2 seeds are not. However, growers in Ft. Lauderdale and Hawaii have sprouted F2 Wodveitchia seed. And lots of people have sprouted F2 Butiagrus seed off the famous tree at The Huntington in Los Angeles. I would imagine that those trees were back-crossed with something else in the garden.

JD