Got myself a heat pad with thermostat

[Tassie_Troy1971]

The dismal range of palms for sale down here gives me no choice but i am looking forward to germinating some lesser known palms.

Am i better off sowing seed in a tray covered by a plastic dome or what is the baggie method ? i was going to use perlite,peatmoss and potting soil !!

is it worth soaking the seed first overnight ?

I ordered Rhopalostylis sapida seed from Ebay http://stores.ebay.com.au/KENNI-KOALAS-AUSSIE-SEED-STORE i assume they would need a low heat setting 20 c to germinate.

cheers Troy

[nomolos]

Not sure of the exact temperature however I think baggie is the easiest most productive, versatile and space saving method. I would just use peatmoss until you pot them up. generally good to soak overnight, some species don't seem to like it though - others might know more on this particular one. Try tiballs peat moss, it is a top notch local peat a premium product.

[Phil]

Troy,

Remember that, with time, heating mats can pose a fire risk. They can short out and start a fire. So, put it in a location where it poses no threat to your house.

Phil

  nomolos said:

Not sure of the exact temperature however I think baggie is the easiest most productive, versatile and space saving method. I would just use peatmoss until you pot them up. generally good to soak overnight, some species don't seem to like it though - others might know more on this particular one. Try tiballs peat moss, it is a top notch local peat a premium product.

[Caryota_gigas]

If you are sprouting Rhopalostylis I wouldnt bother with the heat mat. Soak the seed for about 48 hours changing the water a couple of times, bung them in a communal pot with some nice seedling mix, and then stick them under a tree in your garden somewhere. In your climate they should pop easy. Otherwise put some seedling mix in a ziplock bag with the seed and place in a coolish part of your hot water cylinder cupboard.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

  Phil said:

Troy,

Remember that, with time, heating mats can pose a fire risk. They can short out and start a fire. So, put it in a location where it poses no threat to your house.

Phil

  nomolos said:

Not sure of the exact temperature however I think baggie is the easiest most productive, versatile and space saving method. I would just use peatmoss until you pot them up. generally good to soak overnight, some species don't seem to like it though - others might know more on this particular one. Try tiballs peat moss, it is a top notch local peat a premium product.

Thanks for the tip phil ! mine seems like a top notch product but cant be too careful mate !

[Tassie_Troy1971]

  Caryota_gigas said:

If you are sprouting Rhopalostylis I wouldnt bother with the heat mat. Soak the seed for about 48 hours changing the water a couple of times, bung them in a communal pot with some nice seedling mix, and then stick them under a tree in your garden somewhere. In your climate they should pop easy. Otherwise put some seedling mix in a ziplock bag with the seed and place in a coolish part of your hot water cylinder cupboard.

Will have to wait until November Micheal when overnight temps stay above 10c

Cheers

[Caryota_gigas]

Well they can take up to a year to germinate...

[Walter John]

Way to go Troy, now let's start talking species. What are you going to try first ?

The baggie method is :

  Quote

Otherwise put some seedling mix in a ziplock bag with the seed and place in a coolish part of your hot water cylinder cupboard.

[Phil]

Troy,

I always figured they'd short out and not work; throw it away and the end of it. But then I had a "mat fire" and had bought the best ones available over here. They were five years old. I lost a lot of stuff. I asked around and quickly heard about 5 others who had fires and one guy burned down his house. So, either throw them out in a few years or put them in a place where, if they torch, no damage is done.

Phil

[Tassie_Troy1971]

  Phil said:

Troy,

I always figured they'd short out and not work; throw it away and the end of it. But then I had a "mat fire" and had bought the best ones available over here. They were five years old. I lost a lot of stuff. I asked around and quickly heard about 5 others who had fires and one guy burned down his house. So, either throw them out in a few years or put them in a place where, if they torch, no damage is done.

Phil

I will place it in the garden shed away from the house see the pattern emerging !!!

[Tassie_Troy1971]

  Wal said:

Way to go Troy, now let's start talking species. What are you going to try first ?

I have some butia capitata in there now ,have ordered some pure (hopefully) washingtonia filifera and the Rhopalostylis sapida .

i have peatmoss and perlite mix .

[Jonathan]

Good choice Troy - the filifera's will be up so fast that you'll forget about the other two and so when they finally germinate in 2010 it will be a nice surprise!

But seriously.....for Butia try very high temps (around 40c) - I had good results with them a few years ago when my propagator was (accidently) set up in a sunny window - I've not had much luck at lower temps. I think there is some evidence for this (try Googling "Timothy Broschat Butia capitata seed germination revisited") .

That won't help you with your Nikaus though. I've just put some in and have some more seed on the way - so it will be intersesting to see how we go! They should feel right at home down here...

Good luck,

Jonathan

[Tassie_Troy1971]

  Jonathan said:

Good choice Troy - the filifera's will be up so fast that you'll forget about the other two and so when they finally germinate in 2010 it will be a nice surprise!

But seriously.....for Butia try very high temps (around 40c) - I had good results with them a few years ago when my propagator was (accidently) set up in a sunny window - I've not had much luck at lower temps. I think there is some evidence for this (try Googling "Timothy Broschat Butia capitata seed germination revisited") .

That won't help you with your Nikaus though. I've just put some in and have some more seed on the way - so it will be intersesting to see how we go! They should feel right at home down here...

Good luck,

Jonathan

The pure Filifera should be nice for a change. Jon ,where do you buy your seeds from ?

[Jonathan]

Troy - I think my filifera seed came from Ellison Horticultural www.ellisonhort.com/ in NSW - that was a couple of years ago tho. They dont seem to have an online seed catalog but you may be able to e-mail a request for one.

Whether they are pure filifera - who knows? They look pretty different from my robustas at least.

Years ago I bought a heap of various species from Clayton at Utopia Palms in Qld. but he's moved into rare tropical things - way beyond us I'm afraid...

I see that you've found Mark 'Kenni Koala' Wilson.....I've got quite a few things from him - he runs a good little business.

I've got a couple of varieties of Nikaus on the way from NZ.

Other than that - I'm eyeing off Ortinique.

I guess I shop around!

[Mindaries_Perth]

Hi Troy, I just noticed this discussion. I too have bought this same make of heat pad propagation unit.

I was also concerned about the unit, but I'm told by their marketing guy that that the trays are built with safety themal cut out devices to ensure electrical safety standards. He did mentioned though that you should stop using it once the heating tray or power cord become in anyway cracked/damaged (makes sense).

I have this thing away from my house in any case.

I had a whole bunch of the Chamie cat/cascades seeds that just matured from my backyard and had just planted them with this unit. So it will be interesting to see how it all goes.

Rgds

Rahaidi