I spent a little fortune purchasing the new ceroxylon peruvianum seeds now available from RPS, and I need to get more out of my germination process to maximize the return on $7/seed. This looks like a nice looking, very promising palm.

My current process is this, and I'd like to get feedback what could be done differently.

1) soak seeds in tap water for 24-48h (our tap water is chlorinated)

2) rinse, and soak in a dilution of copper fungicide for 10 minutes

3) place in zip lock bag with wetted coconut fiber, slightly drained

4) zip lock goes in greenhouse where it sees daily temp fluctuation of 45F night, 85F day, slightly dampened out by laying on top of soil and out of direct sunlight.

My last batch of ventricosum was germinated in a 15 gallon pot outdoors in native soil, I got a pretty decent germination rate until Winter arrived. Anything germinated continued to grow fine but the colder soil seemed to have shut down germination.

Any input from the ceroxylon veterans would be greatly appreciated.

send Jonathan a pm he has great success with germinating Ceroxylon ! I saw those seeds on RPS big $$

When I germinated Ceroxylon amazonicum many years back,I got 10 out of 11 seeds to germinate in room temperature(18-24C but mostly around 20C) using damp perlite in a tupperware container. I also germinated C. echinulatum in a similar manner but both of those are lower elevation species than others in the genus.

Wish you good germination % with yours!!!

Axel, I would NOT put them in a greenhouse at any stage, ever! I'm not even sure if a ziplock is a good idea for any species other than amazonicum, but might be wrong.

Iv'e tried a couple of different methods, had good luck with amazonicum at room temp inside in ziplock.

Generally though outside in the shadehouse with each seed in an individual small pot of 50/50 peat & perlite mixed with a small ammount of compost.

I put the seed in a shallow hole on top of the mix then covered the seed its own depth in sphagnum, like for parajubaeas. Probably unneccesary, but worked well for parvifrons, echinulatum, alpinum and ventricosum.

Germination has continued sporadically each spring for three years, but maybe 75% in the first year.

I found that in well drained pots (put some gravel in the bottom) you can keep the seed mix quite wet with no ill effect, so low humidity is not an issue.

This is true for our cool wet winters too, they just sit still then start germination again the following spring.

Cheers,

Jonathan

Axel - repeat - not in the greenhouse!

Cheers,

Jonathan

Axel - repeat - not in the greenhouse!

Cheers,

Jonathan

They're not in the greenhouse, they're still in the baggies in the house, I am waiting for this last bout of cold weather to pass before I put them outside in the shade.

Hi Axel,

A soak is not really necessary for the C. peruvianum as seeds are not desiccated, but won't hurt them either. I find that all Ceroxylon germinate well without any heat. In habitat they get dropped by birds to the forest floor where it is cool, shady and always damp, with little temperature fluctuation, so that is what you would want to recreate for the seeds and the seedlings. C. peruvianum grows between 1200 and 2500 m, so it can take a lot of cool (2500 m had very chilly nights) but also is not fussy with warmer temperatures. The seeds were collected at the upper altitude level for that species.

Best, TOBY

Hi Axel,

A soak is not really necessary for the C. peruvianum as seeds are not desiccated, but won't hurt them either. I find that all Ceroxylon germinate well without any heat. In habitat they get dropped by birds to the forest floor where it is cool, shady and always damp, with little temperature fluctuation, so that is what you would want to recreate for the seeds and the seedlings. C. peruvianum grows between 1200 and 2500 m, so it can take a lot of cool (2500 m had very chilly nights) but also is not fussy with warmer temperatures. The seeds were collected at the upper altitude level for that species.

Best, TOBY

Thanks. I've got plenty of damp shade, can't wait to get these to germinate. I did soak them, I hope it won't hurt them.

Stick them in a cupboard or under your bed. And let the seed surface dry before putting in the bag with barely damp medium.