I thought it would be interesting to see how large other people's palms are that they grew from seed and if known how old they are. Here is my largest and oldest Jubaea that I grew from a seed planted in Fall of 2008.

Very healthy!

Very nice. I've heard how slow Jubaea's are to germinate and grow as a seedling. Good visual of what you can expect from a Jubaea in 6 years.

This Jamaican tall coconut that I sprouted from seed is one of my biggest.

Here's a picture of it in June 2010

Here's a picture of it now

I think my oldest one is this Phoenix canariensis that I germinated sometime around a year ago. I don't have a picture right now, but it's just thrown it's second leaf and is 2 or 3 times the size, and still in a one gallon.

(I apologize for the rotation. I fixed it in photoshop, but it still insists on loading like that)

Edited May 26, 201412 yr by Sabal Steve

I went searching and I found a picture of my Jubaea from May 2010. This is one of my plants that I started in the ground and transplanted to a pot later on. I'm a bit surprised by the growth rate of it as I thought it would grow slower. So far in 2014 it has opened 3 new leaves.

Keith your Jamaican Tall is looking good thanks for sharing. Is it going to go in the ground soon? Before and afters are nice to see.

Steve Thanks for sharing your P. canariensis.

I went searching and I found a picture of my Jubaea from May 2010. This is one of my plants that I started in the ground and transplanted to a pot later on. I'm a bit surprised by the growth rate of it as I thought it would grow slower. So far in 2014 it has opened 3 new leaves.

Keith your Jamaican Tall is looking good thanks for sharing. Is it going to go in the ground soon? Before and afters are nice to see.

Steve Thanks for sharing your P. canariensis.

That's surprisingly good growth for Jubaea. My Jamaican tall will most likely be going into ground before the summer is over. It's grown fast, but I have a feeling that it would be a bit faster in ground.

This little Bizzy is the largest I've grown from seed. I sowed the seed late Jan, it germinated about four weeks later and the first leaf emerged about a month ago. Over Christmas, I threw out three 20L bucket of Bizzy seeds as they create havoc with my lawnmowers blades. At the moment, I have about 20 seeds planted, most have germinated, so in the coming months I expect to see a few more leaves popping up.

that's why I hate the idea of growing from a seed.

takes ficken forever - its ok if you are 21 and inherited a house from you grandma that you will own for 50 years.

otherwise "plant big"

(unless its a rocket ship palm of course)

Edited May 27, 201412 yr by trioderob

that's why I hate the idea of growing from a seed.

takes ficken forever - its ok if you are 21 and inherited a house from you grandma that you will own for 50 years.

otherwise "plant big"

(unless its a rocket ship palm of course)

I am with you. I established a 3 foot rule a while back, but I keep breaking it. Its that danged budget and availability thing that keeps getting in the way.

B. edulis, growing from a scattered seed. Much larger than all my others. I guess good genetics landed in a good location. Flip-flop is Dooms Dave's size 13 American.

Edited May 27, 201412 yr by awkonradi

Here's my biggest - the mighty CIDP! Not rare or exotic, but a personal favorite.

Grown from seed circa 1990, held in containers for the next 16 years or so due to lack of a place to plant such a big species, finally planted out in about 2006.

Dog grown from a puppy 2012...

Here it is (centre of photo) with it's friends - half a dozen or so other Canaries and a few Butia's all grown from seed around the same time (Butias and smaller CIDP's maybe more like 1995), and planted out between 2006 - 2008. None of these palms get much, if any extra water during our very dry summers and would doubtless be a fair bit bigger if they did - I save the water for species that need it!

I think this little grove will look pretty cool in ten years time...

Cheers,

Jonathan

Sorry - double posted it!

Awesome super healthy palm, and a mighty handsome super healthy dog, too.

Thanks Keith, the previous dog (very similar to the current one) is planted under that big palm.

A fitting memorial to a fine old hound!

Cheers,

Jonathan

The two W. filibusta in the picture are going on 6 years from seed, and unfortunately it looks as if I will lose one. Of that batch, those two were the largest, but of 8 the smallest is around 8 feet tall.

B. edulis, growing from a scattered seed. Much larger than all my others. I guess good genetics landed in a good location. Flip-flop is Dooms Dave's size 13 American.

I also have a B. edulis I grew from seed. it started opening up it's first fan leaves this year. Your would probably do better if the Asparagus was removed near it as long as it can be done without harming the roots of the palm.

Jonathan you have some nice palm and plenty of space for them to grow up big and your dog to run around.

_Keith even for the 8 footers that is not bad at all for in 6 years. Although it is hard losing plants especially those grown from seed I think better to thin out the weak while they are small. I figure if it does not die as a seedling then it stands a better chance later on in life with less care and under more extreme conditions.

I have a number of things that I am growing from seed. Stuff that grows real slow. By the time that my 3 large palms that are anchoring my backyard have a good bit of trunk on them, the plants that I grew from seed will be understory palms. They're fun to watch grow, and to study along the way. Truthfully, with the nutrients and the time spent taking care of them until 15 gallon or so plants, I'm not sure that they would be all that cheaper than if you just bought a 15 gallon of the same plant at a nursery. Plus, some times you are only able to get seed of certain species depending where you live, so you are forced to start there, or pay for phyto certs and expensive shipping - if available at all.

Here's a couple coconuts I collected from Islamorada, Florida in 2010 and germinated in 2011. Starting to put some size on.

Do random Palms that popped up on our property count? Like Washy's or Phoenix that we didn't plant? Got plenty of those and a Phoenix that is getting a bit big...

that's why I hate the idea of growing from a seed.

takes ficken forever - its ok if you are 21 and inherited a house from you grandma that you will own for 50 years.

otherwise "plant big"

(unless its a rocket ship palm of course)

What's with this rant? Why don't you just admit that you've got nothin' to show?

What sets apart botanical artists from regular homeowner-landscapers is growing palms from seed.

Phoenix reclinata, seed collected at LA Arboretum. No nursery has any reclinata with fronds that long and elegant, only available via seed propagation.

Future bismarckia, silver and green types. Gene activation from local environmental conditions are only available to those that grow from seed.

For pure size, my last washy before I installed it by the nursery entrance. These were not even fertilized the last few years as I tried to stunt their growth so they would not shade the nearby pindos otherwise they would be much larger. I think those are 5-6 years old (including the runts to the left of it) and the empty holes are some I sold around the same height as the large one- approx 14ft overall. I am very surprised they look that good after our last winter. I do have some windmills and pindos much older and close to the same height but few pics of them. I grow all my palms from seed and am dang proud of it.

Edited May 27, 201412 yr by bbrantley

Here's a couple coconuts I collected from Islamorada, Florida in 2010 and germinated in 2011. Starting to put some size on.

Cool! Are those collected from the Jamaican talls that you took pictures of a while back?

Here's a couple coconuts I collected from Islamorada, Florida in 2010 and germinated in 2011. Starting to put some size on.

Cool! Are those collected from the Jamaican talls that you took pictures of a while back?

Yes, I collected them from these in the photos, however it's still unclear what type they are.

If you are ever able to upload a picture of one of the ripe coconuts I could probably help you out. The tall ones in the background are Jamaican tall, but some of the ones in the foreground could be hybrids.

IHB, that is a great pic with all those coconut trees. My first thought was I'd like to live there.

Ironically, the largest palm I've grown from seed is not a trunking palm. Sabal minor, from back when rarepalmseeds.com used to have a "cold hardy sample pack". So I have no idea which ecotype it is. It has done well for me. Chunk of concrete rubble is still there for scale. No current pic but it hasn't gotten much taller, just larger leaves.

Fall 2010

Fall 2012

Here is my oldest palm that I grew from seed, and that's an honest truth. Took 19 years!

Edited May 30, 201412 yr by Pando

Here is my oldest palm that I grew from seed, and that's an honest truth. Took 19 years!

Now, that is an accomplishment.

IHB, that is a great pic with all those coconut trees. My first thought was I'd like to live there.

Ironically, the largest palm I've grown from seed is not a trunking palm. Sabal minor, from back when rarepalmseeds.com used to have a "cold hardy sample pack". So I have no idea which ecotype it is. It has done well for me. Chunk of concrete rubble is still there for scale. No current pic but it hasn't gotten much taller, just larger leaves.

Fall 2010

Fall 2012

Reminds me of sabal mccurtain, see photo below, looks very similar, and the size is right. Regular minor gets much bigger.

Archonto purpurea I sprouted around 2004 in CA. (It currently has its first inflorescence!)

Thanks everyone for sharing your palms you grew from seed. it's nice seeing posts from others who have similar sized and aged plants as me. Now does anyone have seedlings from their palms that they grew from seed?

Here is my largest palm from seed, Ceroxylon parvifrons, planted as a germinated seed directly into the ground in 1991, with 14 feet of trunk below the aggregate leafbases. No chance for seed, as this is a male plant. My second and third plants are not yet mature enough to flower.

Here is my second generation from seed, Hedyscepe, planted in 1983, now has 8 feet of trunk: parent tree, infructescence, and first seedling. Note the enormous eophyll !

This is extremely gratifying to have second generation Hedyscepe in my heat-starved microclimate.

Here is my largest palm from seed, Ceroxylon parvifrons, planted as a germinated seed directly into the ground in 1991, with 14 feet of trunk below the aggregate leafbases. No chance for seed, as this is a male plant. My second and third plants are not yet mature enough to flower.

IMG_2249.JPG

Here is my second generation from seed, Hedyscepe, planted in 1983, now has 8 feet of trunk: parent tree, infructescence, and first seedling. Note the enormous eophyll !

This is extremely gratifying to have second generation Hedyscepe in my heat-starved microclimate.

IMG_2250.JPGIMG_2251.JPGIMG_2252.JPG

I have some of Darold's Hedyscepe offsprings. There is something to be said for gene activation from locally grown trees. Mine have doubled in size in just one year. They are simply spectacular.

I can't think of anything I've grown from seed, but I can really appreciate the patience and care that went into these examples. You all have done yourselves proud. That Jubaea looks great, and the purpurea and Ceroxylon are stunners.

I do have some hopes for seed now sitting in pots in Hawaii -- we shall see.

Can't think of anything stupendous I grew from seeds.

But there's lots that grew from seedlings . . . .

Axel, a logical guess, considering I got a "cold hardy sample pack", and 'McCurtain' Sabal minors are considered to be the cold hardiest of the species. It would stand to reason that RPS would use seeds of that variety. I hadn't thought of that. It would be ironic that I live only a few miles from native stands, but have a specimen of the farthest-away ecotype.

Mr. Petty, awesome palms.

I dug this Butia odorata up as as two leaf, with a spear showing, seedling, at the base of the mother tree, after she had just died of old age, where there used to be a house a hundred years old or so, on the back road to the Cape (NASA), on Gov. property in 1994, if a two leaf seedling counts, Ed

Haha, we get so deeply involved with our first plantings, seed or no seed. My two royals (now 50 feet high) were purchased as a microscopic strap leaf seedlings (with a bit of paper used to cover up a golf-ball sized rootball) in 2000 and I can't imagine life without them, no matter that they have become common even in India.

Even more sentimental for me are the two mango trees we have, that I planted with hands as a 8 year old in 1991 -- now they are also Gigantic!

My largest palm from seed is this oil palm, grown from seed I collected from a huge fruiting specimen growing in a park in Pattaya, Thailand in March 2011. This was the only seed I bothered to collect and dehusk and clean (they are oily!). The photos illustrate the cleaned seed (April'11) , the seed planted in some thick loam (April'11), germinating (November'11) and today - planted in the ground since Jan'14!

Also growing together can be seen a 2nd generation C urens planted using seed from my dying C urens

Thanks everyone for continuing to post. Darold I like your Ceroxylon parvifrons and second Generation Hedyscepe! Ed, I think a two leaf seedling is close enough. I have done the same before with Archontophoenix and Howea forsteriana. Kumar,I don't think anything I planted would be 50 feet in the next 50 years that would be really nice to see something that you plants grow up so large from such a small plant.

These 2 Kentia's were purchased as germinated seed whilst on holiday on Norfolk Island in the mid 90's. They have outlasted 2 other houses and an ex wife before finally being planted in the ground at my current house.