How long can sprouts survive in peat and perlite?

[knell]

Hello Palm friends:

I can find a million sources on how to germinate seeds with peat moss and perlite, but shockingly little on what to do next.

I have around 20 Washingtonia sprouts right now in degradable pots with 50/50 peat and perlite. How long will they grow in this medium, and what do I do next?

I have thought to either plant the whole bio pot in soil, or to extract the seed from the mix and plant it in soil. If moving the sprout to soil, how deep should it be buried, if at all? 

In summary, how long will palm sprouts survive in soilless medium? Can i plant the peat and perlite pots or should I move the seeds?

thank you in advance for your help!

[Kostas]

You can grow them in these pots and this medium till they outgrow it and then plant them as they are either in the ground or in much bigger pots. Washingtonia are very very fast, they get to 30cm+ during their first year from seed, with palmate leafs. They don't care the least bit about the medium, just that they have good water availability when they are growing. Then they take off.

Some fertilizer would help them once the seed is spent but be careful with tiny seedlings and fertilizer

[knell]

Thank you for the prompt reply! I am relieved to learn that there is no rush.

When should I remove the cover of the chamber? How much light do they normally enjoy? 

I am a rookie so Im full of questions... these are my first seeds to sprout, I am so excited to spend the rest of my life growing palms! This site is amazing.

Edited September 24, 2015 by knell

[Kostas]

If the germinating seeds have sent a root in the medium already and a leaf is starting, you can remove the cover and place them in more light. I would start with morning sun and as they harden, give them full sun by the second or third leaf. Just be sure to be on top of the watering, seedlings don't like to dry out nor stay soggy wet. Washingtonia are very easy and forgiving, they won't give you trouble

Happy growing and ask any questions you like

[NorthFlpalmguy]

I like to remove them before their roots become too tangled but that is more personal preference than necessity.

[DoomsDave]

Knell!

Welcome! See my PM ("Private message").

Be very very careful with peat potting mix. If it gets even a bit dry it's the devil to wet it again. I'd get your babies into potting soil as soon as possible. Full sun if possible. Washies are tough.

[Kostas]

As long as you don't let it dry, you won't have a problem. Later when you repot you can use a rich soil and replace much of the older mix

Here are a couple of mine a month after germination

After a year in the ground

And 5 more years later

The more heat, sun and water, the faster the growth

 

[DoomsDave]

Like Mr. Kostas said:

"don't let [peat] get dry . . . ."

Trust me, that's a disaster.

[Kostas]

In bigger pots, it's a big problem but as germination medium, it's acceptable as you won't normally let it dry. If you do, you can lose the seedling without some serious soaking time in water. The perlite helps though a lot with that.

Just to get an idea of what Dave is talking about, I once got me 3 Washingtonia robusta in 35cm pots, planted in mostly peat. For some reason, they dried on me. No matter how much drip time I used on these, they refused to rehydrate and I lost 1, almost lost the second one(soaked it for 3 days in a bucket of water to allow a bit of moisture in) and overall had 2 very stunted palms for almost a year... They are still in the same medium slowly amended the best I could with compost and they look good now but still struggle with the heat. Showing signs they miss water big time.

 On the other hand, I have 2 other Washies I grew from seed and kept in 20cm containers with a normal outdoor potting mix. These show no problems at all with the heat and don't care much for drought. They are bigger palms that the others in the 35cm containers, and anyone who grows Washies for some time know that they tend to max out at a certain size depending on container size and watering. Just an idea why Dave says plain peat is an awful mix for hot and dry climates. It does work ok if kept always moist or is mixed with dark peat and some clay or plenty of organics, as a lesser soil constituent. When combined with enough clay, it tends not to get hydrophobic upon drying, thanks to clay's hydrophilic properties.

[knell]

The responses I have received are amazing! Thanks to everyone for treating a novice so well. I feel like I have learned more on this site in a few hours than I have in weeks of searching the internet for articles.

I will take the warnings about dry peat seriously and make sure they stay moist! I was tempted to let them get a little dry because of where theyre from so thanks for the heads up.

Kostas: your photos are incredible and have reminded me to start taking photos of these so I can hopefully have the same set of pictures someday!