Germinating Chamaedorea Radicalis seeds

[Zach K]

Just ordered some C. radicalis seeds from Ebay. Does anyone have experience germinating them? 
Would love some tips.

Thanks.

[mdsonofthesouth]

I do. Got some from a member on here and they aren't too bad to get going. I soaked mine for a few days then put the seeds in potting soil in a cell tray with a heat pad and dome and about a month later most germinated.

 

 

Given most of them away still have 4 left from this batch and I want to try them outside in a good setting.

Edited April 10, 2020 by mdsonofthesouth

[Zach K]

Wow those look terrific! Great job! 
Did you keep it constantly moist in there? What happens if the soil dries out? 

[Chester B]

I did the exact same thing, with the same results.  Just make sure they stay moist and don't let them dry out.

[Cikas]

Very, very easy. I just put them in soil (keep soil moist) and leave them outside in semi-shade area during spring or summer, and they start to germinate in month or two. 

[Hillizard]

For mine germination is effortless. I just let the seeds fall onto the ground and in a few weeks/months they sprout without any attention from me. I have at least a dozen coming up under my mature C. radicalis.

[Tropicdoc]

I have fruiting palms. Should I plant the seeds when red or dry them out first?

[mdsonofthesouth]

On 4/10/2020 at 10:11 AM, Zach K said:

Wow those look terrific! Great job! 
Did you keep it constantly moist in there? What happens if the soil dries out? 

Yeah I sprayed water on the soil every day to make sure they were always moist.

[Zach K]

Awesome, thanks.

[Tropicdoc]

Y’all tell me how to turn these into more palms!

 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

On 4/30/2020 at 7:20 PM, Tropicdoc said:

Y’all tell me how to turn these into more palms!

My guess let them drop and let nature take its course =) 

[Tropicdoc]

Will do. Lot of competition in the area though.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

16 hours ago, Tropicdoc said:

Will do. Lot of competition in the area though.

Survival of the fittest =) 

[RyManUtah]

well, I own at least one! Thanks @DoomsDave ! 

[Manalto]

On 4/10/2020 at 1:08 PM, Cikas said:

Very, very easy. I just put them in soil (keep soil moist) and leave them outside in semi-shade area during spring or summer, and they start to germinate in month or two. 

I used the same method but only had about a 30% germination rate. Potted up the sprouted seeds while still very small because of the limited amount of soil in cell packs. I'm giving the remaining seeds another couple of months in case there are shy sprouters.

 

PS I have reported geislerf's post above.

[knikfar]

On 4/10/2020 at 2:38 AM, mdsonofthesouth said:

I do. Got some from a member on here and they aren't too bad to get going. I soaked mine for a few days then put the seeds in potting soil in a cell tray with a heat pad and dome and about a month later most germinated.

 

 

Given most of them away still have 4 left from this batch and I want to try them outside in a good setting.

Did  you plant these outside? And if so, how have they done in your climate? 

[Chester B]

@knikfar they do very well here, and look flawless come spring.  I have a number of them outside that I germinated from @DoomsDave seed a few years back.  Far superior to Chamaedorea microspadix which look awful after each winter.

[knikfar]

8 minutes ago, Chester B said:

@knikfar they do very well here, and look flawless come spring.  I have a number of them outside that I germinated from @DoomsDave seed a few years back.  Far superior to Chamaedorea microspadix which look awful after each winter.

That's good to hear. Though I'm in Raleigh NC, zone 7b. So not sure if they'll look as great as they do for you, in full zone ahead of me. But I hope they do. 

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, knikfar said:

That's good to hear. Though I'm in Raleigh NC, zone 7b. So not sure if they'll look as great as they do for you, in full zone ahead of me. But I hope they do. 

You're probably right on the edge, but at least they are easy to protect if needed.

[BeyondTheGarden]

I have 5 seedlings in the ground. I had various levels of protection this winter, which was pretty bad.  A week below freezing, 6" snow, low of 16f.  

My seedlings had varying levels of protection.  The first one had frost cloth over it.  Some minor damage.  The second had an upside down flower pot on it..  Zero damage. 

The two in the last pic were totally exposed.  I believe the one on the right had plastic sheeting touching it.  It broke in half.  The one on the left looks bad but the center spear is still solid.  I'm waiting to see how it does. Note that is up against an open carport and not my house. So no thermal benefit. 

[knikfar]

On 3/21/2022 at 7:39 PM, Jesse PNW said:

I have 5 seedlings in the ground. I had various levels of protection this winter, which was pretty bad.  A week below freezing, 6" snow, low of 16f.  

My seedlings had varying levels of protection.  The first one had frost cloth over it.  Some minor damage.  The second had an upside down flower pot on it..  Zero damage. 

The two in the last pic were totally exposed.  I believe the one on the right had plastic sheeting touching it.  It broke in half.  The one on the left looks bad but the center spear is still solid.  I'm waiting to see how it does. Note that is up against an open carport and not my house. So no thermal benefit. 

Thank you for sharing. That winter doesn't sound terribly different than my typical winter. We don't usually spend more than 2 or 3 days below freezing and our entire snow season averages about 5". But that low temp is pretty typical with some winters being lower, sometimes into the single digits but that isn't very often. I think 17f was our low this year. 

[Fallen Munk]

Easiest and quickest seed I ever germinated.

[Manalto]

Is germination of C. microspadix comparable?