Seeds germinated. Now what?

[NCFM]

I recently germinated some s. causiarum, s. minor, and s. mexicana seeds.  At what point should I pot the newly germinated seeds up?  Would something like solo cups filled with miracle grow palm and cactus mix work to get them started?  Thanks in advance for any tips

[TheMadScientist]

We all love to see your new family photos.  It depends on the exact stage these have advanced to.  The first item that I noticed is "solo cups" which I am assuming are plastic.  Have you put drain holes in those?  Originally, I purchased a case of styrofoam  16 oz. cups where I used a soldering iron with 1/4" tip that I melted 4 holes on each bottom.  Someone with Sabal knowledge can address root frailty, depth and specific media.  One thing I have learned with initial root development, easy draining materials like peat, sand, perlite, planting mix and NOT CLAY BASED SOIL HERE AT MY HOUSE, allow roots to grow faster, thus the strap leaf also.

[NCFM]

54 minutes ago, TheMadScientist said:

We all love to see your new family photos.  It depends on the exact stage these have advanced to.  The first item that I noticed is "solo cups" which I am assuming are plastic.  Have you put drain holes in those?  Originally, I purchased a case of styrofoam  16 oz. cups where I used a soldering iron with 1/4" tip that I melted 4 holes on each bottom.  Someone with Sabal knowledge can address root frailty, depth and specific media.  One thing I have learned with initial root development, easy draining materials like peat, sand, perlite, planting mix and NOT CLAY BASED SOIL HERE AT MY HOUSE, allow roots to grow faster, thus the strap leaf also.

Thanks.  Here are the seeds that have germinated thus far:

 

Yes, the solo cups are plastic and I could drill/poke holes in the bottoms pretty easily.  I germinated the seeds in a seed-starter mix, but I was thinking about switching over to the miracle grow mix I mentioned in my original comment.  But, even though it's meant for palms/cactuses it still seems kinda mucky.  Maybe I should mix some perlite in with it?

[PalmatierMeg]

Mix in perlite to loosen it up. Miracle Gro soil mixes are notoriously mucky and I've given up on them. If you could find some fluffed coco coir at a grower specializing in bonsai, mix it 50/50 with the cactus soil to lighten up the mix. You need to get tall plastic cups, i.e., 10" or more. Sabals put down long radicles, then saxophone roots underground so they need a lot of growing depth.

[NCFM]

4 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

Mix in perlite to loosen it up. Miracle Gro soil mixes are notoriously mucky and I've given up on them. If you could find some fluffed coco coir at a grower specializing in bonsai, mix it 50/50 with the cactus soil to lighten up the mix. You need to get tall plastic cups, i.e., 10" or more. Sabals put down long radicles, then saxophone roots underground so they need a lot of growing depth.

Thanks for the tips! I'll have to order some taller pots or cups, but in the meantime should I just toss the germinated seeds back in the seed starter mix so they don't dry out?  Or maybe a moist paper towel in a ziploc baggy?

[PalmatierMeg]

2 minutes ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Thanks for the tips! I'll have to order some taller pots or cups, but in the meantime should I just toss the germinated seeds back in the seed starter mix so they don't dry out?  Or maybe a moist paper towel in a ziploc baggy?

In a baggie with damp paper towel or orchid moss so they don't dry out.

[NCFM]

5 hours ago, PalmatierMeg said:

In a baggie with damp paper towel or orchid moss so they don't dry out.

Are there any pots you'd recommend?  I've had trouble finding any that are 10 inch deep without being too wide for a small seedling

[PalmatierMeg]

I thought you were using plastic of styrofoam cups? You should be able to buy 20 oz plus sizes at grocery stores. Every convenience store and fast food joint issues drinks in enormous plastic cups nowadays to the point no one has a concept of portion control.

[kinzyjr]

31 minutes ago, PalmatierMeg said:

I thought you were using plastic of styrofoam cups? You should be able to buy 20 oz plus sizes at grocery stores. Every convenience store and fast food joint issues drinks in enormous plastic cups nowadays to the point no one has a concept of portion control.

Yeah, I'm guilty of buying the absolute largest sizes of everything I can get.

13 hours ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Are there any pots you'd recommend?  I've had trouble finding any that are 10 inch deep without being too wide for a small seedling

For my deep-rooting species, I put them in Starbucks 32oz cups (ask for trenta) or go to WaWa and get the 44oz or larger cups.  You can punch holes in them pretty easily.

[NCFM]

45 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

Yeah, I'm guilty of buying the absolute largest sizes of everything I can get.

For my deep-rooting species, I put them in Starbucks 32oz cups (ask for trenta) or go to WaWa and get the 44oz or larger cups.  You can punch holes in them pretty easily.

Thanks for the idea 

[DoomsDave]

18 hours ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Are there any pots you'd recommend?  I've had trouble finding any that are 10 inch deep without being too wide for a small seedling

Any deep enough container will do.

If you're getting heavy into this madness, like me, get some deep liners that are like a foot deep and a couple inches square across the top. You can also use milk cartons, "big gulp" or similar cups. They fit into trays and boxes and make handling a lot easier if you have a lot of them, like I do. (Madness, the horizon tilting over . . . )

The big thing is that the seeds will send down a root, like the one in your picture, which will curve back up to the surface, and sprout leaves, while that bottom curve will be the origination point for the roots. The net result is a little plant with surprisingly deep roots.

Some palms go really deep, but you don't have to worry about that here.

[Fusca]

4 hours ago, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Thanks for the idea 

Here is a Normanbya normanbyi growing happily in a 40 oz Popeye's drink cup.  It's taller than a 1-gallon container and not as wide so I'm not using as much medium.

[NCFM]

1 hour ago, DoomsDave said:

Any deep enough container will do.

If you're getting heavy into this madness, like me, get some deep liners that are like a foot deep and a couple inches square across the top. You can also use milk cartons, "big gulp" or similar cups. They fit into trays and boxes and make handling a lot easier if you have a lot of them, like I do. (Madness, the horizon tilting over . . . )

The big thing is that the seeds will send down a root, like the one in your picture, which will curve back up to the surface, and sprout leaves, while that bottom curve will be the origination point for the roots. The net result is a little plant with surprisingly deep roots.

Some palms go really deep, but you don't have to worry about that here.

Good to know,  thanks!