Washingtonia seedlings

[Gator]

When I was in St George Utah in the Swig line...I noticed that the large washingtonia by the drive thru was dropping seeds....

so, I jumped out and grabbed a few and planted them and...THEY HAVE SPROUTED !

 

The first 2 pics are my baby washies

and the last pic is the mama palm, and she is a BEAUTY !

[kinzyjr]

Definitely a Washingtonia filifera!  Lovely!

[DreaminAboutPalms]

What method did you use to plant them? Did you just sow it in the pot and leave it in the sun?

[Gator]

3 minutes ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

What method did you use to plant them? Did you just sow it in the pot and leave it in the sun?

I put them in a ziplock bag with some water...and left them on my dash in the sun for about 3 days ( i thought it probably killed them as hot as it was )

then sowed the seeds and left them in the sun.  It took about a month. 

I planted 2 in each pot.  So I had a 75% germination rate.   There was a 3rd pot that my kid dropped as we were moving them.... so..i could have washies sprouted in my lawn somewhere.

[DreaminAboutPalms]

4 minutes ago, Gator said:

I put them in a ziplock bag with some water...and left them on my dash in the sun for about 3 days ( i thought it probably killed them as hot as it was )

then sowed the seeds and left them in the sun.  It took about a month. 

I planted 2 in each pot.  So I had a 75% germination rate.   There was a 3rd pot that my kid dropped as we were moving them.... so..i could have washies sprouted in my lawn somewhere.

How much did you water them after sowing them in pot?

[Gator]

1 hour ago, DreaminAboutPalms said:

How much did you water them after sowing them in pot?

I put the pots next to an area of lawn...so they get sprinkler overspray every other day.  

 

[Reyes Vargas]

That is a nice looking filifera.  Seeds from washingtonias germinate very easy.  Just put them in soil water them give them heat and they will pop.  I have some washingtonia seeds that are probably 4 or so years old and they germinate like they just came off the tree.

[UK_Palms]

That is a gorgeous Filifera that you have taken seeds from in St. George. One of the best looking Filifera's that I have ever seen. Very compact with a fat trunk and big fronds. I sprouted some 'Filifera' seeds during the spring that will hopefully be true to form and pure, rather than mutt hybrids. Not that I dislike hybrid Filibusta's or anything. Most of the Washies out there are hybrids, even the 'Filifera' looking ones, and your seeds could well be hybrids too, if that Filifera was pollenated by a Filibusta. Although you would expect most Washies in St. George to be Filifera. 

Hopefully it was a Filifera x Filifera cross, so your seedlings remain true to form. I just hope that my own seedlings are pure Filifera as well and grow up to look like one of the big Washies in London. I'm still not sure whether this one that I have linked is a pure Filifera, or just a Filibusta hybrid in Wimbledon, London. It probably has some Robusta blood in there somewhere, but looks incredibly 'Filifera' to me. I will be checking it for seeds this year as there is another Filibusta hybrid on the same street in Wimbledon. So at best I will be collecting some Filifera x Filibusta seeds this summer...

 

[Gator]

WOW... That is a beautiful FIlifera. In LONDON?   That is incredible.

I hope your palms grow up twice as big as that Washie at Wimbledon. 

[UK_Palms]

20 hours ago, Gator said:

WOW... That is a beautiful FIlifera. In LONDON?   That is incredible.

I hope your palms grow up twice as big as that Washie at Wimbledon. 

Thanks man. That Wimbledon one in London was planted as a tiny seedling about 20 years ago, so it has done very well. It may well be a hybrid, but it looks very Filifera dominant. It’s not even the biggest one in London though. There is an even bigger Filifera in Edmonton, north London. These pictures are a few years old now…

I’ve got a number of Washies planted out in my yard here, including this Filifera. Hopefully they’ll look as good as those London ones in about 20 years haha. 

 

My smaller Filibusta hybrids all defoliated after being left outdoors in pots all winter long. It was a colder than average winter and the pots froze solid like blocks of ice on a few occasions. 7 out of 8 of the potted ones defoliated but they are ALL pushing new growth again now. Fantastic recovery rates on this species and very hardy.

Edited July 7, 2021 by UK_Palms