Seeds

[Palmlover_78]

Hey Guys, do potted Palms ever produce seeds?

Thanks

[Pal Meir]

Here only a couple of examples:

[tjwalters]

Chamaedorea tepejilote

[tjwalters]

Chamaedorea metallica

[Palmlover_78]

I guess that is a yes

Thanks Guys

[PalmsandLiszt]

8 hours ago, tjwalters said:

Chamaedorea metallica

What an absolutely flawless specimen!

[PalmatierMeg]

Chamaedorea spp are your best bet for producing seeds while potted but remember you need male and female plants to produce viable seeds, as @Pal Meir indicates. But you can't sex Chamaedoreas until they flower. Female Chamaedoreas will produce non-viable seeds if no male plant is present. Same goes for Chamaerops.

Most potted palms don't live to maturity esp if they are large growing species. You would need to provide precise conditions of heat, light, length of growing season, sun, water and fertilizer to produce a seeding potted palm. Those conditions are almost impossible to duplicate in palms grown as houseplants.

[Butch]

Hyophorbe lagenicaulis   

Butch

[Palmensammler]

Hi,

I have these two C. metallica and they started flowerering some time ago. As you can see one is male and one female. When are they ready for pollination? Will it be o.k. to keep them besides and take care that the femal flowers are in contact with the male ones? Or how can I pollinate them manually?

Together:

Male:

Female:

Thanks

Eckhard

[tjwalters]

On 3/21/2022 at 3:25 PM, Palmensammler said:

I have these two C. metallica and they started flowerering some time ago. As you can see one is male and one female. When are they ready for pollination? Will it be o.k. to keep them besides and take care that the femal flowers are in contact with the male ones? Or how can I pollinate them manually?

I usually position mine, also in pots, so the flower spikes are intermingled and let the little insects (ants, etc.) do the work.  (This is outside during the warm months.)  I'll get a few fruits this way - maybe a couple dozen or so. 

[Palmensammler]

Unfortunately our current temps outside are not so fine for them as we still have som frost during the night and little animals are not active till now. When do I know they are ready to be pollinated? I would try to use a small brush to pollinate the female flowers but I don't know when the right time is coming. Some Advice?

Thanks

Eckhard

[Pal Meir]

14 minutes ago, Palmensammler said:

Unfortunately our current temps outside are not so fine for them as we still have som frost during the night and little animals are not active till now. When do I know they are ready to be pollinated? I would try to use a small brush to pollinate the female flowers but I don't know when the right time is coming. Some Advice?

Thanks

Eckhard

When the flowers are orange you can pollinate them with a small brush.

[GoatLockerGuns]

So, I think I have both male and female Chamaedorea elegans palms.  I mean, the inflorescence looks different on both.  Do you guys think I have a shot at pollination with these two?

[Palmensammler]

9 hours ago, Pal Meir said:

When the flowers are orange you can pollinate them with a small brush.

Hi Pal, thanks for your explanation .  Hopefully I will succeed as it's my first time....

Eckhard

[MSX]

Hello everyone! At what age do potted Chamaerops humilis (regular green) palms grown outdoors usually start to produce seeds/inflorescent? Thanks!!

Edited April 3, 2022 by MSX

[TheMadScientist]

Marat, I'm not sure how I missed your post.  This was my first germination species in Jan. 2010.  By 2014, I had potted all of them up to 5 gallon containers, most of them have  been in full California sun up to 115 deg. F and remain about 18 - 24 inches tall from soil level.  The ones I have put under the canopy of a California Pepper Tree that is 30 feet tall have "stretched up" to between 36 - 48 inches from soil level.  I just took these 2 pictures showing "flowers" & "seeds" and I believe they have been doing this since 2018 or 2019 but I don't remember seeing any viable seeds produced.  These 2 photos have 1 container between.  In 2016, I planted 3 random candidates in my front yard planter and by CHANCE, 1 produced seeds and the other produced flowers.  This too started happening in 2018 or 2019 and for sure 2020 & 2021 produced viable seeds that can be harvested in Sept. or Oct.

[MSX]

On 4/25/2022 at 11:47 PM, TheMadScientist said:

Marat, I'm not sure how I missed your post.  This was my first germination species in Jan. 2010.  By 2014, I had potted all of them up to 5 gallon containers, most of them have  been in full California sun up to 115 deg. F and remain about 18 - 24 inches tall from soil level.  The ones I have put under the canopy of a California Pepper Tree that is 30 feet tall have "stretched up" to between 36 - 48 inches from soil level.  I just took these 2 pictures showing "flowers" & "seeds" and I believe they have been doing this since 2018 or 2019 but I don't remember seeing any viable seeds produced.  These 2 photos have 1 container between.  In 2016, I planted 3 random candidates in my front yard planter and by CHANCE, 1 produced seeds and the other produced flowers.  This too started happening in 2018 or 2019 and for sure 2020 & 2021 produced viable seeds that can be harvested in Sept. or Oct.

Scott, thanks! You know I got a couple of potted Meds last summer but I thought it was too late to plant them in the ground and they were left outdoors through the winter in the pots, the winter was warm with only one night 20F so they overwintered perfectly. I was going to plant them now but they both started to flower, this is my first flowering palm in fact! I don't want to disturb them right now so I think moving them in the ground will be postponed once again! The smaller specimen is obvisouly a male palm and the larger one is a female specimen, they have different flowers, I placed them closer to each other

Edited April 27, 2022 by MSX

[JohnAndSancho]

@MSX play some Bruno Mars and put a bottle of wine out and see what happens.