My first Johannesteijsmannia magnifica

[Palms Brisbane]

Only small as just germinated. Not easy to get a hold of.

Can't wait till it grows.

 

[Kim]

Congratulations!

I thought mine was small, but now it seems huge.

[Palms Brisbane]

Progress photo

Suprising these survived the cold winter nights down to 4C. While the altifrons have cold damage on most leaves.

Edited August 6, 2022 by Palms Brisbane

[realarch]

Oh man Scott, such wonderful palms. I had a nice one and tried to transplant……..bad idea. 

I do have a couple of nice J. altifrons, so all is good. 

Tim

[PalmsandLiszt]

8 hours ago, Palms Brisbane said:

Progress photo

Suprising these survived the cold winter nights down to 4C. While the altifrons have cold damage on most leaves.

May I ask what medium you're using? My J. altifrons seem to be fine with my medium but all my attempts with J. magnifica have met with failure. I currently have a few seeds incubating which I really ought to check. But I'd really like to know about the medium; no sense in doing the same thing again and expecting a different result.

Edited August 6, 2022 by PalmsandLiszt

[Frond-friend42]

3 hours ago, PalmsandLiszt said:

May I ask what medium you're using? My J. altifrons seem to be fine with my medium but all my attempts with J. magnifica have met with failure. I currently have a few seeds incubating which I really ought to check. But I'd really like to know about the medium; no sense in doing the same thing again and expecting a different result.

Yes. They look happy. Looks like perlite and bark (type?) and some charcoal (but how much) and I'm guessing coir (?). They don't look overwatered, kept a little on the drier side....?

 

[Palms Brisbane]

Thanks all,

Potting mix is top quality. This is the exact one, website should say what's in it. 

https://rockypoint.com.au/products/premium-potting-mix/

I have tried lots of different potting mixes, rockypoint is the best by far.

I have added additional perlite to the above potting mix. Possible 1/3 or 1/4. Didn't measure.

Usually aren't as dry as photo, but I definitely do not over water them. As roots down deep of pot so still moisture down there. Plus damping off always a concern.

Seem to be doing well so far, I also provide them seasol (seaweed concentrate).

Thanks Scott

[realarch]

Scott, are your seedlings showing any of the white underside? I don’t remember if that is a trait that develops over time or if it is apparent right out of the gate.

Tim

[Palms Brisbane]

Hi Tim,

Seems slight white underneath already. 

 

[realarch]

Thanks Scott, I was gifted a seedling awhile back and haven't noticed any white, I'll have to take a closer look. 

Tim

[realarch]

You know, it just might be J. magnifica. The first pic is the back of a J. altifrons which has no speckling whatsoever. The next two are of the seedling in question. The are some white hairs although very slight at this point.

Tim

[Palms Brisbane]

Need to get the right sun angle for the white to show I found. Yours look good.

[PalmsandLiszt]

J. magnifica take 2:

Only got 2 out of 5 to germinate from this batch (probably much less fresh seeds, and one was a floater). Left them in the moss for longer this time; the one on the right looks like it's just about to split into root and shoot meristems. There's a soft blackened area on the top of one of the seeds which I don't like the look of, but hoping the embryo is advanced enough that it won't matter.
I do hope at least one of these will make it to leafhood.

Here's a J. perakensis starting to come up. They seem to be a lot slower to do this than altifrons. No idea why.

(Not sure why that's displaying sideways.)

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by PalmsandLiszt
duplicate photo

[Frond-friend42]

Very proud and happy to join the magnifica club. Most of my seeds rooted in the mail or prior. One I got to root. Three have spiked. I mixed some approximation of Brisbane Palm's specialty soil mix.

[Cindy Adair]

Congratulations!

My J. magnifica and J. perakensis seedlings (RPS seeds) are continuing to do well too, but not big enough to plant out until next year.
 

 

[Frond-friend42]

Got five so far out of a batch of eleven. One still rooting, one got too wet and rotted and one dampened off.  Just a few yet too pop.

My daughter thinks they just look like blades of grass😠.

[Cindy Adair]

Excellent! Great!

So far mine survived hurricane Fiona during which a neighbor’s tree branch blew onto my shadehouse tearing the shade cloth.

Happily with two helpers got new (and better) shade cloth up today before the newly sunny area killed them.

[PalmsandLiszt]

On 9/3/2022 at 3:51 PM, Frond-friend42 said:

I mixed some approximation of Brisbane Palm's specialty soil mix.

Could you elaborate on this? Palms Brisbane's proprietary mix contained a lot of things I don't have and/or ingredients that were vague in their nature and not much in the way of clues to proportions. But your seedlings are looking vigorous, so I'd be interested to know what mix you put together.

I changed my medium slightly for the two seeds I mentioned above. I now have a third germinating (probably the last of this batch of five), that will need potting up in a few weeks' time, so I'd love to know your recipe.

[Frond-friend42]

1 hour ago, PalmsandLiszt said:

Could you elaborate on this? Palms Brisbane's proprietary mix contained a lot of things I don't have and/or ingredients that were vague in their nature and not much in the way of clues to proportions. But your seedlings are looking vigorous, so I'd be interested to know what mix you put together.

I changed my medium slightly for the two seeds I mentioned above. I now have a third germinating (probably the last of this batch of five), that will need potting up in a few weeks' time, so I'd love to know your recipe.

I've only just potted up 4 of them, out of damp orchid moss medium in a translucent  container. But the one I potted 2-3 weeks ago is growing so I think it will work.

The mix I'm using is about 1/6 seramis, 2% charcoal, 2% osmocote, 1/6 perlite, 1/4 repti-bark, 10% coco coir, 10% peat, 3% Idaho cinder, 5% hydrotone, and 5% mulch. Lots of different things I've gradually acquired mixing soil over the years.

The peat is something extra to add some acidity, as I liken them to licualas which like very acid souls.  Seems likely but im not certain about it.

Hope that helps,

Ben

[PalmsandLiszt]

13 hours ago, Frond-friend42 said:

I've only just potted up 4 of them, out of damp orchid moss medium in a translucent  container. But the one I potted 2-3 weeks ago is growing so I think it will work.

The mix I'm using is about 1/6 seramis, 2% charcoal, 2% osmocote, 1/6 perlite, 1/4 repti-bark, 10% coco coir, 10% peat, 3% Idaho cinder, 5% hydrotone, and 5% mulch. Lots of different things I've gradually acquired mixing soil over the years.

The peat is something extra to add some acidity, as I liken them to licualas which like very acid souls.  Seems likely but im not certain about it.

Hope that helps,

Ben

Thanks very much for the recipe. I think I have all of those things except idaho cinder, which is not something I'm familiar with—I'm guessing it's some sort of volcanic gravel like pumice or lava rock? If so, that will be easy to substitute.  Shall try it with my remaining J. magnifica seed once the root has grown a little longer.

The other two I potted up in Pal Meir mix with rather finer bark than I used the first time, mixed with about 20% akadama and a little osmocote and activated charcoal. No shoots yet but fingers crossed.

[Palms Brisbane]

@PalmsandLiszt mine is premium potting mix. Next time I grab a bag I will check to see if it has ingredients on it.

@Frond-friend42 they're looking good.

[Palms Brisbane]

Just took photo now of mine. Just gone dark so had to use flash. For scale the pot diameter is 200mm or 8.7inches.

[aussiearoids]

My seedling altifrons has just shot up a new leaf .. pretty sure it is locally produced seed .

I now have 3 spp.

A massive magnifica and a large seedling perakensis both planted out.

[aussiearoids]

Amazed myself by finding a pic of baby magnifica .. was lectured by Mikey Edwards on how to plant it .

Early 2009 .. it never looked back .

7 years later big Myke from Estonia 

[Palms Brisbane]

@PalmsandLiszt

Potting mix I use. Then I add perlite to this.

https://rockypoint.com.au/products/premium-potting-mix/

 

[PalmsandLiszt]

3 hours ago, Palms Brisbane said:

@PalmsandLiszt

Potting mix I use. Then I add perlite to this.

https://rockypoint.com.au/products/premium-potting-mix/

 

Thanks, I did look at that, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be possible to get hold of it here on the other side of the world. I shall try Frond Friend's interpretation of what it essentially consists of, which seems to be working for him (and contains things I have, rather than zeolite and gypsum, which I don't).

[realarch]

Finally got mine in the ground today……hopefully it will grow into one that looks like Michael’s beauty above. Preparing for a long wait.

Tim

[Palms Brisbane]

In their new spot in shade house

[JohnAndSancho]

16 hours ago, Palms Brisbane said:

In their new spot in shade house

That's impressive growth in just a little over 6 months. And they're awesome. 

[Frond-friend42]

I lost one of my five. This chunky mix of soil is kind of tricky measuring for wetness. Do these like a lot of water? I'm trying not to let them dry out but it's hard for me to gauge when I should water. So far I heft it and it feels a little lighter, I water. Also I use spring water.

[PalmsandLiszt]

8 hours ago, Frond-friend42 said:

I lost one of my five. This chunky mix of soil is kind of tricky measuring for wetness. Do these like a lot of water? I'm trying not to let them dry out but it's hard for me to gauge when I should water. So far I heft it and it feels a little lighter, I water. Also I use spring water.

Of my initial batch of J. magnificas, they seemed to die of fungus, which I took to indicate excess moisture, and they were in pal meir mix, which is even better draining than your mix. I did water them pretty frequently, as I didn't want them to dry out, but I apparently overdid it. They were treated exactly them same as the J. altifrons, which were fine with my watering regime. So because of this I did reduce it a bit and then lost an altifrons to becoming too dry as I was a day late (it was my biggest seedling, so no doubt was losing more water than the others). It's a tightrope!
However, my conclusion is that magnifica seedlings are less tolerant than altifrons of excessive water. The roots are a long way down in the pot, so a dry surface doesn't necessarily mean dry roots. You could put some scientific rigour into this by weighing a dry pot of medium, weighing a fully-watered pot and calculating what the weight ought to be when the top half has dried out, which is probably about the right time to water.

[Frond-friend42]

Thanks that's some really helpful input. Exactly what I was hoping for. 

[Palms Brisbane]

I watered mine once a week so definitely more on dry side. Now they are in shade house they will be automatically watered 2-3 times a week with misters, but it's summer now so different when I was watering once a week in winter.

Growing Palm seedlings definitely a fine line between death and survival.

[PalmsandLiszt]

Joey update:

my last surviving J. magnifica seedling in my best attempt at @Frond-friend42's interpretation of @Palms Brisbane's mix (which looks nothing like it, of course):

It's not out of the woods yet, and looking a bit twisty, but it seems to be growing, so I think the way to go is to keep these in moss until the plumule comes up, then pot up with it just below the surface. Evidently my mulch is rather more coarse than Frond-friend's. Oh well.

One altifrons is pushing up a second spike (not supposed to be horizontal, but not sure how to correct it):

The perakensis that lived on the top/left (only got 2/5 to germinate); thinner/narrower leaf than any of the others, although this might be normal variation:

Over and out.

 

Edited January 7 by PalmsandLiszt

[realarch]

So, how’s the J. magnifica growing going? Success I hope. 

This little guy has been in the ground for six months now and has put out a new leaf and should be speeding up now that it’s settled in its new spot. 

Scott, Ben, howzit?

Tim

[Frond-friend42]

Variable growth-rates for me. One is doing magnifica already working on a second leaf. The one in foreground went into a kind of dormancy. It actually budged a bit recently but remains mostly a twisted spike.

[Palms Brisbane]

Hi Tim,

No losses which is good I have 8 growing well.

They're at the back of the shadehouse so just grabbed one for photo.

6 look like this one in photo the other 2 bit smaller.

Scott