Greetings.  This is my first post here after a nice read of several posts.  My parents were active IPS members and I inherited a bag of palm seeds including Tectiphiala ferox, Sabal maritiama, Arenga australasica,  Actinorhytus calapparia, Dypsis lanceolata, and Coccothrinax argentta as well as some unlabeled seeds.

I don't know how old these seeds are but they are certainly not "fresh".  I want to try to start at least some of these seeds, knowing that I cannot grow them to maturity.  I do, however, have a 35 year old Washingtonia that is essentially a bonsai growing here in Michigan, it's only 4 feet tall and summers outdoors/winters indoors.  I also grow a few varieties of citrus and bananas indoors, as well as bougainvillea, plumeria, and heliconia, so to the extent that a palm-friendly indoor climate can be provided, I can host it.  

Can one tell whether a seed is too old to germinate before attempting germination?  What can be done to promote germination after a long sleep?  The T. ferox are so incredibly rare that I cannot in good conscience just toss them out without trying to grow them.  While some of the others are less rare,  they're all still thrilling to me.

A photo of the T. ferox seeds attached below.

Edited February 22, 20233 yr by VikkiP

Well I have no idea as to the viability of the seeds but they were able to germinate 2000 year old Phoenix seeds somewhat recently so I'd say there's hope 👍.  Also I'm not much help with the particularsof germinating old seeds but I would post in the discussing palms worldwide,  more of the heavy hitters with good information are going to see this there.

Good luck 

I planted a few of the more common seeds in the lot (red ginger and a common palmetto) and no germination after 3 weeks.  I split open another non-rare seed and the core was rock hard and brown.  I'm going to write these off as dead, I'm sorry to say.

 

On 3/12/2023 at 2:15 PM, VikkiP said:

I planted a few of the more common seeds in the lot (red ginger and a common palmetto) and no germination after 3 weeks.  I split open another non-rare seed and the core was rock hard and brown.  I'm going to write these off as dead, I'm sorry to say.

 

Don't give up on them, palms can take years sometimes. At least not the Tectiphiala, I'd seen something to the effect of with old seeds to float them til they sink(rehydrate) then plant. So rare, it's worth trying 

Just checked the other thread, hopefully these sprout whether they're cycads or palms.