Palm Seed Soil

[PetitCote]

Hi All,

I have just joined the forum as I really want to have some nice palms, but it is something I am new to.

I am in west Africa, close to the coast. I brought some palm seeds over here and am trying to grow them. Attached are pictures of my Washingtonia Robusta and St Peter’s Palm seeds after four weeks. During the day I move them outside, it is 22-35C here in the day, a bit cooler at night - 16-20C, therefore I bring them inside until 9am. This ensures they are getting a good day of sun now, which they seem to like, the sun shines here 99% of the time.

 

It’s also dry, low humidity until June, so I’m giving them a little water once or twice a day. I have a moisture meter, it says around 65% for these at present with a soil temperature of 40C.

I was wondering about soil; for these I mixed sand and tiny rocks (iron ore rock, which my garden is full of). For my next batch of seeds would I be better off getting a commercial compost? The choices are fairly limited here, however there are a handful available in some stores here.

Any other advice welcomed.

 

 

 

[Than]

Hi PetitCote and welcome to the forum! 

I am not very knowledgeable yet but I live in a place where Washingtonias are omnipresent. I wouldn't bring them indoors if I were you, 16-20 C is a perfect night time temperature which doesn't pose any risks for your seedlings. Washingtonias can easily tolerate much colder temperatures than that. 

I believe adding sand and grit to the soil was a good idea as they improve drainage. It does mean that the soil will dry faster though, which I don't think will be an issue if you water them. When old, Washingtonias can go through months of drought. 

Good luck with your seedlings. You have chosen easy species. Are they common where you live?

[happypalms]

Welcome to the world of palms. Peat moss or coco coir with perlite is a great medium for germination of seeds. If you read some of the post regarding germination on palm talk you find more than enough information on how to germinate successfully, good luck now your hooked on palms a new world of fun is coming your way. 

[PetitCote]

Thanks for the responses, I haven’t seen many such palms here, there are mainly coconut palms close by, I think though I’m in a perfect place to grow these and other palms.

I am almost certain I can’t get perlite here, they do sell clay balls which I have used for cactus, they are around 5-10mm in diameter and seem to drain the soil very well. 
 

Perhaps I didn’t make my question clear; if I can find a peat moss compost and I mix in a load of tiny rocks to assist drainage, will I see a benefit over the use of sand?

[Fusca]

3 hours ago, PetitCote said:

Perhaps I didn’t make my question clear; if I can find a peat moss compost and I mix in a load of tiny rocks to assist drainage, will I see a benefit over the use of sand?

Peat moss will help but it's a problem if it's used in a pot and it dries out - it's very difficult to get it wet again.  Very course sand can help with drainage but fine sand can be an issue.  I use poultry grit in my container mixes which is basically tiny chunks of decomposed granite.

I wasn't familiar with the common name "St. Peter's Palm" and an online search came up with Yucca filifera which is a great plant for arid climates, though not technically a palm.  Here's mine that was also seed grown.  I'm assuming that they are in the first photo posted and the Washingtonia sprouts are in the second photo.

[PetitCote]

It’s the other way around, the Washingtonia are the first picture and the St Peter’s the second.

Your St Peter’s looks pretty good, I am in a very arid climate, the next rain we will get here will be the end of July. For this reason I am growing palms, yuccas and cactus. I think though I may be using sand which is too fine, I’ll try to find something more coarse.

[Than]

Pumice would also work I guess.

[Tomas]

St Peters Palm is the local name here in Italy for Chamaerops humilis. Should do very well in your dry climate 

[PetitCote]

Here is a update on the Washingtonia’s, as mentioned these are the first palm seeds I have ever grown however I would say their growth rate is pretty slow.

This is them after 37 days, they are in full sun every day from 9am to 6pm. A little water from my well each day usually keeps the soil at about 50-60% moisture.

Any tips or suggestions to speed up their growth would be welcome. I have a few more seeds which I purchased overseas - phoenix dactylifera, washingtonia filifera and yucca rostrata.

 

 

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

Welcome. I see your pots are clear. That's great so you can see how much moisture is down in the soil. In your warm and sunny climate you will probably have problems with the soil in those pots getting too hot when the sun shines directly on them. You should shade the pot itself so sun only shines on the seedlings and the soil on top. If you have pots that sun can not shine through then you could just set the clear pots into them, If you can not easily shade the sides of the pots then maybe you can bury them up to the top so that only the seedlings get the sun. You can use less water then so the soil does not stay too moist.

[PetitCote]

4 hours ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

Welcome. I see your pots are clear. That's great so you can see how much moisture is down in the soil. In your warm and sunny climate you will probably have problems with the soil in those pots getting too hot when the sun shines directly on them. You should shade the pot itself so sun only shines on the seedlings and the soil on top. If you have pots that sun can not shine through then you could just set the clear pots into them, If you can not easily shade the sides of the pots then maybe you can bury them up to the top so that only the seedlings get the sun. You can use less water then so the soil does not stay too moist.

Okay thanks Jeff, I will do this tomorrow and check the temperature in the day. What is a good temperature range ?

I have seen soil temperatures of 45C, I thought that may fry them but when they sprouted I guessed they were okay with it.

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

A lot of palm seeds like heat to germinate but do not want the roots to be very hot after they sprout and start to grow true roots. Too much heat in a pot can cook the roots.  Washingtonia grows in the United States in hot deserts so they like heat but their roots seek out water deep in the soil where it is much cooler. Washingtonia also grows well in places that do not get too hot and that go below freezing (in my area down to -3C maybe lower. So they grow well over a large range of temps.

[PetitCote]

12 hours ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

A lot of palm seeds like heat to germinate but do not want the roots to be very hot after they sprout and start to grow true roots. Too much heat in a pot can cook the roots.  Washingtonia grows in the United States in hot deserts so they like heat but their roots seek out water deep in the soil where it is much cooler. Washingtonia also grows well in places that do not get too hot and that go below freezing (in my area down to -3C maybe lower. So they grow well over a large range of temps.

That’s interesting, thanks for the info.

Here is the makeshift solution, the soil temperature was 32C at 2pm. Maybe a white sack would reflect a little heat away.

 

 

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

That's a good solution! And yes white wrapped around the black would work even better. The black to block the light from the pot and the white to reflect it from the black. The temps will still be good for germination and better for growth.

[PetitCote]

Here they are two weeks later, that makes them seven weeks old. I would say the growth rate is glacially slow, I picked this as it’s supposed to be a fast growing palm.

This is frustrating to say the least, it’s almost impossible to find seeds here. Where have I gone wrong?