Dumb heat mat question

[JohnAndSancho]

Should I be power cycling these things? Does it matter what's on the mat? 

Right now I've got 

Chambeyronia Macrocarpa (still holding hope they'll pop)

Bottle palms (see above)

L. Chineseis 

Sabal Mexicana 

Sabal Palmetto 

A. Tuckerii (I think Dave sent me about 30 pounds of these).

Some kind of Dypsis, I don't remember. One sprouted a year ago and nothing since. 

Chamaedorea Macrocarpa and Elegans - but I think I can give up on these, been there forever. These are in Tupperware, everything else is in a baggie. 

Everything is in coco coir that I try to keep moist. 

[happypalms]

Not really with a few degrees drop in night time temperatures a little fluctuation will be good for your seeds. Just check regularly for germinated seeds and tease them out as they need to. Chambeyronia take around 4 months up to 6  with good heat. 

[JohnAndSancho]

I'm starting to wonder if maybe I baked the chambeys and bottle seeds. Before I bought the heat mats, I was using an old back and body heating pad. They've been in the baggies for almost a year and a half now. 

 

I had some Washies sprout so fast, and I wasn't checking them daily. They basically turned into spaghetti in the bag. And I had some Sabal Bermudana that took just a few weeks before they were literally tearing holes in the baggie.  All I can do is keep them moist and wait I guess. 

[JD in the OC]

 

Your Sabal and Livistona maybe. 

But no need to power cycle on the others IMO. Just keep at 88degF all the time. Chambeyronia sprout for me in under two months. I use 50/50 Fox Farm Light Warrior and perlite mix. Not a fan of coco coir or vermiculite. 

Good luck!

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I'm starting to wonder if maybe I baked the chambeys and bottle seeds. Before I bought the heat mats, I was using an old back and body heating pad. They've been in the baggies for almost a year and a half now. 

 

I had some Washies sprout so fast, and I wasn't checking them daily. They basically turned into spaghetti in the bag. And I had some Sabal Bermudana that took just a few weeks before they were literally tearing holes in the baggie.  All I can do is keep them moist and wait I guess. 

Sounds like the chambeyronia are toast and the bottles. My chambeyronia take around 4 months without heat with the odd early one. Time to get some more seeds in, every one has his or her technique for germinating seeds but there are some standard proven methods. Time is the biggest factor the faster they germinate the better and less chance of things going wrong over time.

[JohnAndSancho]

On 4/25/2025 at 5:14 PM, JD in the OC said:

 

Your Sabal and Livistona maybe. 

But no need to power cycle on the others IMO. Just keep at 88degF all the time. Chambeyronia sprout for me in under two months. I use 50/50 Fox Farm Light Warrior and perlite mix. Not a fan of coco coir or vermiculite. 

Good luck!

THAT is a set-up. 

 

Anyway I have a couple follow-up questions. In the interest of saving space, can I put baggies on the underside of the heat mats as well? I've got some Brahea and Nannerops and I've read they're not the fastest germinators and these are not fresh. 

 

I'm also still learning. I didn't crack the Chambeyronia open because I honestly didn't know any better, I just thought they looked like walnuts. Anyway do y'all think there's any hope for them? I soaked them again for 24 hours and put them in a clean baggie with fresh coir. They're still firm, but these seeds have been through hell. Before I got my heat mats, I was using an old heating pad to warm them up. And it's getting close to 2 years of them cooking in their shells. 

 

 

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, JohnAndSancho said:

THAT is a set-up. 

 

Anyway I have a couple follow-up questions. In the interest of saving space, can I put baggies on the underside of the heat mats as well? I've got some Brahea and Nannerops and I've read they're not the fastest germinators and these are not fresh. 

 

I'm also still learning. I didn't crack the Chambeyronia open because I honestly didn't know any better, I just thought they looked like walnuts. Anyway do y'all think there's any hope for them? I soaked them again for 24 hours and put them in a clean baggie with fresh coir. They're still firm, but these seeds have been through hell. Before I got my heat mats, I was using an old heating pad to warm them up. And it's getting close to 2 years of them cooking in their shells. 

 

 

Yes you can put them on the underside of the heat mats. Top and bottom heating, just be careful and check them regularly do that they don’t dry out from the top. 
And to answer your Chambeyronia question sounds like not a hope after that long, just put them outside or to the side out of the way you may get lucky but I don’t think so. 

[JohnAndSancho]

😬 well fingers crossed for them because this is a palm I've always wanted, and I could either buy a tiny seedling or pay a small fortune. And now even the tiny seedlings are out my price range. 

[JD in the OC]

i've never liked the baggy method. To me it is a lazy way to germinate palm seeds and it makes seedlings difficult to transplant, successfully. It is best to begin them in containers with soil so that they can establish a good root micro biome and benefit from either natural or artificial light. Small plastic storage containers at Walmart are like $2.99 each. Put a little bottom heat underneath them and germination is pretty fast. Then wait until the seedlings have 3 to 4 Healthy first leaves and Healthy roots, then pot them up into their own containers and you're good to go.

JD

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, JD in the OC said:

i've never liked the baggy method. To me it is a lazy way to germinate palm seeds and it makes seedlings difficult to transplant, successfully. It is best to begin them in containers with soil so that they can establish a good root micro biome and benefit from either natural or artificial light. Small plastic storage containers at Walmart are like $2.99 each. Put a little bottom heat underneath them and germination is pretty fast. Then wait until the seedlings have 3 to 4 Healthy first leaves and Healthy roots, then pot them up into their own containers and you're good to go.

JD

I tried that and it didn't work so great for me, but to be fair I didn't (And still don't) know what the hell I'm doing. I haven't sprouted much other than Sabals, and I like that I can see the progress. I've been moving them into small clear solo cups after that so I can see how rooty they get. 

[JohnAndSancho]

14 hours ago, JD in the OC said:

i've never liked the baggy method. To me it is a lazy way to germinate palm seeds and it makes seedlings difficult to transplant, successfully. It is best to begin them in containers with soil so that they can establish a good root micro biome and benefit from either natural or artificial light. Small plastic storage containers at Walmart are like $2.99 each. Put a little bottom heat underneath them and germination is pretty fast. Then wait until the seedlings have 3 to 4 Healthy first leaves and Healthy roots, then pot them up into their own containers and you're good to go.

JD

Again, I love your setup and appreciate the advice. I guess I should have thrown out a disclaimer here - my budget is like literally zero for all this, and I'm super green (no pun intended) in the world of germination. I tried using some of those plastic lunch meat containers (bachelor Tupperware) with some Chamaedorea seeds and had no luck. I also tried some Pinanga Coronata seeds (something i very much want to grow) in community pots using carved up soda bottles as a humidity dome and I'm pretty sure they dried out. 

 

My brother gets biologic medicines and sometimes uses those mail-order meat things, so I could Macguyver up something using one of those mylar lined Styrofoam boxes, and I have an endless supply of plastic soda bottles in this house. I wouldn't have any airflow or light or anything, and everything would still be growing in coir just because I've got tons of it and no money - but do you think that'd be better than the baggies I'm using right now? 

[Mazat]

On 4/24/2025 at 4:50 AM, JohnAndSancho said:

Should I be power cycling these things? Does it matter what's on the mat? 

Right now I've got 

Chambeyronia Macrocarpa (still holding hope they'll pop)

Bottle palms (see above)

L. Chineseis 

Sabal Mexicana 

Sabal Palmetto 

A. Tuckerii (I think Dave sent me about 30 pounds of these).

Some kind of Dypsis, I don't remember. One sprouted a year ago and nothing since. 

Chamaedorea Macrocarpa and Elegans - but I think I can give up on these, been there forever. These are in Tupperware, everything else is in a baggie. 

Everything is in coco coir that I try to keep moist. 

i personally think that's a good question.

my grandfather once told me that there are no really stupid questions, only stupid answers.

when I heard this, I laughed and almost couldn't stop it ...

[JD in the OC]

20 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I tried that and it didn't work so great for me, but to be fair I didn't (And still don't) know what the hell I'm doing. I haven't sprouted much other than Sabals, and I like that I can see the progress. I've been moving them into small clear solo cups after that so I can see how rooty they get. 

I hear ya 😊

One of my first palm seeds to germinate was Phoenix canariensis. I collected the seed off a tree in eastern Yorba Linda, CA and placed into plastic cocktail cups with soil from the yard. They remote germinated and i spun them around to make the root go upwards because i thought it was the leaf growing the wrong way LOL. (They are remote geeminators). That was back in 2004. My setup has come a long way...and yours will too! Just keep at it and keep asking questions.  🙂

JD

 

[JohnAndSancho]

1 minute ago, JD in the OC said:

I hear ya 😊

One of my first palm seeds to germinate was Phoenix canariensis. I collected the seed off a tree in eastern Yorba Linda, CA and placed into plastic cocktail cups with soil from the yard. They remote germinated and i spun them around to make the root go upwards because i thought it was the leaf growing the wrong way LOL. (They are remote geeminators). That was back in 2004. My setup has come a long way...and yours will too! Just keep at it and keep asking questions.  🙂

JD

 

A couple years ago @GoatLockerGuns had some freebie sprouted seeds. I think they were L. Chineseis? Anyway I planted them upside down. 

 

And the remote germinator thing confuses the hell out of me too. I've got a dozen Sabal Mexicana that have sprouted so far and I legit do not know where or how deep to pot them up until they show me some green. 

 

I also had a freebie batch of pure Filifera that sprouted way faster than I expected, and they turned into spaghetti in the baggie.