Saw palmetto seed time!!! (and question)

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Well I’m back at it again with saw palmetto. This time I harvested seeds before the animals got to them, and they’ were in fresh condition as well as easy to clean. I have the seeds soaking overnight for good measure. I’m likely gonna moss baggy most of my seeds and community pot a few for testing purposes. I’m really hoping I have luck with these but I’m expecting they take a while? Anyone have experience with how long serenoa take to germinate? And if it matters, they are green form palm with a slight waxy tint.

[Harry’s Palms]

Good luck with them . Harry

[Mazat]

6 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

Well I’m back at it again with saw palmetto. This time I harvested seeds before the animals got to them, and they’ were in fresh condition as well as easy to clean. I have the seeds soaking overnight for good measure. I’m likely gonna moss baggy most of my seeds and community pot a few for testing purposes. I’m really hoping I have luck with these but I’m expecting they take a while? Anyone have experience with how long serenoa take to germinate? And if it matters, they are green form palm with a slight waxy tint.

Very good 👍🤗

We also wish you every success

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Thanks for the kind wishes. 

How long might they take though ?

[Fusca]

7 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

Thanks for the kind wishes. 

How long might they take though ?

I used a very unscientific method to germinate Serenoa repens seeds that were sent to me in late January.  I had a fairly large container of soil outside and just tossed the uncleaned fruits on top.  I believe that I had sprouts beginning after 4 months and germination continues with more coming up at the 6 month mark.  I'm sure you'll get slightly faster results using a different method!  😆

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, Fusca said:

I used a very unscientific method to germinate Serenoa repens seeds that were sent to me in late January.  I had a fairly large container of soil outside and just tossed the uncleaned fruits on top.  I believe that I had sprouts beginning after 4 months and germination continues with more coming up at the 6 month mark.  I'm sure you'll get slightly faster results using a different method!  😆

I love how some of y'all just chuck seeds into dirt and they sprout, and I'm over here with my heat mats and moving baggies to make sure they don't get too hot, and misting them when they dry out, and making all of this effort just to stare at a bag of dirt and condensation for months lol. 

[aztropic]

2 hours ago, Fusca said:

I used a very unscientific method to germinate Serenoa repens seeds that were sent to me in late January.  I had a fairly large container of soil outside and just tossed the uncleaned fruits on top.  I believe that I had sprouts beginning after 4 months and germination continues with more coming up at the 6 month mark.  I'm sure you'll get slightly faster results using a different method!  😆

In Arizona, saw palmetto seeds don't ripen up until around the end of October. Are you sure you have ripe,black fruited seeds to start with TropicsEnjoyer?

My experience mirrors Fusca. I just chuck a handful of uncleaned seeds into a community pot,cover them with an inch of dirt, leave everything outside, and by April,I have a pot full of sprouts...

Here's a couple pics of this years seeds on my silver trees, and some 2 year old seedlings.🌴

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

[kinzyjr]

I clean off the fruit, crack the outer shell and remove it, and then sow in the ground.  With all of this effort, I still get basically the same 4-6 month results that @Fusca and @aztropic get.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

2 hours ago, aztropic said:

Are you sure you have ripe,black fruited seeds to start with TropicsEnjoyer?

well you see where i’m at the fruiting isn’t very prolific, or at least by the time I can get to them most of the fruits are gone due to animals. I picked what I found. Most of the fruits were mature size, all green though. I looked for black fruits but none found and the flower stems were withering anyway.

I did soak the seeds in water as previously mentioned, and they all sunk, so I’m hoping they still grow.

[SeanK]

3 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I love how some of y'all just chuck seeds into dirt and they sprout, and I'm over here with my heat mats and moving baggies to make sure they don't get too hot, and misting them when they dry out, and making all of this effort just to stare at a bag of dirt and condensation for months lol. 

I just received two 10x20 heat mats via Amazon this week. Trying to germinate W.filifera seeds

[JohnAndSancho]

Just now, SeanK said:

I just received two 10x20 heat mats via Amazon this week. Trying to germinate W.filifera seeds

The 2 for $23? Those are the ones I've got. Those seeds will pop FAST. check them daily or they'll end up looking like steamed asparagus if they're in a baggie. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

I don’t have a heat mat but I used to use the side of my fridge which gets warm periodically. This time though i’m putting the seeds in a moss bag on a sunny window, so the heat of the sun will keep the bag hot during the day. It worked to germinate agapanthus and passion fruit seeds so I’m assuming palms won’t be much different. Always experimenting you know.

[JohnAndSancho]

I was using an old heating pad when I first started. I umm.... I had I think 0% success rate with that, and then I googled it and ummm this heating pad that only worked on "high" got up to 156° which would be perfect for plants native to hell. Not so great for palms. I'm pretty sure I cooked everything but I haven't thrown anything out that didn't rot or turn into dust. 

[SeanK]

21 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I was using an old heating pad when I first started. I umm.... I had I think 0% success rate with that, and then I googled it and ummm this heating pad that only worked on "high" got up to 156° which would be perfect for plants native to hell. Not so great for palms. I'm pretty sure I cooked everything but I haven't thrown anything out that didn't rot or turn into dust. 

I have Needle palms that I have never removed from the plant. I wonder if they need some hours of chill prior to the heat pad.