Hey quick question. I’ve had a bunch of royal seeds in a community pot for a while and nothing has popped. I’ve grown 2 royal palms from seed and the first one was slow to get started, additionally the second one sprouted beside the first a month or two ago after the seed sat for idk how long. So , am i doing something wrong or are these palms slow germinates?

For context, the pot has been sitting outside in the consistent florida heat 80-90 every day for the past few months, and it’s usually moist if not wet from rain.

When I germinated mine, I put them in a cup with moist soil and turned the heat mat on to keep them at 90F+ at all times.  

December 2018 - 2 months after seeds were procured

The seedlings grow pretty well in the right conditions, so hopefully the growth on the seedlings you have will match or exceed these.

April 2025 - Adding Trunk

2 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

the pot has been sitting outside in the consistent florida heat 80-90 every day for the past few months, and it’s usually moist if not wet from rain.

Hopefully not in all day direct sun... If so, it's possible you may have cooked the seeds. Cuban royals are quick to sprout when the seed is good, and conditions are right.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

17 minutes ago, aztropic said:

Hopefully not in all day direct sun... If so, it's possible you may have cooked the seeds. Cuban royals are quick to sprout when the seed is good, and conditions are right.

 

aztropic 

Mesa, Arizona 

I never thought of that, and I hope they didn’t get cooked. But at the same time, I germinated a bunch of ptychosperma elegans in the same time period and in the same pot as the royal seeds I tossed in there, and a lot of those grew happily. 

Idk. I’ve tried 3 times now and no luck. I’ve sprouted foxtails, queens, solitaire, adonidia, sable, bismarck, and coconuts but cannot get a darn royal to go. The seeds were fresh and surrounded by others so assume good. Everything I see says easy but have proven not for me. 

3 minutes ago, Bkue said:

Idk. I’ve tried 3 times now and no luck. I’ve sprouted foxtails, queens, solitaire, adonidia, sable, bismarck, and coconuts but cannot get a darn royal to go. The seeds were fresh and surrounded by others so assume good. Everything I see says easy but have proven not for me. 

im trying with bismarcks rn too but they’re stubborn seeds

ive had some queen seeds sitting in pots for some months now too i’m thinking i might’ve picked up dead seed 😕

Bismarcks took a long time. Honestly find most palms to. Not like vegetables or trees if that’s what you are used to. I’ve soaked, I’ve scrubbed, I’ve wire brushed, I’ve done acid, they just take longer than expected for me. The only exception is coconut in my experience. Husk it, soak it, plant 3/4 and it shows signs fairly fast. 

Patience is the key with palms. And more patience, some people ask me how long does a palm seed take to germinate you tell them six months or more in some cases with certain seeds and they think you’re mad for waiting that long.

I’ve found royal seeds to take about 6months or so to germinate for me. They can also be hit or miss sometimes in my experience where a whole pot will germinate and another batch won’t. Bottom heat always seems to help.  

18 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

im trying with bismarcks rn too but they’re stubborn seeds

Bismarckia are dioecious palms so both a male and female palm are needed for viable seed.  Female Bismarckia will still produce dozens of fruits even if no males present.  I collected fruits from a local female the last two years and seeds weren't viable.  This year was a different story - 2 weeks for germination!

i got them from a place where there were plenty of male and females present. I’m pretty sure they’d be viable, hopefully.

16 hours ago, happypalms said:

Patience is the key with palms. And more patience, some people ask me how long does a palm seed take to germinate you tell them six months or more in some cases with certain seeds and they think you’re mad for waiting that long.

It's my own fault for waiting so long to attempt them but I'm like 4 months into waiting on some Brahea and Thrinax Anthocoma and a massive baggie of A. Tuckerii and it's... It's frustrating and I know I've said this a million times, but my biggest nightmare is everything popping at the same time and me having no pots or soil for them lol. It's inevitable, that's what's gonna happen. And out of all of these Sabals, I've got literally one Palmetto so far and all of the other sabal baggies are empty and gone now. This might be the most rewarding and most frustrating hobby I've ever taken on. 

El 22/8/2025 a las 18:50, TropicsEnjoyer dijo:

Hola, una pregunta rápida. Llevo un tiempo con un montón de semillas de palma real en una maceta comunitaria y no ha brotado nada. He cultivó dos palmeras reales a partir de semillas y la primera tardó en germinar. Además, la segunda brotó junto a la primera hace uno o dos meses, después de que las semillas estuvieran reposando no sé cuánto tiempo. Entonces, ¿estoy haciendo algo mal o estas palmeras germinan lentamente?

Para ponerlo en contexto, la maceta ha estado afuera bajo el constante calor de Florida, de 80 a 90 grados, todos los días durante los últimos meses, y generalmente está húmeda, si no mojada, por la lluvia.

You're all geniuses. I never thought so many people liked palm trees. Palm trees are a wonderful kingdom. It's a world within a world. And I encourage you to keep exploring it.

On 22/8/2025 at 22:30, Bkue said:

Las Bismarck tardaron mucho. Sinceramente, la mayoría de las palmeras también. No como las verduras o los árboles, si es a lo que estás acostumbrado. Las he remojado, restregado, cepillado con alambre, tratado con ácido, simplemente tardan más de lo esperado. La única excepción, según mi experiencia, es el coco. Le quitas la cáscara, lo remojas, plantas 3/4 y muestra signos bastante rápido. 

Fresh Bismarckias take 2 weeks to 1 month to germinate, the fastest, and another 2 to 3 months for the first leaf to appear.

On 22/8/2025 at 20:59, kinzyjr said:

Cuando germiné las mías, las puse en una taza con tierra húmeda y encendí la estera térmica para mantenerlas a más de 90 ° F en todo momento.  

Diciembre de 2018 : 2 meses después de adquirir las semillas

Las plántulas crecen bastante bien en las condiciones adecuadas, por lo que es de esperar que el crecimiento de las plántulas que tienes iguale o supere estas.

Abril de 2025 - Adición de tronco

What a beautiful specimen