How long does it take to germinate mid to high altitude basselinias?

[guillerman]

I have been working on germinating, b.moorei, b.pendulina and b.velutina for sometime know.

To my surprise almost 1 year later, some of them keep sprouting. 

Whats the longest wait out there?

[tim_brissy_13]

I sowed 5 seeds of Basselinia pseudovelutina (labelled B moorei at the time) in March 2022. 3 sprouted quickly. I gave one back to the seed source, 1 damped off and I’ve still got the other. A year later another sprouted. Room temperate baggie with coco coir and perlite. Then exactly 3 years later the remaining seed sprouted in March 2025. I had been told high elevation Basselinia are sporadic and remain viable for years so I kept some hope but was genuinely surprised with that last one. 
 

I bought 10 B pendulina from RPS and 2 sprouted after soaking in water a few days. That was July 2024. None of the remaining 8 have sprouted but I’ll be holding onto them. The seed still looks good and not rotten. 

[David B]

Tim

I have B pendulina from the same time. 20% germinated immediately and most of the rest have germinated over the last few months. So that's a year later. Seed is in baggie at 25C. I have also had pancheri germinate a year down the track...

[tim_brissy_13]

3 hours ago, David B said:

Tim

I have B pendulina from the same time. 20% germinated immediately and most of the rest have germinated over the last few months. So that's a year later. Seed is in baggie at 25C. I have also had pancheri germinate a year down the track...

That’s good news. I’ve had mine on consistent 26C heat mat in baggies so bodes well that I’ll get some more. 

[guillerman]

3 yrs, thats wild, love it. 

Hold on to those B.pendulinas Tim, mine are around the same time 2024 and I got a nice triple surprise last week. My room temp ranges between 22-25. The second round started kicking roots about a month after summer solstice.

Curious to learn what is your take on when you should repot these types of palms? 3-4 leaves? less?

[tim_brissy_13]

1 hour ago, guillerman said:

3 yrs, thats wild, love it. 

Hold on to those B.pendulinas Tim, mine are around the same time 2024 and I got a nice triple surprise last week. My room temp ranges between 22-25. The second round started kicking roots about a month after summer solstice.

Curious to learn what is your take on when you should repot these types of palms? 3-4 leaves? less?

I’m still learning and experimenting, but I think it’s based on time more so than size. I potted up my original B pseudovelutina last Spring after 2 years just because it looked like the soil mix was looking sad. It was definitely not yet nearly root bound. It’s now at about 4 or 5 fronds. Quite slow but that’s to be expected especially in my climate. 

[guillerman]

noted, thanks for the intel Tim 🙏 

To extend the repotting further down the line I drilled some holes in my germination squareboxes; if it helps anybody out there. I am just scared to repot them with one frond only. My b glabrata and b pancheri suffered too much last time

[David B]

This is what I’m trying in my climate. Sprouts come out of the baggie and into a plastic bin. Keeps them a bit warmer in winter. High humidity. They don’t need watering as it seems to act as a closed system. Not 100% but survival is way better

I leave them in for a year then harden off to outside shade house

[guillerman]

Love it, and noted 💪

My method is boxing with drilled holes. Holes are clossed with ducktape until most of the seeds have germinated

I open the box progressively when the stem hits the cealing; which is not ideal, as I use small boxes

The problem is that in dry climates like Madrid where I germinate, some tips get brown; there is definitely a hummity issue that I am battleling

I plan to keep them in the box until they have 3-4 fronds

 

[Hu Palmeras]

Very interesting, friends. Good method. I'll learn how to put it into practice.

[Tyrone]

On 8/30/2025 at 6:34 AM, David B said:

This is what I’m trying in my climate. Sprouts come out of the baggie and into a plastic bin. Keeps them a bit warmer in winter. High humidity. They don’t need watering as it seems to act as a closed system. Not 100% but survival is way better

I leave them in for a year then harden off to outside shade house

This is exactly my method for most palm seeds.

Basselinia moorei took 2 to 3 years to germinate for me. No bottom heat in the shadehouse all year with a covering of moist spaghnum with a free draining coir mix. Box had holes drilled in the bottom for drainage with no lid on. They get the rain and irrigation water. I covered the box in vermin proof mesh to keep out rodents. I treated them like Leppidorachis seed and it worked well. 
 

The boxes stack well too. 

[happypalms]

This is what you get when you’re a mad scientist who propagated palms! 

[Hu Palmeras]

They have a good germination method. Unique and eloquent palm trees will emerge from these boxes.

[realarch]

7 hours ago, happypalms said:

This is what you get when you’re a mad scientist who propagated palms! 

I have no idea how you deep track of all that inventory on a regular basis. Stacking and restacking all of those containers after removing and repotting seedlings looks daunting. Then there is the record keeping to deal with. Good on you man, a super hero for sure. 

Tim

[happypalms]

2 hours ago, realarch said:

I have no idea how you deep track of all that inventory on a regular basis. Stacking and restacking all of those containers after removing and repotting seedlings looks daunting. Then there is the record keeping to deal with. Good on you man, a super hero for sure. 

Tim

It is a lot of work, one thing I do know is you gotta label them. Some box’s have multiple varieties in them and that can be difficult. It definitely keeps you busy, then there is the day to day life things that need to be done, the most difficult part is keeping the wife happy about the whole thing, the palms are easy in comparison!
Richard