I'm working with a student to understand the genetics of Ravenea in the Comoros and what it tells us about conservation interventions. We need to know the generation time of Ravenea hildebrandtii for our analyses - in other words: how long from seedling to first flowering? Can anyone advise? I'm interested in any and all figures - estimates are much better than nothing too! We'll work with what we can get. THANK YOU!

 

@palmtreesforpleasure any idea Colin? 
 

@Bill Baker (Kew) I can’t help directly sorry other than to say seedling are quite robust even in a cool climate. 3 years from seed and just today I potted a couple into 140mm pots. I’m guessing because they are quite a small palm maybe 10-15 years? Ravenea glauca (Isalo form) was around 15 years from seedling size to flowering for me for reference. 

Hello, in my country on Reunion Island, the time between seedling and first flowering is 11 years for those that have developed well.

I can’t help now Bill but I might know in possibly 10 to 15 years time, just planted the other day. Time will tell. @palmtreesforpleasure is the man you want for this one he sent me some seeds. 

Here in a Mediterranean climate, seems like 9-10 years. Although I have a friend near the coast have one begin flowering at 6, which is really fast!

I purchased 2 seedlings from Floribunda in July 2014, and transferred them to 1-gal pots. They were planted out in November 2016. They were, conveniently, male and female plants. I potted up some early seeds from the female in December 2023, but no germination. Recently, I potted up more ripe-looking seeds, have one sprout so far.

 

Sounds like they’re pretty fast in warm climates. 
 

I just checked and mine actually germinated less than 2.5 years ago. Here’s a photo of one of them a year ago and then again today potted up as a double with one of its siblings. They’ve had a good 12 months. 
 

Thanks for the answers so far all. So it looks like 9-11 years where records have existed, with some thinking it could be more like up to 15. Everyone is in a similar ballpark. It's closest relative, R. moorei, took 54 years to flower at Kew, admittedly in less than ideal conditions. Sadly not enough experience from horticulture exists to get more data on that species. Anyway... keep it coming!

Hello Bill,

In my climate ( sub tropical/ temperate) has taken 25 years to produce seed

Regards

Colin

 

PS

The Ravenea louvelii, grown from seed that came from RPS in 2004  have not grown a trunk yet.

All 24 have not grown a trunk

 

About 10 years from a 1 gal here in SoCal. 

Cultivated plants can grow very very much faster of course which could reduce the reproductive cycle by decades!

On 10/10/2025 at 7:21 PM, richnorm said:

Cultivated plants can grow very very much faster of course which could reduce the reproductive cycle by decades!

Good point