Never give up on your seeds

[happypalms]

It just goes to show never give up on your seeds. I had this lot dead and buried, took them off the heat mat and put them on the potting bench around 12 months ago to use the old medium in some potting soil. Well iam glad I didn’t use that mix. I lucked up on one seed sprouting. If they haven’t rotted away completely, keep those seeds around you just never know your luck. 

[tim_brissy_13]

That’s a special palm! Not many of those around at all. I hope it does well for you, should enjoy your climate. 

[David B]

I have had many seeds germinate at 2 - 3 years - chambeyronia magnifica, Basselinia moorei most recently. I had given up on them, taken them off heat and placed them aside in the office only to later find  a baggie of sprouts. Does the daily temperature variation trigger germination? They seem to pop end of summer, were day time highs important?

If they don't pop on squeezing, hurry up and be patient

[happypalms]

9 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

That’s a special palm! Not many of those around at all. I hope it does well for you, should enjoy your climate. 

It most certainly is a special one , I wonder if the rats will have a go at. After all it’s rare and just one single plant. It’s bound to be on the menu! 

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, David B said:

I have had many seeds germinate at 2 - 3 years - chambeyronia magnifica, Basselinia moorei most recently. I had given up on them, taken them off heat and placed them aside in the office only to later find  a baggie of sprouts. Does the daily temperature variation trigger germination? They seem to pop end of summer, were day time highs important?

If they don't pop on squeezing, hurry up and be patient

Unless they have rotted away, don’t give up. Every now and then I turn off my heat mats just to give them a fluctuating bit of heat. I guess most tropical seeds require heat but some not continuously. Does photoperiod play a role in germinating seeds, I guess to some extent with long days you have extra warm weather, the same for short days as well I suppose, cooler temperatures. I use etoliation for most of my seeds, so darkness with heat combined. The container these seeds where in was a clear plastic container. So light may have been a factor. Where is a botanist when you need one?

[tim_brissy_13]

1 hour ago, David B said:

I have had many seeds germinate at 2 - 3 years - chambeyronia magnifica, Basselinia moorei most recently. I had given up on them, taken them off heat and placed them aside in the office only to later find  a baggie of sprouts. Does the daily temperature variation trigger germination? They seem to pop end of summer, were day time highs important?

If they don't pop on squeezing, hurry up and be patient

Agree. I’ve had a good year too with old seed. Had almost completely given up on Brahea sarukhanii after 3 years, then 2 sprouted. Similar for Butia purpurescens; 2 sprouts after 2 years. Basselinia pendulina is following a similar pattern to Basselinia pseudovelutina for me; they sporadically germinate with a couple each year until the get a good rate. B pseudovelutina I eventually got 100% after 3 years. B pendulina now at 50% having just had a few germinate after around 18 months. A Guihaia argyrata just germinated after about 4 years! The only one from that batch so far. 
 

Richard I’d imagine C macrostachya would be expected to be slow and sporadic. I think all of Cyphokentia are known to be tricky to germinate and take time. I wouldn’t give up hope on the rest. 

[happypalms]

27 minutes ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Agree. I’ve had a good year too with old seed. Had almost completely given up on Brahea sarukhanii after 3 years, then 2 sprouted. Similar for Butia purpurescens; 2 sprouts after 2 years. Basselinia pendulina is following a similar pattern to Basselinia pseudovelutina for me; they sporadically germinate with a couple each year until the get a good rate. B pseudovelutina I eventually got 100% after 3 years. B pendulina now at 50% having just had a few germinate after around 18 months. A Guihaia argyrata just germinated after about 4 years! The only one from that batch so far. 
 

Richard I’d imagine C macrostachya would be expected to be slow and sporadic. I think all of Cyphokentia are known to be tricky to germinate and take time. I wouldn’t give up hope on the rest. 

One problem have found with licuala seeds is that they take so long certain varieties, you just can’t tell when they will germinate. This creates a problem with the space on the heat mats, with new seeds coming all the time I need the heat mats. And with some seeds taking longer than 12 months knowing which ones to remove can be tricky as most licualas like a lot of varieties require constant heat. And another situation can be if a company has a bad reputation for seeds not germinating one tends to go with they are dead seeds. 
But yes never give up!

[tim_brissy_13]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

One problem have found with licuala seeds is that they take so long certain varieties, you just can’t tell when they will germinate. This creates a problem with the space on the heat mats, with new seeds coming all the time I need the heat mats. And with some seeds taking longer than 12 months knowing which ones to remove can be tricky as most licualas like a lot of varieties require constant heat. And another situation can be if a company has a bad reputation for seeds not germinating one tends to go with they are dead seeds. 
But yes never give up!

I’ve always kind of assumed that with the true lowland tropical palms (like the majority of Licuala), if they don’t germinate within a few months or maybe max 6 months, then they won’t at all. I’ve found this for Pinanga, even a couple of the slightly hardier ones. Many temperate and high altitude species seem to be sporadic by nature, I guess as a response to climate and ensuring they can survive the weather once they sprout. 

[happypalms]

5 minutes ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’ve always kind of assumed that with the true lowland tropical palms (like the majority of Licuala), if they don’t germinate within a few months or maybe max 6 months, then they won’t at all. I’ve found this for Pinanga, even a couple of the slightly hardier ones. Many temperate and high altitude species seem to be sporadic by nature, I guess as a response to climate and ensuring they can survive the weather once they sprout. 

Mapu are one example of palm that can take a long time to germinate, I guess if every seed germinated in habitat then it would be just only one species completely dominanting its area. Do you put a price on rare seeds and say that’s enough of an electric bill in an attempt to germinate them, how long is too long. It’s one thing to do the maths on what each seed owes you in return. But now we have to factor in how much electricity is used for how long. My sabinara are an example of cost, for the 55 out of 100 they need to be sold at $175 just to break even. So if I I get one seed to germinate does that mean it’s worth $3000 as a seedling, far from it Plus you gotta make something for your troubles. Sell them at $10 and you soon go broke, and the person who buys them at $10 sells them for $250. It’s no wonder rare palms are worth so much! 

[happypalms]

I couldn’t wait for the rats to get this rare one, they can’t get out so in theory they can’t get in, an old rat trap should do the trick! 

[Husain]

I was going to give up waiting for Howea forsteriana seeds (9 months now). I will wait more 🙂

[happypalms]

22 minutes ago, Husain said:

I was going to give up waiting for Howea forsteriana seeds (9 months now). I will wait more 🙂

Not wth Howea, seeds usually take around 12 months and longer, up to 18 months. And I know the Howea seeds you’re talking about and they are of good quality, picked fresh from the palm! 

[happypalms]

On 5/17/2026 at 10:25 AM, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’ve always kind of assumed that with the true lowland tropical palms (like the majority of Licuala), if they don’t germinate within a few months or maybe max 6 months, then they won’t at all. I’ve found this for Pinanga, even a couple of the slightly hardier ones. Many temperate and high altitude species seem to be sporadic by nature, I guess as a response to climate and ensuring they can survive the weather once they sprout. 

These orbicularis are still popping up after close to 15 months, and they only started to germinate at 12 months, I had them dead and buried at 6 months.