Allagoptera arenaria. They have a very thick fibrous coating, and need a thorough soaking for two or more days. And then into the moss and constant 30C+ heat.

 

Arenga engleri.

Some germination using damp perlite and heat. None in any other medium. Difficult. I have recently read that there may be inhibitors in the coat of this seed, and that soaking, discarding the water, and further soakings/discards may help. I propose to try again with this one.

 

Bismarckia

Again. Damp moss at high 20s/30s for a few weeks. May have a short viability span.

 

Brahea armata:

From weeks to over a year to germinate. Moist moss and high temperatures — 30sC seem to do the job. Seeds retain their viability for a very long time. At least 18 months.

 

Butia capitata:

I’ve had some success with Butias over the past two years. They are hard to germinate however — be prepared for a 2-14 month wait. (Although recently I've achieved germination in 2 weeks with very fresh seeds). I now go for the damp moss described in general method, but in the past I've used Peat based compost (dare I say it, Levington Multipurpose) for a time, quite moist, and at as high temperatures as I could get with a propagator — high 30C is good. Keep the compost moist but not wet — as it comes in the bag as long as it's not been sitting outside. The shoot emerges from the root before the root is very long. I've cracked Butias open to expose their embryos, and after many losses, managed to get just one to germinate like this. There is no need for it with fresh seed, but if in desperation, and you are fed up of looking at a few seeds for months, well......... I did!

 

Chamaedorea cataractarum.

I’ve found them difficult, and temperamental. They are very small oval greyish seeds, and seemed to rot easily in moss. Peat proved more successful, at the usual 30C temps, but nevertheless still produced rot. They are difficult to see against the peat background. The germinating root appears red, and is so small it is easily missed. Planted out, the seeds develop O.K. and the shoot very quickly emerges. However it is grey and easily missed again. Germination is adjacent, as with other Chamaedorea, but you’d have difficulty seeing it!

 

Chamaedorea microspadix

Tough hard little seeds. The few I’ve tried took an age, but did germinate in moss as per previous tips - high temps, and damp moss.

 

Chamaerops humilis var. cerifera

Need a good soak in warm water - 2 or more days, then damp moss and temps of 30 or more. Can take some weeks to germinate.

 

Dypsis decaryi.

So easy to germinate this one. Damp peat is the best - I use Levingtons multipurpose.

(I've tried moss and perlite - both also germinate the seeds, but not quite as well). As a matter of fact, one of these germinated in the warm soaking water. My only water germination success.

 

Guihaia argyrata

Resent dampness and rot off very easily. My best results so far have been a days soak, then into a mix of moss and perlite, barely damp (but not bone dry). If the moss is damp to the feel it will transmit this to the perlite. Then at temperatures of 24/5C and be prepared for a longish wait of several months. Slow growing seedlings too. But I suspect worth the wait!

 

Jubaea chilensis.

Germinate using the moss method. Seem to need daily temperature change. Often germinate better for being left out in a greenhouse or conservatory (in Britain at least), and left to themselves.

Alternative method

I have been trying another method with these seeds that has seen some interesting success. As with a lot of my methods, they are often ones I have picked up from other people. This one is used by Mike Kenchington for germinating his cycad seeds, but seems to work very well with Jubaeas on a domestic radiator!  See below...........

 

Latania loddegesii.

Soak in warm water for about day.

Germinate well at higher temps (30+) in peat or vermiculite. Moss seemed to make the seeds go mouldy. Peat seems to have the edge.

 

Livistona benthamii

Outer ‘shell’ removed from seed to reveal germination point bulge - see seed pictures. Full days soaking. Peat sphagnum moss compared, best results with moss followed by peat compost in a poly bag at high temperatures - the usual 30C+. Well over a month to germinate.

 

Livistona chinensis.

Can be difficult/impossible with not-so-fresh seeds. On the other hand I’ve had seeds germinate in the postal jiffy envelope! I’ve had good results with very fresh seeds with the following method. A days soak, then into a peat based compost at in a range of 25C - 35C.

 

Livistona decipiens

As for P.rupicola above, germinate well in moss at high 20s/30sC in a few weeks.

 

Parajubea sunkha The usual ‘pre-soak and moss medium at 30+C method’. Can take a long time to germinate - months - so be patient as long as the seed looks O.K - not rotten. Need a deep root run for the first tap root, but not 21 inches! ( 9 to 10 inches (40cm) will do.

 

Parajubea torallyi   I soak for 2 days  as they are very large, hard seeds. I recommend peat based compost. In a bag or polythene sealed container and varying the temperatures through the day. They like heat in the 30’sC but not all the time. They germinate well in a British greenhouse in summer where the temperature range seems to suit them.

Can take a long time to germinate - months - and are temperamental, so several will germinate, then long stretches of none. I am finding that more than one embryo per seed germinates, just like Butias. A clear plus as the plants can be separated later! The seedlings don’t need super deep containers. About 6 or 7 inches seems to be working successfully with emerged plants at the moment.

 

Phoenix roebellinii seeds germinate well in moss at 30Cs temperatures.

 

Phoenix rupicola

Germinate well in moss at high 20s/30sC in a few weeks.

 

Phoenix sylvestris (blue). Germinate very rapidly (a few days) in damp moss at high 20s/30sC. Have deeper roots than might be expected before emergence - use deep containers - 6 inches (24cm). I’m using plastic half pint party ‘glasses’.

 

Pritchardia thurstonii

Germinate very rapidly (a few days) in damp moss at high 20s/30sC. Tendency to rot off after germination and even emergence.

 

Ravenea rivularis

Need to be fresh. Appear to have a very short period of viability. Appear to be relatively easy in moss and heat of about 30C. Germination inside a week. Also fast emergence - another fortnight.

 

Rhapidophyllum hystrix (needle palm)

Take a long time to germinate, but will eventually in the usual 30C and damp moss. I tried it without removing the outer shell first of all - not knowing any better! One germinated, the rest just looked at me. Then I picked up the tip from the Net that its best to remove the outer shell - sure enough within 2 weeks of doing that I have had 3 further germinations.

 

Rhapis multifida.

The few I’ve tried were perhaps not the freshest seeds I’ve had, and only 2 out of the ten germinated in moss. They seem to be prone to rotting, so perhaps only a day in soak is best. Again, high temps, and damp moss.

 

 

Sabals. So far they seem to vary in what they like for a medium . I’m trying various experiments. Some seem to do much better in perlite, but others in sphagnum.

Perlite: birmingham, palmetto, domingensis.

Moss: etonia

Soak for a day in warm water, then into the medium in a poly-bag. Kept at 35C in a hot box. Perlite should only be just damp, but dont let it dry out too far.

 

 

Serenoa repens

Germinates well in sphagnum

 

Syagrus cardenasii

Temperatures of 30C in just damp sphagnum moss. Have bought very rapid and high percentage of germination - less than a month.

 

Syagrus romanzoffiana (Queen Palm) seeds germinate in moss at 30Cs temperatures

 

 

 

Trachycarpus species:

 

Below are general points about the whole group as far as I have been able to experiment

 

 

Peelers and non - peelers

This is  the great debate as to whether to scrape off the outer covering of the seeds of the Trachycarpus seeds, sometimes called scarifying. Until recently, I was firmly in the undecided camp. I had not tried any large scale experiments on whether this made a difference. and the small scale ones were inconclusive. I had heard from other enthusiasts that they had got better results from scarification, notably Herbert Riphagen who has done large scale experiments with Trachycarpus wagnerianus and other Trachycarpus species, and concluded that scarification makes a big difference in how quickly the seeds germinate and and how many eventually germinate. Having done a reasonably large scale experiment with T. manipur, I now agree that it does make a big difference, and recommend seed scarification.

 

Trachycarpus fortunei:

I’ve germinated a lot of these now, providing the seeds are fresh, the following works well for me.

Soak the seeds in warm water - warm to the hand - not hot, overnight for one night only. Put the seeds on kitchen paper and dry them off for about half an hour, or roll them around on the paper until surface dry at least. They must not be surface wet for the next stage.

This is a description of what I do with Levington Multipurpose compost fresh from the bag. (I’m sure you could use other similar composts, but I haven’t tried them). Empty out onto newspaper a sufficient quantity for the number of seeds you have soaked and let it dry just slightly. Mix the seeds into the compost, and put into a sealable container or polybag. I now use a polybag with a sealable zip-loc type strip. Keep the seeds in a cool temperature of just over 20C. (I've been using 21-26C) in an airing cupboard).

 

Trachycarpus geminisectus. As for all other Trachycarpus. Germination started well with the ones I had from our supplier, but then stopped for a few weeks then restarted.

 

Trachycarpus martianus, latisectus and takil

Exactly as for all the ‘trachies’ I’ve tried so far. If the seeds are very fresh, then a soak in warm water for 24 hours at the most, followed by immersion in just-damp peat based compost at around 24C. Germination in about 2 weeks. Cool temps can lead to root failing to develop in martianus just after germination.

 

Trachycarpus manipur.

It gets boring to have to say it, but the method exactly as for all the other Trachycarpus species I’ve tried gives good germination.

 

Trachycarpus princeps.  I have suffered two seriously poor batches of these seeds, supposedly fresh, but which certainly were not, or had been treated badly in some way. Also I have bought and germinated others of disputed origin/provenance/genotype.(I’m not quite sure how to put it!) I am germinating others now that I’m assured are the princeps form with white undersides. These have responded again to the process given for all Trachycarpus here. But they took some 3 months to germinate, so are slower than most. This seems to match with their reputation.

Trachycarpus oreophilus.

Exactly as for my details on fortunei gives good germination. Take a long time to emerge - up to a month.

 

Trachycarpus wagnerianus.

As with fortunei, and martianus, a single day soak, a good dry off for an hour or so, then into slightly drier peat compost than usual. ( I take it from the bag, and let it dry out for about an hour till it feels drier).

Then pop the seeds into the compost and keep at 25C. Just at room temperature in the summer.

 

Trithrinax campestris and schizophylla

I’m running these together for the moment, as I have treated them the same, and the germination rate seemed similar. However, the schizophylla is now germinating much better than the campestris.

After soaking the seeds for only a day in warm  water (mid 20Cs - warm to the touch) as they were thin skinned as I received them, then into peat based compost, keeping the temperature to around 30C. I achieved several germinations like this

However this still proved to be too slow, so at the moment I’m trying a daily change in temperature. Hot in the day (30C+) and cool at night (below 20) and have got more germinations than with a constant temperature. They have a reputation for being erratic, and this is certainly what I am finding.

An alternative method that works, is to reverse the above, and have a high temperature at night: 35C, and turn the heat off during the day, so its just room (or wherever you have the propagator) temperature. This is easily arranged with an ordinary propagator and a domestic electrical timer that you might use for turning a light on at a certain time.

 

Trithrinax biflabellata. As above, but I’m trying them in different temperatures They are very erratic indeed.

I have well over 500, and they are germinating at only a few per week. The best rate I have achieved so far  is in moist compost in a poly bag in  an airing cupboard with a range of 21 to 29C. Others are being tried in more extreme temperature ranges.

Alternative germination method for Jubaea

In this method, the alternating temperatures,  the high humidity and  condensation on the box lid,  seem to induce germination quite quickly.