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So I received some Trachycarpus fortunei and Sabal minor seeds the other day from Gayland Penny of Penny's Palms in Leesville, S.C. the other day. I really don't have the space to start a bunch of seeds right now so I will probably wait until the end o February to start most of them. I decided though to soak 8 Trachycarpus fortunei seeds and I am going to plant them in cups in my window seal to see if I can get a few started. I have never grown any palm seeds of any kind ever so does anyone have any tips? How long does it usually take? and do they need heat? I will post some pics if anything germinates.

I would just start whatever you want to grow now....with any luck
they will have their first leaf and be ready to be set in a partly sunny spot
outside in spring where they should grow a few strap leaves over the entire growing season

Good for you, Bryce!
Did Penny's Palms send any instructions? Many nurseries enclose tips/notes with seeds.

Agree with Jim.
Palms take a while...and a bit of work so I'd start your seeds now.

If you have time, I recommend reading this well-written 10 pg document first.
It's excellent, IMO, for people who haven't done palm seeds.

http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/fi ... sp0209.pdf

Will look forward to seeing your seeds pop!

Barb

No I did not receive any instructions so I am kinda just doing this from past experience with other plants and from what iv read. I planted some Sabal minor and some Trachycarpus fortunei seeds like 2 weeks ago. I was told that the seeds were fresh harvested in Dec. so nothing has come up yet. So i decided to delid a few seeds and see what happens. I did this with a nail file. So I guess ill know soon if it is gonna work.

Good luck with it Bryce.

But palm germination--with the exception of the de-lidding technique--is usually measured in months, not weeks.

I never thought of a nail file for de-lidding.
Good idea!
I used sandpaper...kinda hard on the fingers
Barb

Yeah I like using nail files for delidding. I found that palm seeds are much easier to delid than my Canna seeds, which im thankful for because it hurts your fingers after a while. Ill keep posted if anything germinates.

Bryce
Trachycarpus seeds have a thin fruit covering that does apparently have some germination inhibiting qualities. The seeds germinate quicker when this thin coat is removed. That being said, this fruit coat is hard to scrape off! Pre-soaking in water for a few days helps soften the coat. You can use your fingernails but this is tedious work at best. Once this thin coat is removed I can get germination within 2-3 weeks using the baggie method. Place the seeds in some light-weight potting soil in a 1 quart zip lock bag and keep moist but not soggy. Place the bag where temps stay above 70F. and use some bottom heat for at least a few hours a day (heating mat,top of water heater are good). Some seeds will begin to pop in 2 weeks using this method. Good luck!!!

Yeah so I put them in some tub-aware containers with lids. I did soak them for abt 48 hrs. The Trachys I de-lidded the seed coat came right off with my fingernails. The seed underneath was a light brown. I them de-lidded them with a nail file. I have been keeping them on the top of my aquarium its pretty warm up there. I noticed when I de-lidded that I saw a round eye type thing in the seeds. I am assuming this is either the root or the first leaves. I checked my seeds this morning. The eyes on the Trachys had popped out a little where as yesterday they were flat so I think its working. Thanks everyone

So I de-lidded almost all of the 50 Trachy seeds I had and so far iv noticed 3 of them had started to germinate. Photos are coming soon.

Congrats Bryce, look forward to photos.