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Simple question.... In your opinion, does the saying " in terms of palm seeds, sinking seeds mean they are viable, and floating seeds mean they are most likey not"..... IN your experience, is this true??

canadianplant wrote:Simple question.... In your opinion, does the saying " in terms of palm seeds, sinking seeds mean they are viable, and floating seeds mean they are most likey not"..... IN your experience, is this true??

Most of the time yes. However, there are some caveats. First, some species have large air spaces between the outer 'shell' and the actual seed inside. These will only sink once the airspace has filled with water (or you can crack the shell).

usually seeds that are viable will sink. This works a lot of the time, but, some species can be particularly difficult to germinate and just because they sink does not mean that the seed can germinate. It is possible for dead seeds to sink as well... So short answer is yes viable seeds will sink; but, just because a seed sinks does not mean it can germinate.

Does that help?

THats the way ive been thinking. I havnt actualy tried to see the difference myslef. I just got my trachy seeds the other day, an half are floating a few hours in the soaking process. The seeds seem quite light in general though.. The sabal seeds im soaking are 1/3 of the size, but seem heavier.

Ive heard the same as you said while looking for the answer. I think for palms, the odds are if it sinks its viable. The large banana seeds ive planted were quite light as well, but they for the most part sunk ( could have to do with ar inside the seed as youve mentioed).

I got ten different types of palm seeds ( one is a cycad) I soaked them for 2 days except for the royal palm which is 6 days. I wrote down how many had sunk and the total number of seeds for each variety. I then used 2 methods the first is ziploc container using seed start mix and extra perlite. the second method is ziploc container and paper towel method. I put half the seeds from each variety in each method. will give results as they germinate. I started them all Jan 1 , 2013 give a day or 2

Keith,
Look forward to your results.

But I agree that generally seeds that float are no longer viable.
Just means time to de-lid them...sand them and try again.

Barb

Ditto to what Paul said

Wow, grats for digging this old thread up! *started nov 2010