Mix one part peat moss, one part perlite and one part vermeculite (some people use sphagnum moss but I find that more often then not you get rot)in a ziplock freezer/sandwich bag. Soak the seeds for a few days and change the water daily. When ready to plant, place the seeds 1/2 inch in mixture with a little water. Close it up and put it on top of something that has a heat source (like on top of fridge). Palms need bottom heat to germinate. Depending on how fresh the seeds are they should start sprouting in a month or so. Not to discourage you or anything but needle palms are really SLOW growers. Hope this helps!

My needle palm produced 12 seeds last year, which I put in a heated cupboard (95 F) for THREE MONTHS and they all failed to germinate. It flowered again this spring but produced no seeds.

I succeeded ONCE out of eight times cutting off the little suckers and planting them. The one that survived was the smallest of them all that had one broad leaf instead of the usual thin ones. Maybe that's why?

Good luck. This is the only seed I have never succeeded in germinating.

I love Needle palms and growing them from seed you should have a nice palm in about 200yrs-gotta love their cold hardiness though but man they grow slow in Iowa.

Jim, I am really trying to like this palm! I spied a nice specimen in a local garden center (not a bad price at all--under $30.00). I didn't get it last week because I have a smaller one and it just doesn't seem to do anything. I know they need heat (and this has been a cool summer so far in the East), but heck, I get better growth on a lot of other more tropical species and this is no different from my experience with it other summers. In fact, I have MUCH better growth (this year) on some Sabals (texana, louisiana, even palmetto) Thinking of going back tomorrow to reconsider. First time I have ever seen this being sold locally. They were also selling another "cold hardy palm" and I'm ashamed to say, I couldn't recognize it, and it had no label other than being sold as COLD HARDY.. It had smaller silver, reddish fan leaves. May have been a cultivar of Serenoa repens or Chamaerops?? So far, my in the ground palms have been limited to T. fortunei--which I love. But I have to say, needles seem hard to love--and those NEEDLES do not help!!