Yes! I am aware of the baggy method, and it is, in fact, mentioned in the original post! I have used the method numerous times, but almost every time I tried, I added too much water. I just recently germinated some canary date palm seeds using this method, I used a heating pad (and added the proper amount of water), and 60% of the seeds sprouted in only 8 days!

I also have a couple of tips concerning this method:

If you keep all the seeds under the soil, they will not grow fungus on them.

If you use this method and ONE time you manage to get the perfect amount of moisture in the soil, save the soil after the seeds have sprouted, and you can use the same bag of soil for multiple seed batches.

Thanks for your help!!

~palmsandsnow

Do you think I should use a heating mat if I try to germinate windmill palm seeds? The other option is just leaving them in a warm place with no mat.

Also, is it really true that windmill palm seeds need light to germinate?

Thanks!

~palmsandsnow

@palmsandsnow For windmill palms I would not use a heating mat. Just put them in a warm place like you said. Also I'm not sure if they truly need light of not. People say that palm seeds do not need light to germinate but about the windmill palm needing light, I'm not sure, I would just keep leaving them in light for now.

P.S. About my other reply I don't know how I did not notice you mentioned the baggy method, it just it just slipped past me, sorry about that. :P

Thank you for your help! I think I will do a sample of windmill palm seeds on and off the heating mat to hopefully truly determine which is better. I will try to post updates as needed!

~palmsandsnow

Alright, this is not really what this discussion was previously for, but I actually have a tip for germinating these seeds! I had heard that each seed is actually a sort of pod, which can contain 1-3 seeds. I just cracked open a couple seeds with a pair of vice-grips, and sure enough, there was another seed inside. I figured that these seeds would be more receptive and permeable to a water soaking, and quicker to germinate.

If anyone else tries this, note that the outer shell is very brittle, and instead of kind of crunching, it just snaps suddenly. Crack them in a plastic baggie, so you don't lose any seeds. Do it slowly so you don't damage the seeds. That will happen!

~palmsandsnow