Good luck!!

Are you using a heating mat? I have found far better results by using a heating mat then just letting them sit around.

Here is a way you can tell if you put in the right amount of water:

If the soil cakes up to where you could actually model something out of it easily, and you can squeeze the soil and produce a good amount of water, then there is too much.

if the soil appears to look wet, and it is still crumbly and does not model unless really squeezed, but only produces a couple of water drops, most likely you used proper amounts.

(that method doesn't work with sphagnum moss)

Also, I would like to know how the windmill seeds work, as I will be germinating some of those too.

~palmsandsnow

Hi

For me ,I've had the best luck with just a pot and sphagnum moss and a LOT of patients lol Also had much better luck with seed I collected myself ,very poor with seeds I bought .

The most difficult was Silver joey " Took 27 months to sprout!! and another 4 months before it developed a frond Another was Bismarks but not that extreme . One difficult aspect of many kinds is the long brace root which develops first often getting a foot long before any frond development Usually what I did was transplant as it grew though usuallly started with a 12 inch pot and then moved it up as it developed found that if the root was allowed to grow through the bottom it really slowed the development.

Don't know if that's the case with windmills have no experience with them ,

With queens and arecas I intentionally cut the tap root in order to dwarf them for pot culture . While it does work they failed to mature and even with that treatment could not keep them under 6 feet good luck gary

Thank you for your comments!

I have the the baggys with the seeds in them on my desk besides my computer where it is warmer. I also believe I have the right amount of moisture because the soil is still crumbly, yet at the same time it is damp. Like I said I will post updates when something happens!

As garylfa_gw said, it is best to transplant the sprouts soon after the first root appears, to give them space and not as much shock as would happen if you waited until the had leaves.

I have also come to realize that growing palms includes a lot of waiting, something like this:

Order seeds.

Wait for seeds to arrive.

Plant seeds.

Wait for seeds to germinate.

Wait for the first simple frond.

Wait for the first complex frond.

Wait for fruiting.

Lot of waiting (lol).

Happy waiting!

~palmsandsnow

Hi

Still can't believe 27 months is "normal" lol They described them as "slow " when I got the seeds . I'm thinking slow , like waiting for your children to grow up not slow like the unfolding of the universe lol

Several other kinds have been "slow " but Joe holds the record lol gary

garyfla_gw,

Did you use a heating mat? I really don't think 27 months is normal for any palm seed, that's 2 1/4 years!!

Once I grew date palm seeds, but those only took 6 months to germinate, without a heating mat. More recently, I germinated some online purchased Canary Island Date Palm seeds with heating mat, and those only took 8 days! I was thrilled.

After about two months, I stop the daily checking of the seeds, but some still end up germinating.

~palmsandsnow

Hi

Among the slowest that I've tried Bismarks . Licualas ,Bottles, spindles and sealing wax were also slow but many of those failed to germinate at all.

The Joe was fascinating as when it did germinate it grew straight up to about a foot and then stopped for around a month Then it collapsed and I thought it was a goner but around a week later it started to grow from the tip of the sprout which had landed in another pot lol I'm testing my memory here but as I recall the first frond emerged around 2 months later 2nd almost 6 months !! I started the seed in 79 and was worried that my GH was only 10 feet high lol By 05 it had 4 fronds and was still under 5 feet !! I gave it to the local zoo where they are keeping it in a temp controlled amphibian exhibit . The last time I seen it 12/13 I could still look over the top of it

Another is the Bottle palm . was very slow to germinate never produces more that 2 fronds per year. Planted in 81 i only kept one which I still have kept in a 3x3 pot The others were given to various people and most were planted in the ground I'm thinking 98/99 and then into 08 for the last

All are still as short as mine and all have yet to flower . Here is a pic of the last repot in 11. It is losing it's Bottle which is a sign of maturity so just maybe it will flower this summer ??? lol gary

Well, in any case, it still looks like a bottle to me! But then, I wouldn't know, as I have never grown them before. Do bottle palms have a crown shaft? It is either they don't, or yours is just covered up.

~palmsandsnow

Hi

Really testing my memory here The "bottle starts to develop around the 5th year from seed As it expands the crown shaft disappears and frond emerge directly from it . As it matures the crown elongates again When completely mature they look almost the same as a spindle palm .which is what I meant by reaching maturity it has been elongating most noticeably over the last two years Old fronds are very persistant. Usually in landscapes they are removed and polished More aesthetic yes but WAY too much work for an old man .lol besides I wanted to watch it grow naturally. To my mind a fantastic pot specimen but really bad landscape plant for many reasons .

Looking forward to flowering IF i live long enough?? lol They produce another structure coming from the crown almost as big as the whole plant!!

Not sure if flowering will cause it to die , it doesn't in spindles but then the stalk is about a third of the botlle .I'm guessing the maturity of the seeds will also be very slow?? Didn't realize when I started the seeds it was going to be a lifetime project !! gary

Hmmm, funny, I don't really think flowering would kill the palm, but I could be wrong. For a while I was really disappointed that most palms grow pretty slow, and take a while to reach maturity. Really, life is just too short for me to enjoy all the palms I ever wanted to enjoy!!

I was never that great at growing palms... My motto was: enjoy it while it's here!

And yes, seeds do usually turn into a lifetime project!

~palmsandsnow

The single trunked species of Caryota palms die after flowering. The multi-trunked one usually have another trunk that keeps going and produces more trunks before flowering. Also Corypha species die after flowering.

Yea, Hyphorbe species shouldn't die.

How easy is it to maintain a Bottle Palm?

If you want to grow a bottle palm, in my opinion you could use spindle or bottle palm, as they are very similar.

I don't know much about these palms, but I have heard they are very slow growing, and In my opinion they make suitable houseplants.

In terms of maintenance, I don't know. Again, in my opinion, every palm deserves a shot. Could be awesome, could be a disaster! That right there is half the fun! The thrill of the unknown!

Also, a question for you, Palmtreedude, where did you purchase your windmill palm seeds? (or any of your seeds for that matter)

Thanks!

I purchesed my Windmill Palm seeds, along with my Palmetto and Florida Royal Palm seeds from www.georgiavines.com, they have a LOT of palm seeds! They arrived in a week and were in good condition, now the true test, to see how they germinate! I would recommend trying Georgia Vines.

Thank you! Yes, sometimes I go on a buying spree and by a bunch of palm seeds, and then forget that if they all germinate, I will have to find pots for all of them! Lol.

Hi

Around 5 years ago decided to concentrate on the landscape but still use many pots due to the poor soil. I'm still a collector at heart, though.lo Only seedling palms I have left is a white elephant 4 archotophoenix 8 Christmas

and the one I can't bear to part with I collected the seed in Costa Rica which I believe is a Geonoma though not the much sought after "Stained glass" The mother did have some red and some spotting to lower fronds but so far mine is still mostly green . Maybe another 10 years ?? lol Good luck with yours!! gary