Great sized seedling bench.

I was trying to find a pic of deeper seedling pots to picture here.
So I searched "palm seedling pots" on Google Images.
Guess what popped up as the firstphoto?
Mine! (those big slurp cups) 😆

http://www.google.ca/search?tbm=isch&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1060&bih=708&q=palm+seedling+pots&gbv=2&oq=palm+seedling+pots&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2181l4940l0l5196l18l15l0l2l0l0l186l1427l5.8l13l0#hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=%22palm+seedling+pots%22&oq=%22palm+seedling+pots%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=8732l10745l8l11390l9l7l0l0l0l6l984l2788l2-3.0.1.1.1l6l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=f66cc960fbc1794f&biw=1060&bih=708

7/11 must be wondering why people want their cups, and not the Slurpee in them...

Anyway, 4-inch wide pots are perfect, but buy the deepest ones you can find.
Young palm roots go straight down before much (if any) horizontal growth takes place.

My big slurp cups are just shy of 10 inches tall and when I up-potted my Foxtail seedlings, long roots were curled around the bottom, or trying to get out the drain hole.

Are you using heat tape like Cameron used? or germinating mats?

IMO, you'll be up-potting at least once, probably twice.
Besides, larger pots make plants look more valuable...I wouldn't pay 15 bucks for a palm in a 4-inch pot.
(OK I would if it was a seedling Licuala grandis).

Great project Tim...look forward to more pics.
Barb

Barb,

I want to grow them until they have character leaves. You think $15 a piece is too much at that size? I'm trying to find a marketable size/price combo that will yield best results for me. Maybe you can share some insight on that?

Wxman, I will give you what little advice I am able to 😆

Unless your basement is quite cold, you shouldn't need any heat tape if you just plan on germinating T. fortunei.

You should be fine with using 4" wide pots, but as Barb said, get the deepest ones that you can. There is a business in Oregon called Steuwe (spelling?) that has a decent selection and decent prices. You will be surprised how large roots can be, even on seedling trachys.

You will want to leave at least an inch of space between the top of the soil and the top of the pot. I say this because if you are going to use tap water to water the palms, over time, salts and other minerals will build up at the top of the soil, and it will look white-ish and brittle. Every month or so, you could just add a few mm of soil to each pot, and this should prevent the top from absorbing too many tap water minerals.

Re-potting will be a pain, so if you can get very deep pots (i.e. 8"+), you might be able to avoid this. Just drop 1 seed into each pot, and let it do its thing. If you start them now, you could sell them during this coming spring (as I did). If you're waiting for a first true leaf to appear, you might be waiting for 2 years or more. Also, you could consider selling a portion as time goes on, and keeping the other portion to grow true leaves. This way, you could make changes to your growing area/techniques as you go, instead of waiting for 2+ years to have final results from one batch of seedlings. When selling at smaller sizes, you should probably lower the price to $5/each, and $10/each when they are 2 years old. Maybe you should consider selling some different types of hardier trachy (i.e. Trachycarpus fortunei "Tesan", "Naini Tal", etc.). If you post ads online for your plants, people will research them, and if they see the same variety that you're selling available at other areas, they might not purchase yours. Luckily, in my area of Canada, I don't really have this problem 😆

Also, you should consider using some type of kelp-based fertilizer. I've found that it really helps speed seedlings along.

That's it!! 😆 It will be interesting to see how your project progresses through the years! Good luck!

Cameron.

Cameron,

Thanks for the input! I was thinking of germinating them in a common tupperware container and then transplanting once the majority are up. I was planning on using a sterilized peat moss / perlite combination. The tupperware container would allow me to cover them with a lid until they germinate. My basement remains between 60 and 62F in the winter, although under the lights it could maybe creep toward 64 or 65F.

Does this sound like a good idea? I thought maybe they would dry out too fast if I try to germinate them in open pots.

Also, any recommendations for something to put under them to catch water from watering? A dish under each pot seems like a lot of work.

Nice dude!!!!! Ive seen a few set ups like that but, they werent for palm trees 😀

I have something similar in my room ATM. Just a few old aquarium light fixtures. It worked quite good last year. Its great to start veggies for the spring, and my ginkgo seedlings are loving it!!!. All of my trachy seeds sprouted indoors, with room temp. Nothing germinated outside in the shade all summer.

In my experience, Trachys will germinate at normal room temp (60 - 65F), just a bit slower then with some heat. IIR right, they dont like to much heat to germinate either. Try to keep temps around 20 C or so (the 60 - 65F) and by february, you should have some babies!

good luck wxman. I am guessing a Trachy Fortunei growing operation will keep you busy for winter. In my area of the midwest many stores (Home Depot, Lowes, True Value Hardwarde) are beginning to carry cold hardy palms, i.e. trachys, mediterranean fan palm and needle palms and they are selling nice sized 5 gallon varieties for $29.95 and at the end of the season for $19.95. I am guessing these palms have to be 4-5 years old. Each part of the country is duifferent though.

He can sell them in front of his house...
having Trachys planted is the best advertisement-ask Bill 😉

Ditto Cameron's tips, Tim.
After all, he started -- what -- a thousand or two thou seeds last year?

something to put under them to catch water from watering?

I germinated a lot of my stuff (on the concrete basement floor).
Saucers/drain pots seemed like a lot of work to me, too.

So I unrolled the double layer of 6 ml plastic on the floor (roll was 4 feet wide, perfect!).
Then I used sections of rolled up newspaper taped under plastic's perimeters to make a 1-inch "wall" to catch water.

The only reason I suggested heat germinating mats (even for Trachies) is you want reliable and quick germination.
The goal is to get them to a saleable size months ahead of ones whose seeds took 4, 5 or 6 months to germinate naturally.
I started my T. princeps in the warm basement last winter, albeit further away from the woodstove than the Foxtails were the winter previous.
Worked like a charm.

Agree that your Trachies in the yard are the best example (to prospective customers) of what these Palms grow into in a few years.
As a result you may be able to get $15 for them sooner than a retail nursery who just plunks the potted palms into rows in the sale yard.

Great project.
Barb

(I hit Submit too early, LOL).

These guys that Cameron recommended (in Oregon) have great stuff.

http://www.stuewe.com/products/treepots.php

Their deepest seedling pot is 16 inches, which is perfect.
Would save you from one complete up=potting, but then the NEXT pot size up would be a 5 gallon 😯 😯 because a 2 gallon pot is only just 9 inches tall.

BUT:
Since 2 gallon pots are only 23 cm 9 inches, I'd recommend (for next year's up-potting), you use what I did.
Cheaper than borscht, sometimes FREE.
These 25 cm (10 inches tall) "florist fresh flower black pots"...just drill one big drain hole in the bottom of each.
Your Safeway florist probably has 500 of those black pots she's trying to get rid of.
Good person to get to know.

I know putting a seedling with 16 inch roots into a 10 inch tall (FREE MAYBE) florist pot sounds like a math impossibility, but you can gently angle/bend the root area.

Here's my seedlings from 10 inch slurp cups with a "florist black pot" beside it.

<a href=" http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/5353157517/" title="DSC04283 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src=" " width="640" height="480" alt="DSC04283"></a>

Bet someone would pay $15.00 for a palm in that black pot (versus a seedling pot).

The one real risk in using those florist pots for 1 year old seedlings is there's a lot of soil.
So to prevent root rot, use the grittiest gravelly soil mix you can find so it drains really really well.
I'd recommend a soil mix with NO peat moss/NO sand at all.

Here's my palm roots:

<a href=" http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/2887935769/" title="DSC01690 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src=" " width="480" height="640" alt="DSC01690"></a>

That's why palm pots are always much deeper (or should be) than wide:

<a href=" http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/2187822251/" title="DSC00819 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src=" " width="640" height="480" alt="DSC00819"></a>

...plus you can plan your website during winter.
As though your honey-do list isn't long enough already. 😆

Barb

Your setup should work fine. For catching water under the pots I use the plastic trays from Tractor Supply that go under rabbit cages. They come in several sizes and are fairly cheap. If you don't care about looks I also use the aluminum trays used for cooking turkeys etc. to set pots in. We have about 30 setting around from past holidays! As for selling I have great response from my local Craig's List (and it's free!).

Barb,

Thanks so much for all that information. It will definitely come in handy!

Now ... the seeds should be here any day. They will still have the fruit on the outside. Do you guys recommend cleaning it off, or planting as is like in nature?

And should I plant them in a common pot -- was thinking cheap tupperware container that I can put a lid on.

Or should I plant them in their individual pots (1 per pot)?

Let me know.

Thanks.

Barb,

Thanks so much for all that information. It will definitely come in handy!

Now ... the seeds should be here any day. They will still have the fruit on the outside. Do you guys recommend cleaning it off, or planting as is like in nature?

And should I plant them in a common pot -- was thinking cheap tupperware container that I can put a lid on.

Or should I plant them in their individual pots (1 per pot)?

Let me know.

Thanks.

I think planting with the fruit can cause mold. The sugars tend to cause that sort of thing IIR. I have bad luck cleaning seeds so hopefully someone here can be of more help.

For palm seeds most people seem to use the baggy method. The description of how can be found online, but its simply a community bag, rather then a pot. IF you do start them one per pot, and use decent sized pots, you will cause less stress to the plant.

They will still have the fruit on the outside. Do you guys recommend cleaning it off, or planting as is like in nature?

Jim or Cameron might be the ones to answer that because they've done a lot of Trachies.
But:
My trachy seeds were fairly clean, they had only a papery sheath on them that needed to be rubbed/scraped off.
I soaked my seeds for a couple of days in a bowl of water to which I added about 2 tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide.
After 2 days, just handling the seeds with a paper towel took off all the papery stuff.

With very large seeds (which Trachies are not), it's recommended to place them inside an old (very old) pillowcase, tie it tightly and put it through a hot water wash in the washing machine. Pillowcase gets thrown out after 😉

I planted my Trachies in ice cream buckets (yoghurt or sour cream buckets) and, after one year, I still don't see roots through the opaque bottom.
But like I said re the Foxtails, they grew mammoth long roots in a year versus the Trachies so you might be OK with tupperware (your wife will kill you!)

If your Trachy seeds have more than papery sheaths on them (i.e. more pulp attached), you can run them over the fine side of a kitchen grater.
(wife will also kill you).
Method is hard on the fingernails and knuckles but it works.
But first I'd soak them for 2 days, see what comes off naturally.

Looking forward to your pics Tim.
Barb

Tim you might find this interesting.
Says not to use mechanical methods (probably including the grater I recommended) as seeds could be damaged

http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10437&p=176944&hilit=Trachycarpus+seeds#p176944

Barb