Beginning the germination process! – Page 13 – Germination – PalmsNorth.com

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · 2011-01-28T23:49:38Z

I'm now starting to prepare for (hopefully) germinating quite a variety of seeds. I have somewhere around 100 different species of seed that I'll try to germinate, but I'm going to start with the seeds which I have the most of. Later on, I'll try to germinate the rest. I'll try to document the process as best as I can (ex. numbers of seed, days to first signs of germination, temp/soil, etc) throughout the coming months (or years :lol:), and hopefully this post can serve as a reference for anyone else trying to germinate the same species! I'll take some pics with my BB.I've began converting my computer room into a bit of a "germination room". Many of the seeds require heat in order to grow (sabals, etc). I looked into germination mats, but it would cost hundreds of dollars to cover a 6' x 6' area. I've ordered 24' of Flexwatt heat tape (the 11" width), as well as some dimmer switches to attach to the tape. The dimmer switches control the amount of power that goes into the heat tape, therefore controlling the temps. I'm going to cut the tape to size, lay it on the floor, and use it as a germination area. I'm also going to be trying out a product called Nitrozyme, which has been recommended by many palm websites for increased germination. To try to get a comparison of the product vs. nothing, I'll have a seperate space where I'll apply Nitrozyme to some seeds, and nothing to others. I'll check which ones germinate first, and if there seems to be any increased growth due to the product. I only have a 100 ml bottle, so I'll have to make it last! :lol: In the next post, I'll list which seeds I'll be trying first. Hopefully I'll start sowing them sometime next week!Cameron.

CTPalm

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Wow that is awesome! Cameron where you going to put them all when you have to pot them up?

Paul 😀

Posted : 27/02/2011 7:15 pm

Cameron_z6a_N.S.

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outside 😆

Posted : 27/02/2011 7:25 pm

canadianplant

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EVerything???? LOL

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Posted : 27/02/2011 7:26 pm

Cameron_z6a_N.S.

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Whatever plants I have left at end end of the summer will have to go underneath my deck for the winter. It's pretty sheltered, and there's also a vent there that blows warm air out from the house. Obviously I wouldn't keep stuff like the Dioons and bottle palms out there, but I'm sure that with protection, the hardy stuff will be fine! 😉

Posted : 27/02/2011 7:36 pm

canadianplant

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So this is all destined to be planted outside permenantly ( well like you said minus dioon etc)?

"The definition of insanity, is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results" - einstien

Check out my new Blog! http://canadianplant.wordpress.com/

Posted : 27/02/2011 7:37 pm

Cameron_z6a_N.S.

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Whatever I don't sell/trade/etc, I'll be planting outside for myself!

Posted : 27/02/2011 7:42 pm

CTPalm

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Cameron - I'm in the same zone as you and I am still nervous about planting my trachies. It was -9F this winter here and -0 several times. Coldest winter I ever remember!

Paul

Posted : 27/02/2011 7:46 pm

Cameron_z6a_N.S.

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Paul, I'm sure that with a little protection the trachies will pull through the winter! Here's how I protect mine, and they've always been fine:

Posted : 27/02/2011 7:53 pm

CTPalm

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Cameron are those planted on the south side of that fence?

Paul

Posted : 27/02/2011 7:57 pm

Cameron_z6a_N.S.

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They're kind of in a south-east facing spot. Here's an older pic that shows how the palms are in a sheltered area:

Posted : 27/02/2011 8:00 pm

CTPalm

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oh wow, yeah pretty shelterd microclimate, nice!

Posted : 27/02/2011 8:03 pm

CTPalm

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I'm trying to germinate some foxtail seeds from Dean on my cable box free heat!

paul

Posted : 27/02/2011 8:27 pm

Cameron_z6a_N.S.

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Good luck! Barb could probably give you a few tips for those

Posted : 27/02/2011 9:47 pm

canadianplant

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Cameron, you had such a mild winter im sure your palms had no problems

"The definition of insanity, is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results" - einstien

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Posted : 27/02/2011 9:50 pm

Cameron_z6a_N.S.

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It's gotten down to -16.8 C here one night, and -14 C at least 20 times, so it hasn't been too mild! The only thing I can really be glad for is that we've stayed above -18 C / 0 F .

Posted : 27/02/2011 10:00 pm