Any good advice? Just got about 25 seeds with the fruit still on. WOW what a beautiful seed. almost didn't wan to peel them.
Wes, I germinated a few seedlings a couple of years back when I was just getting into palms so that may give you some idea of how easy they germinate. I'll post a pic this weekend of 2 year old plants. I like the Livistonia Chinensis as an indoor palm. great looking fan leaves, no pests and stays green in a bright location. The seeds you received are obviously fresh, just peel the flesh off and plant. If they are that fresh, they wont require a soak in water. Should have germination in 4-6 weeks and nice sized specimens in 6-8 years.
Kent in Kansas
where it's cold in winter (always)
and hot in summer (usually)
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I have them soaking right now (been about 24 hours), I didn't ruin them did I?
I found these seeds to be very easy also. Mine popped in about 2-4 weeks. The first strap leafs grew quick, but then stalled for about 6 months. Must of been putting down roots. Here's a little pictorial.
Seed right before germinating
Seedling 5 months later
Today in the cold greenhouse 1 year old
Not the pot I was expecting........
WOW!!
Thanks so much the pic history.
IMO, THIS is the exact thing we sould start doing in this forum. With all of us showing pic history, we can all see if ours are doing fine compared to others.
Thanks again!
In the spirit of posting pictures of livistonia chinesis progression:
May 5, 2007 - Seeds planted on February 25, 2007 in New Orleans, LA
June 30, 2007 - New Orleans, LA
July 30, 2007 - New Orleans, LA
September 16, 2007 - A bird or some animal cut the strap leaves off in mid-august, but didn't kill the seedlings. Now in Minneapolis, MN. 
October 9, 2007 - Minneapolis, MN
November 7, 2007 - Minneapolis, MN
December 1, 2007 - Minneapolis, MN
Present - February 22, 2008 - Minneapolis, MN
The big one you see is on it's 5th leaf/frond, just about 1 year since the seed was planted. The others aren't doing so well. The big one lost 1 leaf/frond to the bird attack from mid-August, and the other 3 leaves/fronds (that are still on there) to frostbite after encountering -35*F wind chills for just under 2 minutes (transporting them from my car to my apartment)
And if you want to see timelapse of my older livistonia chinesis,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5LhnMFXgJQ
As for germinating, these are super easy. I got 36 out of 45 fresh seeds to germinate in 2 weeks at a constant temp of 80*F. Will post pics when they start growing.
Great info folks. I did notice that I have a BUNCH germinated already (so I got great germination in under 10 days, fresh seeds make a differance) so I have a community pot ready to go when they start showing a leaf.
