I planted some 19 year old chile seeds this year. 2/3's came up promptly. The seeds were from chiles which were dried, put in a jar, then treated as a seasoning agent for a couple decades.

Polar bear, I only have a handful of palms that get sooo big eventually that they get thrown out of the house...Phoenix, Washingtonia, Butias, and Tracycarpus. Sure, pot size will constrain their growth, as will a lack of optimal growing conditions...SUN, HEAT, FERTILIZER, and WATER (in the growing season). If you want something faster from seed, try Washingtonia Fan Palms (many of mine started from seed). I also suggested the feather palm Butia (they grow like weeds on steroids!). They are quite cold tolerant btw, so as long as get are freezing or above, they are fine in their Winter abode. Occasionally, they get top dragged out in midwinter to get hosed down, or I will cover their contains with snow to get some moisture, but they are largely dry, dry, dry, in Winter. I like them too, they don't seem to mind NJ's ridiculously high Summer humidity and rain, as do many Phoenix/Date palms. I see your palm is inside from your post. That us one reason you are seeing slower growth. They really are not indoor palms... They wanna be outside in the sun and other elements. Mine are out from about March 1 to early December. Adults are okay with some degree of frost and our growing season, even heat, tends to linger well through Autumn.

Thanks for the info. How did you get -70 degrees ? I have some lettuce seed that is 12 years old and still germinating. It is stored at room temperature in the seed packet in our porch. I am amazed and thankfully was able to get some seed saved from plants last year that are growing nicely now. Its funny because it was alettuce mix, and only one red leaf type lettuce is germinating, which wasn't in the mix, odd.

That's amazing. I wonder if they will now be able to get any of the rest of the seeds to try to sprout them. It would be wonderful if this tree could make a come-back.