Best Palms from seed Zone 8 (fast growing tall cold hardy etc)

18 years ago

I was wanting to grow some palms from seed bacause large palms are too expensive for me to buy and I like growing from seed.

I am in South Carolina Myrtle Beach area.

I was thinking of washingtonia Robusta for starters, but I don't know what else to try and grow after that.

I was thinking of ordering seeds from rarepalmseeds.com they have tons of different types of seeds which makes to choice very hard.

The sample seed packets don't seem to great to me..

My main characteristics I want are

easy to germinate, Fast growing (I want to plant these for me not my children) Tall trees would be cool. Coolness factor something you don't see everyday like sable palms here. (the state tree) Don't get me wrong sables are nice they are just on every corner here. I figured with seeds I could get 30-40 palms for the price of buying one palm from a nursery. I don't need 30 palms but I could give some away if I get really good germination rates.

The washingtonia robusta sounds like it's hard to beat for fast growth and easy germination, what else fits this bill and do you recommend any other sources for seeds?

Thanks in advance..

Comments (7)

Darell
18 years ago
Hey Joe Falco,

I have Washingtonia Robusta seeds if you would like some. Send me an email @ darellkjones@yahoo.com and give me your address. I will mail these to you. They are so easy to germinate. I have about 200 seedlings growing like gangbusters.

Darell
cfkingfish
18 years ago
If you want the Washingtonia look, for for filifera instead of robusta. It is about 8 degrees cold hardier, and better looking in my opinion. I also have 5 robustas I grew from seed and are starting to put out character leaves in a 1 gallon pot. I need room for my new plants, so I will get rid of them for very little.
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Hi Treeguy. What part of WNY are you in? I'm in Rochester NY (City NW) and am growing Musa Basjoo, Musa Sikkimensis, and Musella Lasiocarpa in-ground. I was told that the Sikki and the Musella would have to be dug up over winter, but I left them in-ground very covered up in mulch and they're doing great. This was their first winter here. MY palms are all in pots and while not in-ground, they ARE in an unheated porch out back. Monitored temps dipped as low as low 20's some nights with usual highs in the upper 30's/low 40's. There was a brief super-cold spell where the lows read in the teens, but daytime highs were 30's. My palms are T. fortunei, T. wagnerianus, T. takil, T. latisectus (everyone expects this one to die, so I'm thinking about mailing it to a cousin south), and two Butia capitata. The pots aren't insulated or anything, so I was lucky.... but they lived. I can't plant in-ground until I buy a home, but I'm definitely planning on it. I have waggies which I germinated from seeds and they spent winter out in that shed too, but I brought them in during the cold spell.
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beachedturtle
18 years ago
Joe,
I live in the Myrtle Beach area also (Murrells Inlet). I have been growing different types of palms from seed for a while now. The trouble with palms are that the fast growing ones are not native to this area thus they have many problems such as cold in winter months, too humid in summer months. I would still recommend the washingtonia robusta (mexican fan palm), or the washingtonia filifera (california fan palm) they are the 2 fastest growing palms for this area with the robusta being the fastest. However the robusta is more sensitive to the cold so you must be prepared to protect it, especially while it is young, (would make a nice container palm for a couple of years). Now the filifera is more cold tolerant than the robusta but you need to remember it grows in a dry arid climate so it struggles with funggal attacks while it is young in our hot humid climate we have. The filifera grows somewhat slower than the robusta and you will still need to offer some protection while it is young from both cold and humidity.
Pindo's grow slow but will not be hurt by our cold and after some time they can get to 20' tall. Sabal's are easy to grow from seed as well but will take some time to look like a palm. I am not an expert just some stuff that I have picked up from this board, I hope it helps.
David Stallard
faroutfishing_cox_net
17 years ago
I won't you all to know about tradewindsfruit it's websight were you can get cheap palm seeds with shiping coasts of only $0.25 please followup!
donray
17 years ago
There is also another Washingtonia filibusta which is a cross between the other two and you could also look at the different species of thrachycarpuses. I have found from experience the freshest seeds and germination rate is best from ortanique.They have a very good pricing on seeds as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seed source
turtile
17 years ago
You may want to try some of the Trachycarpus Species. Martianus 'Kasha Hills' looks very different and grows fast but its not as hardy as the others.
User
17 years ago
I second the vote with the suggestion of trachycarpus. They are very cold hardy and (I think) attractive. Unusual among palms, though they push more active growth under more moderate to cool temperatures. They grow much more slowly under very warm conditions (above 90F). I have one in the ground and it is currently pushing active growth and I live in North Jersey. So, expect it to grow moderately fast in the spring, slow down (if not stop) in summer and pick up again in the fall and perhaps winter
(depending on your zone and how warm the weather is). I also love Washingtonia robusta and filifera (personally more partial to the robusta). My suspicion is that robusta is probably better for a humid climate (but they are also more cold sensitive). Queen palms grow reasonably fast (though I have not grown them from seed), also not sure about hardiness in your zone (but betting they would make it!) I love sabals but they are notoriously SLOW growers (even when given all the heat they love). I have had good luck germinating and growing Phoenix canariensis, but I know some people find them too slow (for me they are moderate growers so it my be a question of temperature preference). Good luck!!

Best Palms from seed Zone 8 (fast growing tall cold hardy etc)

Comments (7)

Darell

cfkingfish

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