I germinate them in paper towels because of the low risk of mold. I think if you germinate them in soil they are much vulnerable for mold. But I think that soil is also good. How do you germinate them?

Do you have flats, pots, some kind of container to hold the starting mix you will be germinating these seeds in? Do you have a seed starting mix to start these seeds in? Some seeds need only a light dusting of the media while others can be buried deeper, the pakage the seeds came in should have that iinformation. Some seeds need a bit more warmth for germination and lacking heat mats the top of your refrigerator will be a good substitute. Perhaps this link will be of some help. Here is a link that might be useful: Seed germination

Angel, Very old grain seeds have been found by archaeologists at many different sites around the world. I'm talking thousands of years old. And yes folks who know what' they're doing have been brought in to try to germinate them. But grain seed is ver y susceptible to destruction by dampness and without doing a search, I don't believe anything found from thousands of years ago has ever been germinated. Weed and herb seeds from a few hundred years ago, yes, many have been germimnated. Bean seeds have also been found at archaerological sites and by private folks as well. The best known example is the Anazazi beans fr om the SW US. And yes, some of those have been germinated. Again, a few hundred years old. The best documented oldest seeds germinated were lotus seeds found in a bog in China. The oldest one germonated was about 1200 years old and you can read the link in the Google search I linked to below . You'll read claim after claim for germination of very old seeds but there are lots of folks who like to tell tales. One great one was the so called discovery of tomato seeds in an Egyptian tomb which were called Oos Oos Pei. Problem was that tomatoes only left this continent with the Spanish in the 1400's and the claim for these seeds in Egypt was from about 2000 B.C.E. Sigh. And on and on it goes. So please read some of the links below and I think you'll see that the lotus seeds at 1200 years old are the oldest to be germinated. Carolyn, who subscibes to several archaeology magazines and who follows the old seed germination reports with great interest. Here is a link that might be useful: Google Search; oldest seeds germinated

Thanks everyone for your advise. Jim, Thanks for your input.Your the person that sparked my interest in Trachycarpus palms.For a cold hardy palm that has a trunk you just cant beat them for growth speed and cold hardiness :) I know there are more cold hardy palms that does not have a trunk.Like S.minor,S.louisiana,S.brazoria.Which according to what I've read lately they now include all of them as different forms of S.minors.Even S.Louisiana which can have a 6ft trunk. I've got all of them and more,I like all of them.Please dont anybody take this the wrong way.When I think of a palm tree the first thing that comes to mind is a single trunk tree with the fronds around the top of the trunk. I still like Butia and Sabal palms.But they just take so long to grow into a good size tree.Sabals being the slower one of the too.That doesn't mean that I will quit growing them.I just except them for what they are. Thanks again everyone.Here's hoping for a early spring :) Randy