4/14/08

Palm Tree Progagation

I am always weeding little palm tree sprouts from underneath the queen palm. The seeds fall all over and kill the grass because they mound up. This week I decided to save a few of the sprouts.

I thought I was done with palm sprouts for the day...
Then, I decided to clean out the jungle under my potting table. That's when I found this little guy growing in the sand under a 20 lb 12" concrete stepping stone.

He was getting no sun and no water. But he did have a tiny red rat snake roommate. I can only pray this is a baby lipstick palm (aka sealing wax palm). It's probably just another queen palm seedling.

The story is that I ordered a lipstick palm seed over a year ago, planted it, and waited..........and waited...........and waited. Then I finally used the pot and soil for something else. Lipstick palm seeds can take up to 3 years to germinate. I just got impatient and consequently lost track of the seed. Maybe someday I'll find it...maybe this is it!

Here's a lipstick palm seedling photo from Top Tropicals, the company from which I ordered the lipstick palm seed. It looks the same.

3 comments:

Lets Plant said...

I want a lipstick Palm sooo bad!! You will have a real SCORE on your hands if that sprout is it! You ordered just 1 seed? 3 years to germinate, Wow!! Do you know about the polystart? I soak all my seeds in it for 24 hours before I start germination and I am very pleased with the results, really jump starts things!! Good luck I hope you get your lipstick!!

shannon.morris said...

Well, count yourself lucky you can grow any palms at all! As a Floridian, you have the pick of the litter. I'm only one state up (in GA), and our winters are cold enough to kill anything except the Pindo (Jelly) palm and the Chinese fan palm. I've heard that one or two more will survive, but no one sells them, so that's that!

Anonymous said...

how do i kill all these palm seedlings that are sprouting.......they have taken over a section of my yard........help.......can i spray.......roots are terrible....cannot pull by hand......what to do???

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