Coonties

I am a novice so am just learning as I go. I just got lots of Coontie seeds still in their orange coating. I know the coatings are supposed to be toxic and should be discarded carefully after removal, or the seeds should be scarified. I tried scarifying before with a bunch of seeds but didn't get a single sprout even after a year so I figure I did something wrong. What I did previously to scarify is just scratch the coating with a knife several times. Does anyone have any advice? Can I refrigerate or otherwise save the seeds for a while? (I am leaving on a 3 week trip in 3 days and won't have a chance to do anything until I get back. Also, we are having some really cold weather.)

I also got 4 young coonties growing together in a 3 gallon pot. I want to put them in my yard where I have 2 mature coonties. Any advice on transplanting?

Finally, one of my mature coonties has scale? Should I try an oil? If so, what kind? Or should I clip the infected fronds? Thanks much for any and all help. I want to do right by these plants. Sheila

I have successfully grown coontie seeds by just tossing them into garden soil in my yard that was rich with decaying leaves (obtained as mulch from a local tree service, the leaves were mostly ground up palm fronds). I didn't scarify or remove the seed coat or do anything special to the seeds. The seeds were a gift from my neighbor that has a large coontie. I hope to get more seeds from her this year. I got about 15 coonties from the "all natural" method of planting.

I've transplanted coonties at about the two leaf stage (after about one year of growth) with no problem. By that time, they have developed a good sized swollen root that you will find emanates from the original seed. I've not lost any in transplanting.

I once treated scale on cycads with a diluted solution of alcohol, making sure I carefully scrubbed off the scale critters while applying the alcohol solution.

Jeremy

Jeremy, Thanks much! I will try all suggestions. Sheila