I have lots of trachy seed sprouting now, how long will it take these to reach 1 gallon size in z8 oregon? 1 year , 2 years or more, Im trying to plan out a growing area for these and need some guesstimates, also is it better to start these into their gal pots as soon as the're pricked or can I transplant them into 4" for awhile then into gal as they mature, also wondering how long for a five gal palm from seed in my climate. thanks in advance Caleb
To get to 1 gallon is 4 years. I start mine in flats, seperate into liners and then 6" deep followed by 1 gallon. The more moisture during summer, the better growth. I also have a few hundred pounds of seed and have a 1/2 dozen flats of germinated seed. Mix in slow-release into your soil and 1/2 top-dress & 1/2 block peat-mix.
Seedling growth is slow.. but once a gal size is reached, they pick up.. and noticably faster and faster from then on... but those first years are slow!
is there any way to speed up growth such as warmer temps in an unheated greenhouse?benificial fungi, super thrive? I was planning on putting up a shade house for these but according to my estimates Ill need 512 sq ft of space to put all these into 4" pots, let alone gallon size,growin where do you put 50000 seedlings? I only collected about 16 pounds of seed i counted a handfull at about 100 seeds, I put about 5-6 handfuls per flat and ended up with 12 flats, which is about 5-6 thousand seeds, now they're germinating at almost 100% is there any market for smaller than gal size? I dont know if I want to designate that much of my growing area to something thats going to be there for 4 years. thanks again Caleb
To be honest, cgarvin, I'm considering designating a bed or 2 to seed-start so I don't waste valuable greenhouse space, flats or sterile soil. I harvest and ship. I have 50 lbs going back east on monday. I have a few possibles that may take some. I overseeded in the flats and that seemed to work well for reducing space use. I did 400 liners from the seed trays and I barely used 1/2 a flat. The good thing about a liner is that it is easy to ship. The bad thing is that I can't ship palms to the US, only seed. Using the standard nursery slow-release actually works wonders and speeds the process up. The shade-cloth is a good idea but the fastest palms grow right in the ground, kept moist in 1/2 shade. A hoop-house setup would probably be the most efficient - keeps the worst of winter off. The market for smaller than 1 gal size is minimal, mostly local for the same reasons you're realizing.
if I were to plant in a bed and let these grow for 3-4 years will I be able to transplant into gallons without killing them? Ive got my local fertilizer person working on getting some apex slow release palm fertilizer, how much faster do they grow with ample fertilizer? my greenhouse is only 700 sq ft so Im not going to be putting most of these in there, Like I said b4 Im contemplating putting in another 1000 sq ft of shade over hoops but I dont want to take up all my space with a crop that wont be saleable for 4 years. what kind of spacing do you use in the beds? this is my first experience with palms so any helpful info is appreciated. thanks Caleb
