HELP! Beaucarnea recurvata (Pony Tail Palm) not Germinating

Hi,

I tried to germinate several seeds of the Pony Tail palm Beaucarnea recurvata, but so far, none of the seven seeds I tried was germinating. I am frustrated. I have only three seeds left.

Anyone here who can assist?

 

I grew some many years ago from seed.

I think it can take a while to germinate maybe a couple of months, or so.
Dont cover the seed, you can scatter some fine sand around once its germinated.

There is always of course the chance that the seed is not viable, I tend to distrust many of the large seed companies.

When the seed germinates it takes a while before the first grassy shoot appears.

 

I'm not sure where you are trying to germinate them, in pots or in the ground, but to be honest I would have thought that where you live they would germinate in the ground quite easily as you have the perfect conditions.

 

Hi Sven,

Without trying to state the obvious; seeds need the right conditions in order to break dormancy and germinate:

1. Seed needs to be viable
2. Seed needs to imbibe enough water to swell and break seed coat, but not get waterlogged
3. Seed needs right temp. (most germinate at just above room temp.)
4. Seed needs oxygen from the soil

All I can suggest is that one or more of these factors isn't being met and you need to double check how you're planting the seed. Good luck.

 

Thanks everyone. Here're some more information:

The seeds were in the soil, slightly covered.
The soil is in a flower pot, one of those who are bio-degradable.
The room temperature is always 30°C to 35°C.
The starter soil is a very light type, not yet any loam involved, mixture of flower soil and peat moss.
The pot stands with the lowest 2 mm to 5 mm in water, but is 7 cm tall.
The soil is often very humid, sometimes it was dry.
The pot stands under a fluorescent light tube as main light source.
The seeds were still in their tri-folded skin. Should I take them out of that skin?
Because nothing happened, I retrieved the seeds and had them dried from the humidity to inspect them.

Based on this information, what things need to be changed? Hope this description helps.

 

I dont remember my seed having any skin, maybe it was removed before I bought them.

The temperatures you are germinating at are only achievable here in a propagator, in fact its higher than I would run my propagator at.
I cant suggest anything that might help, you dont say how long they were sown before you retrieved the seed and dried it out.

 

Hmmm, I see. Well...

Would it be a good idea to make kitchen paper (multiple times folded) a bit wet, put the seed on it, and cover it with a thin single layer of that paper so light still can catch it? This is the method used for Capsicum plants (chili pepper). There, they use it and check it each two days for germination, then the baby plant is to be put into perlite-containing starter-soil.

 

You can only try.

Another method is to mix the seed with peat or similar in a small plastic bag and check once a week for germination.
All these methods though require very careful handling once the seed germinates.

 

Hm-hmm, alright... :lollol: