Ravenala madagascariensis

[DiCasS]

A number of us had some really fresh seed of this from a kind member last year and was wondering how everyone else was getting on with theirs. Mine are still in the prop but haven't germinated yet and I've broken one open and it still looks good but they're just not budging yet.

Di

[flounder]

Mine are still sitting there, think I'll try super heat method now......I've tried every other way over the years

[Troppoz]

Di how much heat are you giving them? I think they need to be kept quite warm to germinate, try cooking them. Also they take anywhere from 3-12 months to germinate so you might just need patience...

[khaskings]

mine have been in a heated prop at ~30c daytime to ~20c night time for about 5 weeks with zero movement.

[Troppoz]

Has anyone tried nicking or filing the hard seed casing? Ive found this works for slow stubborn seeds but have never tried it on Ravenala.

[DiCasS]

Thanks guys, I was wondering whether mine were the only ones and thought I might have been doing something wrong.

Sean, the highest I can get in my propagator is 27 degrees, I did wonder whether ideally it needed to be a little bit higher or whether this was enough. Then I wondered whether it could be light issues. I remember germinating some a few years ago and would have started them later on in the year, again I dunno whether this has anything to do with it. OR, maybe I'm being a little impatient. I sowed them just a few days after receiving them, so that would have made it early September.

After a few weeks of being in the prop, I did actually scrape some of the coating off a couple of seeds, but still nothing so far.

No doubt they will pop when they decide they are ready, I'll keep checking

Di

[Troppoz]

Good luck Di, keep us posted!

[call]

wow
i saw a really good one at wisley

[DiCasS]

Good news with the seeds, looked in the prop yesterday and noticed my first one has popped. Just recently its been a bit warmer where I've kept my prop and has upped the temperature by a few degrees, so am guessing I hadn't got the temperature quite warm enough.

They're great aren't they Call, just a shame they're not hardy here.

Di

[flounder]

congrats Di. I think it is all about extra heat for these......note to ones self, must turn the thermostat up!

[Kristen]

My seeds are at 35C day and 20C night (perhaps ought to be even a bit cooler than that ?)

[Troppoz]

Hey great news Di

Any chance of a pic?

[DiCasS]

Cheers Sean. I've got a photo here, but to be honest there's not much to see at the minute, a little shoot but nice roots down below. I've checked and this is the only one so far, hopefully now one has germinated, others may follow. You can just see it poking its little head out the top.

I've just checked the temperature out of curiosity, and it was reading smack on 28 degrees, so I'm guessing a few degrees more in the day.

Thanks Flounder, hopefully yourself, Mike and Kristen wont be far behind.

Di

[Kristen]

I've removed the paper blocking the top ventilation holes in the polystyrene box covering mine, so that the Day/Night temperature is a bit more exaggerated (plus its been milder this last week ...) and its now cycling about 18C/30C ... time will tell

[Troppoz]

Hello little baby