My Propagation Set-up
By Mike Kenchington, Fordingbridge, Hants, U.K.
Chamaerops No. 51 - published online 22-04-2005

Left: Various stages of root development of germinating Parajubaea cocoides, including a twin
germination. See article on page 16.
Centre: The general arrangement in propagator, showing the heater and various types of boxes that are used for
sowing. See article on opposite page.
Right: Parajubaea cocoides, germinating in a sowing container. See article on page 16.
Photos by Mike Kenchington
This article describes the propagation set-up that I have now been using for about 12 years.
I have been germinating palms and cycads for over 15 years. I have a floor-to-ceiling cupboard that contains
the hot water tank for the house. This tank occupies approximately half the cupboard, which leaves me with a
space of approximately 3' x 2.5' x 2.5' (90 x 75 x 75 cm) to use as my propagator. The hot water tank will keep
the temperature between 23°C & 29°C depending on whether or not the boiler is running. To get better
control of the temperature in there, I have installed a 160-watt electric tube heater that is wired to a thermostat;
the whole set-up cost just over £80 (€ 110). By using the thermostat and opening the door at night
I can regulate the temperature to 30-32°C for 16 hours and 19-22°C for 8 hours. There is no lighting
in the propagator. Some of the boxes I use for containing the propagating medium are old Phostrogen buckets;
I also use margarine tubs, or basically anything as long as it has about 4" (10 cm) of depth. The bigger
containers were bought from a local surplus store. 0nce seeds have germinated and are producing the beginnings
of a leaf shoot, I pot them up and transfer them to my greenhouse where the temperature varies between a night-time
low of 14°C and a varying daytime temperature of between 14°C to a maximum of about 35°C in the
summer months.
My sowing medium is a 50/50 mix of Perlite and Vermiculite. After many years of experimenting I finally arrived
at this mix. I have found that vermiculite on its own holds too much moisture and perlite on its own is too
dry. I have found that the above mix works well for me and causes less problems with seed rotting in the mix.
You can obviously vary the ratios slightly to say 40/60 either way, but any more and the above problems begin
to recur. I have also found that you can reuse the mix by sterilising it by pouring boiling water through it
until boiling water comes out through the bottom. I use a kitchen colander for this purpose. I no longer use
any peat or organic type of medium for sowing. I did try this in my earlier days, but I always had the same
problems occurring. No matter how carefully I sterilised the medium (boiling water or in the microwave), I always
had problems with seeds rotting. The main reason for this is that the compost holds too much moisture. I didn't
cure this problem until I started using the inorganic mediums perlite and vermiculite.
When I obtain the seed, I soak them in clean, lukewarm water and place in the propagator for 24-48 hours. After
soaking, I clean off any residual pulp from the seed, as this will rot very quickly in high temperatures. The
palm seeds I sow under the surface, usually covering with about 1cm of sowing medium. For cycads, I half bury
the seeds. The only palm seeds that I sow this way are Parajubaea. I never crack any seeds open as suggested
by some growers; my attitude is there isn't anybody sitting under the tree in the wild with a hammer to break
open the seeds so why do it under our conditions. All seeds will eventually germinate if you provide the right
temperatures and conditions.

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