Propagating Pony Tail Palm and Bird of Paradise

I recently received some seeds for pony tail palms and bird of paradise, but I am not entirely clear on the best way to grow them. I keep finding conflicting ways to grow them from different web sources.

As of right now, I have the pony tail palm seeds between a halved paper towel. I improvised for a greenhouse using a chicken container (black base with clear lid). I have been using heated wheat sacks a few times a day under them to keep the inside of the 'greenhouse' warm, and they are in a location that gets sun a few hours a day. Is this the best way to be treating them, or is there another way which will improve germination rate?

With my bird of paradise seeds, I filed the outer coating down until the black part was gone on one part of the seed (opposite the orange fuzzy stuff) and soaked them overnight. I then planted them in some soil and they are sitting in a window which receives sunlight for most of the day. I put saran wrap over top of the containers (improvised greenhouse again!) and mist them daily. Again, am I doing this right? I have three more bird of paradise seeds that I have not planted yet in case I can find a better way to grow them. I was also wondering whether I scarified the seeds properly. I have never scarified anything before.

Thanks for the input!

I've never tried growing them from seed. Plant Files information: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2312/ just says to sow seed indoors before the last frost.

Bird of Paradise says kinda the same: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2312/


Maybe someone who has grown these plants from seed will be along soon with some advice for you.

Good Luck and Happy Growing! Keep us posted on the outcome!

Which Bird of Paradise do you have? There are several plants which I've heard that name applied to. It's most commonly used for a couple different species of Strelitzia, but it's also sometimes applied to Caesalpinia pulcherrima. And I think recently on another thread someone had a Heliconia species that they called BOP as well. Just want to make sure you're getting advice on the correct plant since I'm not sure the germination advice would be the same for all of those. If yours is the Caesalpinia, I've started those and an overnight soak and then placing the flat on a heat mat has worked very well, no scarification necessary.

I am not entirely sure which species it is. I bought them off of ebay, and this is the description given with them:

Bid Is For 5 Seeds. Tropical ( Zones 9 - 11 ) Height ( 3 - 5 Feet ) Produces Unique Orange & Blue Flowers That Resemble A Birds Head. Can Also Be Grown Indoors As A Houseplant If Given Plenty Of Light.

I hope that helps...

That's Strelitzia reginae. I've never started that one from seed, but now that we know for sure which BOP you have hopefully someone else will be able to help you.

I sure hope so =D

The only thing I might suggest different than what you've already done is to get a heat mat and put that under the seeds...BOP's are tropical plants and many tropical plants germinate better with bottom heat. Some won't germinate at all without heat, and some will germinate without it but they'll germinate much quicker with the extra heat. Or if you don't have a heat mat, some people put them on top of their fridge until they germinate.

Once they've germinated, you're going to need more light than what you're getting from the window...best thing is to get some fluorescent shop lights and keep them a couple inches above the tops of the seedlings and leave them on for 14-16 hrs a day. (this would go for the ponytail palm too)

I put the ponytail palms on the heat register the other day. I was using wheat sacks to heat them, but it wasn't very consistent as I am only around to heat the wheat sacks in the evening. I checked the ponytail palms and they seem to be quite warm. I just put my BOP on another heat register, so I guess I will see what happens! It sounds as though I will need to make a trip to Wal Mart to get some more supplies!