Growing Sago Palms from seed is very easy. Most people do not realize that Sago Palms are not palm trees at all. They are actually a cycad and therefore are grown a little differently. This should be taken in to consideration when growing Sago Palms from seed.
Cleaning Sago Palm Seeds
Once viable Sago Palm seeds have been selected, place seeds in a large bucket or pan of water and soak for 24-48 hours to soften the fruit on the outside of the seed. Any seeds that float can be discarded as they will not be viable.
Once the fruit has been soften, using a pearing-knife or other sharp blade, gently scrap the red-orange colored shell and fruit from the seed. You will not damage the seed by scraping them. The seed itself has a hard shell that can not be penetrated by scraping the fruit from the outside. Once seeds are completely cleaned, wash with warm water and dry immediately using a cloth or paper towel.
Store seeds in a mesh like sack (panty hose will do fine). Sago palm seeds need to be stored for at least 3 months to allow the embryo to ripen fully before they will germinate.
Planting Sago Palm Seeds
Once Sago Palm seeds have been cleaned and stored to ripen they can then be planted. Planting is simple but can be done in many different ways.
The first step in germinating the Sago Palm seeds is to prepare the planting site. The amounts of seeds will determine the size of the area that will be needed. If planting only a few seeds then a 1 gallon pot will due fine. If planting several seeds then a planting bed or even a small plastic pool (the $10 pools from Wal-Mart) will do better
Once the container has been chosen, fill the container with atleast 6 inches of growing medium. A course, well-draining medium will do fine. Half-and-half peat and sand will also do well. Water well and allow the soil to drain. The soil needs to be moist but must never be soggy as the Sago Palm seeds will rot.
Once the soil is prepared, plant the seeds by laying them on their side. Press them halfway into the soil so that the pointy tip is just penetrating the soil. Some growers grow them by pushing in the soil and leaving the tip up. This does work but, better results have been seen laying them on their side. This allows for the tip to produce a healthy tap root to go down into the soil, while the first set of leaves will shoot up. The seed will continue to grow and form a bulb at the tip. The seed will later fall off.
Once the Sago Palm seed has been planted, water well and place the growing container in a warm, shaded area that will get partial sun. Direct, scorching sun will cause the majority of the seedlings to dry and burn before they ever get the chance to develop a good root system.
Continue to water as needed to keep the soil moist but never soggy. Allow the soil to almost dry out before watering.
When the seedlings begin to put on the first ‘true’ set of leaves they can be transplanted into individual one gallon pots or directly in the planting site where they will live from then on.
