The only way to grow hemp palm cuttings is to propagate them from seeds. This isn't particularly difficult, but it does take a long time. You have to wait up to four years until you can grow a new hemp palm from a seed.
How to grow hemp palms from seeds?
To grow hemp palms from seeds, you need male and female plants for pollination. The seeds are harvested in December and January, soaked in water for 24 hours, sown and kept moist. Germination and cultivation takes about four years.
The hemp palm is dioecious
The hemp palm is dioecious. This means that you need a male and a female plant to harvest seeds for cultivation yourself.
Male and female hemp palms differ in the color of the flowers. Male specimens bear golden yellow flowers, female flowers are light green. Only when the female flowers are pollinated can seeds develop. You can do the pollination yourself using a brush (€10.00 on Amazon).
The seeds ripen from December to January. Let them dry on the palm tree until they can be shaken off. You can then use them to grow new hemp palms.
Growing from seeds – step by step
- Fill pots with potting soil
- Let seeds soak for 24 hours
- if applicable. roughen with sandpaper
- Sowing seeds
- cover thinly with soil
- Keep substrate moist
- Set up pots as warm as possible
A lot of patience required
It can take a year for a seed to germinate. Only then do the delicate cotyledons appear. Until you have grown a real hemp palm, you have to plan another three to four years.
How to continue caring for the seedlings
Once the seedling has reached a height of at least four centimeters, plant it in a larger pot.
The substrate must now be nice and loose. Mixtures of compost, garden soil, some peat and small-grain gravel have proven successful.
Water the seedlings regularly. You are not allowed to fertilize them in the first few years as they get their nutrients from the seed shells.
The young plants are not hardy and must be overwintered in the pot. The young hemp palms are only robust enough to be planted outdoors when they are at least four years old.
Tip
Seeds for hemp palms are also available from specialist garden shops. It is often safer to grow new plants from purchased seeds as they are guaranteed to be fertilized and actually germinate.
