Saw Palmetto Seeds for Planting

Acquiring Saw Palmetto Seeds

• Locally, palmetto seeds can be collected after the berries are ripe. Saw palmetto palms grow in groups of over a hundred. Small white flowers appear in the spring that produce a small berry. This berry has one seed surrounded by fleshy fruit. When berries ripen and are harvested in the fall, they are usually dried for seed. These seeds are either sold for planting or for grinding into powder for medicinal purposes.

Seed Germination Period

• Germination times are unpredictable for saw palmetto seeds. According to a study conducted by the University of Florida, in controlled lab settings, an average of 55 percent of seeds germinated after 45 days. At the same time, monitored field planted seeds took 15 months to sprout a median of 19.5 percent. The plants finally emerged from the soil 30 to 60 days later. Saw palmetto palms have much of their early growth underground, which may confuse germination times. Also, animal influences may account for varying germination rates.

Wildlife Aiding Palmetto Seed Germination

• Indigenous wildlife consumes saw palmetto berries in large amounts. Gray foxes, white-tailed deer, raccoons and opossums are among the many species that disperse saw palmetto seeds through their feces. The University of Florida speculates that saw palmetto seed germination may be improved when seeds pass through animal digestive systems.

Raising Saw Palmetto to Maturity

• Saw palmetto can reach up to 15 feet in height over many years. In order for the plant to flower, it must reach at least 1.9 feet high, and it takes about ten years to develop to that size. Yearly growth is estimated from 0.04 to 0.1 inches. The cabbage palm caterpillar and anthracnose disease interfere with flower and berry production.