Propagate Lipstick Palm From a Rooted Sucker

Propagate lipstick palm by separating a rooted sucker in hot weather, or by sowing a cleaned fresh seed in a warm, moist mix.

Separate a rooted sucker in hot weather

lipstick palm clusters, so a rooted sucker is faster than seed. Take an outer shoot that already has roots. A frond cutting will not root. [1] Work in heat and humidity, then pot the offset right away in a moist mix. [2]

1. Water the mother clump the day before so the ball is easy to work.
2. Brush soil from an outer shoot until you see its own roots. Leave it if there are none.
3. Cut the join with a clean, sharp knife. Do not slice into the parent stem.
4. Pot the offset at the same depth in a pot with a hole, in a mix that stays moist.
5. Keep it warm, humid, and evenly moist until new growth shows. Bright filtered light, not hard noon sun.

Sow a cleaned fresh seed in a warm, moist mix

Fresh lipstick palm seed often sprouts in two to four months when the mix stays warm and moist. Old, dry seed is slower, and it may take most of a year, or never come up. [3] The first growth is a downward shoot, so a deep pot gives that shoot room. [4]

1. Pick fruit that has turned black, or buy cleaned seed that has not sat dry for years.
2. Scrape the pulp off under running water so fungus does not ride into the mix.
3. Soak the seed in warm water for a day, and change the water if it clouds.
4. Fill a deep pot with a moist palm mix. Sow the seed just under the surface, not in a deep burial.
5. Keep the pot warm, about 75 to 85 F, and never let the mix dry. Direct noon sun on a sealed bag can cook the seed.
6. Wait through two to four months on fresh seed before you give up. Once a green leaf shows, keep it warm and moist until it has several leaves.

After the seedling is growing, heat, humidity, and never-dry care stay on How to Grow Lipstick Palm.

Take a sucker that already has roots, or keep a fresh seed warm and moist until it sprouts.