The Chilean wine palm experiment

Now I know you're not supposed to plant seeds in the autumn, but I read somewhere that the reason certain species of palm are so endangered is that the seeds don't store very well and go off if they're not planted out straight away.

So that's what I did. I removed the fleshy fruit bit and planted those Chilean wine palm seeds I got from Kew straight into compost. At this very moment they are in little pots on the magic windowsill, where anything grows, in their own little plastic bag created microclimates.

They have been there for about a week and nothing much in the way of magic has happened so far. I thought I saw a shoot through the condensation on the bag the other day but that just turned out to be mould growing on the compost. An ominous sign.

If anyone out there can tell me if the plastic bag method is a good idea, I'd welcome some comments, because I'd rather not leave those pots sitting there through the winter only to find the seeds have turned to mush.