Originally Posted by kentiopsis

I got a piece of red cane right from the field of a small plantation in NE Thailand. The owner gave it to me. The sections were about 18" were planted shallowly and horizontally, so that's how the pros do it here. I can't answer your question because I haven't tried the bag method, but I have a lot of experience germinating palm seed in Ziplok bags; my suggestion is forget the paper towel and use sphagnum moss, the expensive white kind. Soak it and then squeeze it like hell to get out every drop of water you can so that it's just damp. Then arrange that uniformly around the stalk of cane, seal the bag, and keep it in a warm place until you see serious action, roots or leaves. Then lay it in a shallow trench and cover with soil, leaving just the very top of the stalk exposed. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.