Magnolia seeds!

Discussion in 'Magnoliaceae' started by greenisle, Dec 2, 2006.

  1. greenisle

    greenisle Member

    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Pelzer, SC USA
    I have Pink Magnolia seeds that I planted about three months ago and nothing has happend. I have one seed left and would really like a Pink Magnolia tree. Can someone please help me get a tree from my last seed???? Thank you in advanced!
     
  2. smivies

    smivies Active Member

    Messages:
    793
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Kingston, Ontario, Canada
    Magnolia seeds are dead easy to germinate but like virtually all temperate tree species, they require stratification (cold & moist period) prior to germinating.

    Make sure all the fleshy bits are removed from the magnolia seed, find a shallow plastic grocery deli container, fill 1/2 with moist vermiculite, put the seed in the container, & put it in the fridge (not freezer). After ~8 weeks, remove from the fridge & plant the seed in a pot (with regular potting soil). It should germinate for you then.

    The seeds you've already planted can be retreived and treated the same way. If you want a 'pink' mangnolia though, you'll be far better off to just buy one. They're not that expensive and you get a 7-10 year headstart. Magnolias from seed are usually just for hybridizers and those of us looking for rare species.

    Simon
     
  3. Depotbay95

    Depotbay95 Member

    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Haliburton, Ontario
    Thank you for responding. The one I was looking for was one that actually stated to take the pods and soak for a length of time, remove pods then place sseds in a dirt mixture (? - peat moss ??_) in ziplock type bag in fridge for a length of time. I printed it out, but now am unable to find it. I enjoy just trying to grow things from seed, I have a lemon tree which grows full size lemons grown from seeds (about 15 lemons a year). I now need to find out what type of soil to transplant last years seedlings into they are from 2- 4 in. tall and in good health. Any suggestions would be appreciated
     
  4. Ohmyback

    Ohmyback Member

    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Uxbridge, Ontario Canada
    Hi there. It may have been my post you were looking at. I have a Royal Star Magnolia (18 years or so in age). The ripened seeds were soaked in a combination of water and dish soap overnight. The following day, I removed the pods from the seeds using papertowel. I had used a ziplock bag and peatmoss and added the seeds and placed them inthe fridge til February. I then took the seeds out and put them in a large pot (planted fairly shallow) and placed them on a window ledge to see what would germinate. They all germinated. I transplanted some of them into individual pots using regular potting mix and bonemeal once they had 3 to 4 leaves on them. The rest, I planted in the ground (this will be their first winter coming up, and I'm unsure which will survive). I've used rotted bark (from firewood) to cover the tops of the pots and outdoor plantings. Hope this helps...may be a little late in coming. Good luck!
     

Share This Page