I just received a decent seed trade of FRESH Davidia from a long time gardening friend . Is there anyone here that has successfully germinated these seeds @ a high percentage ? I have read much data regarding propagation of this genus and I am really searching for an experienced gardener to share their " hands on " growing experience . Thanks in advance and happy growing !!!
Davidia seed germination michael Dirr on page 322 of his book Manual of Woody Landscape Plants 5th edition:"seeds are doubly-dormant and require a warm - cold treatment. they should be placed in moist medium and kept at 68-86 degrees F. until the radicle emerges,then transferred to cold for 3 months. After tlhis they can be planted. Nursery planting involves fall planting with germination taking place 2 springs later. Often multiple seedlings result from a single fruit since each fruit may have 3-5 seeds"
I have some seeds too. Does Dirr's mean that one should remove the hard fleshy coating first, or plant as is? Chooch - did you have any luck with your seeds?
Article in RHS magazine said filling a wire basket with leaf mold and putting them in that worked well. You leave it outside (climate permitting, I imagine) and check it periodically for sprouting of roots. These are removed, potted up and put in a greenhouse to make shoots. The rest are returned to the basket. It can take a few years for all of viable ones to come to life.
Thanks, I'll try that. I'm thinking a basket of leaf mould in my apartment (kept at 70-something) over the winter may do the trick, followed by a cloche on the balcony later on in spring. Will let this thread know how I get on (provided the building super doesn't complain about the smell!) Could you possibly supply a reference to the RHS magazine? I'd like to read more.
So far I've never had any success with davidia seeds but I am willing to try , try again . On the plus side I have a 4 year old / 5' tall one growing in the yard and I am hoping it will keep getting hardier as it ages forth .
Hi everyone, it was interesting reading the suggestions as to how to germinate Davidia seed. Has anyone had success yet? I have access to a mature tree from which I can collect seed. When are the seed mature? What is the most successful method? I have planted 127 seeds in large clay pots which I have sunk in soil in my garden. I also propose planting seed using other medium and welcome suggestions.
These are the steps I took last year to germinate Davidia. This was the first time I tried germinating this species. Photos are part of my germination record keeping. First photo is of cleaned seed. Store fruits at room temp until hard flesh becomes soft-ish. Take a wire brush and clean underwater in a tub. Do a running water rinse. Second photo is of germinating seed. Placed in large ziplock baggie with moist peat. Kept warm by the woodstove. After 3 months, bag was placed in an unheated greenhouse. Seed has more than one embryo as the seed has multiple embryo chambers. Seed then sown into plastic 3 gallon shallow nursery pots. Third photo is of seedling. As of October, one year post seed cleaning, seed is still germinating. Will place the sown pots in the greenhouse. Approximate germination rate cannot be tallied until next Spring as it may take 18 months for germination. Seedlings have 4-5 sets of true leaves. I hope this helps. Update: January 4th, 15 months since collection, seed placed in an unheated greenhouse to overwinter. With a little supplemental heat, over 10 more have germinated. One nut in photo 4 shows two seedlings emerging from the same nut, thus nulling the belief/theory of germination inhibition or alleopathy.
I tried to germinate Davidia seed last year and failed miserably. I appreciate the great suggestions here, now I can see what I did wrong. I think I will order more seed and give it another sot and see what happens.
