I've just been sent some E Regnans (Mountain Ash Gum Tree) seeds and want to try and grow them here in Vancouver BC. Maybe in a 100 years or so....they'll show the tall trees around here what real tall trees are.... Does anybody have any experience in starting gum (eucalyptus) trees from seeds. I was told that I should put the seeds in the fridge for a month or so before planting them.....I presume this is to wake them from their dormancy....or should I just plant them now (September) and let nature do the waking from dormancy thing and hope for the best next spring? Cheers
Check (google search) for Ians Hardy Eucalyptus page. There's tons of info on starting from seed, species index, pics etc. Cheers, LPN.
Problem with seeding them now and leaving them to nature is that they might be frozen by Oct/Nov, although e.regnans will germinate without cold stratification but there is still the problem of babying them over the winter. I think it would be better to seed them in March outdoors when they will get the benefits of cold stratification and won't have to go through a winter at such a tender age.
In Vancouver's climate, I doubt they'll ever get anywhere near as tall as the 95m 'Carmanah Giant' Sitka Spruce on Vancouver Island . . .
I'd recommend starting them in late winter, as suggested above. The only problem with that method is heavy rains tend to leave your soil with no nutrients when the trees need to start growing, so some fert. in April or so is necessary. If you're really determined to start them now, you can stratify them in the refrigerator, then plant them indoors in your sunniest and brightest window. Like most Eucalyptus species, E. regnans hardiness is variable depending on where the seed was collected. Lowest temp. I know of this tree enduring unharmed is -14C in New Zealand, but that is not likely to translate to 'hardy to -14C' here when this temperature is experienced in combination with cold dessicating winds that we experience. Unlike many eucalyptus E. regnans will not grow back if it freezes to the ground. In general, I don't expect this species to endure a really cold winter here. My tallest one is about 40'.
