Tree seeds

I'm overwhelmed, need some help and would appreciate being pointed to the right forum. I want to grow what is maybe considered exotic trees (olive, redwood, cashew, coffee, etc.) from seed. I have a greenhouse. Whatcom Seeds has every seed I want, but after reading their reviews which aren't very good I'm not going buy from them.

I looked at all the companies with good reviews and it looks like I won't be able to buy all the tree seeds I'd like to and would have to use more than one company.

Are there any good seed companies that deal in the type of trees I'm looking for?

Thanks for the help.

I have had excellent service from:
Plant World Seeds,
B&T World Seeds.
TreeSeeds.com
Oh man this sounds like fun.

Hello Pistil,

Thanks for your help. I've looked at all 3 websites, they have the seeds I'm looking for and I'm amazed at the selection.

I like to tinker, have a greenhouse and want to see if I can grow and maintain Baobabs, Redwoods, etc. It's a fun thing for my my wife and me and I'm hoping it works.

Again, thanks for the great help.

Welcome to DG Eevee!
I would like to invite you to start a thread about this endeavor of yours it would be fun for us to follow your adventures. I used to live in Dallas and Flower Mound, in your neck of the woods. We are in the same Hardiness Zone 8 here in Seattle but you sure get a lot more heat and humidity there. I recall how surprised I was by how chilly it got in the winter. A greenhouse would sure help with that. The Trees, Shrubs and Conifers forum would probably be the appropriate place, or possibly Seeds, at least in the beginning.

Good morning Pistil,

I'll start a thread once it all starts.

I ordered seeds from TreeSeeds.com yesterday and they'll arrive next week. I ordered Baobab and Coast Redwood seeds then my wife, the real gardener, took over and ordered a lot of beautiful, non-native trees like the Flamboyant, White Orchid, Blue Jacaranda and on and on.

I don't know what prompted me to try growing exotics because my gardening experience is limited to going to Home Depot when my wife needs potting soil, but I'll be ordering more seeds for coffee, cocoa, etc. and see what happens.

A big thanks for your help.

Well Eevee, this grand hobby/obsession often starts with just one seed...

A note of advice (unsolicited, I know):

If you've never grown seeds out before, and don't know what to expect, do some practice trays of off-the-street common things that you can find for free around your neighborhood. Depending on the season, these would likely include maples, oaks, ash, holly, etc. From those, you will learn an incredible amount about how plant seeds germinate and behave as young seedlings.

Those excess plants could be donated to others wishing to grow such plants, or recycled as compost. Schoolkids or community organizations can often get a lot of mileage out of such plants in reforestation or biology class projects.

If you already have done this kind of thing before..."Never mind." (Emily Litella)

It's great advice and something my wife has already done. And also learned it's not as easy as you'd think. We have Pecan, Redbud and Magnolia on our property. After she learned how to prepare the seeds so they'd germinate she planted them in seed trays, transplanted the trees to larger pots and gave them away to family and friends. Those trees are now doing great throughout the Dallas area. One of her friends had a very large lot with no trees and now has about 12 Redbuds planted everywhere.

My goal for the exotics is the same. Give them away when I can ensure they'll thrive as houseplants.

You are both fine examples to the world. Go forth, and germinate...

Good morning,

Here's an update on my tree seed planting experience. Pistil suggested starting a new thread and I don't know the best place so maybe a moderator can help.

To date I've successfully germinated the following trees: Baobab, Blue Jacaranda, Bristlecone Pine, Chinese Red Pine, Darjeeling Weeping Cypress, Japanese Black Pine, Papaya and White Orchid. The overall germination rate is ~ 40% with Papaya, White Orchid and Flamboyant having an ~ 90% success rate. The two trees I was most interested in, Coastal Redwood and Arabian Coffee, haven't germinated at all.

All the trees are out of their starter trays, re-potted in 3" pots and I've put one of each of the 8 trees in 5 gallon pots for houseplants. I've got a lot more tree types to plant and need to rethink this because I've just got too many trees.

Like any endeavor things kind of take on a direction of their own.

- My initial goal was to have some unique trees as houseplants, however I've given all the trees in 3" pots, about 100, to friends and family.

- 2 friends are watching their elementary school grandchildren this summer and 2 of the kids have been interested enough that I've given them starter trays and seeds with a high germination rate.

- My next door neighbor and I both have Redbuds. What I never knew was that she was taking the trees which naturally germinated and replanting them in wooded park areas. My wife has collected hundreds of Redbud seeds and I have 72 planted in a starter tray. Hopefully I've prepped them the right way and will give the seedlings to my neighbor who can plant them wherever.

I'm not young, have never so much as planted a flower and guessing this video was the catalyst:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkZDSqyE1do&spfreload=10



This message was edited Jul 13, 2016 12:46 PM

This message was edited Jul 13, 2016 7:17 PM

To start a new thread-
I would suggest the "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers forum, or possibly Propagation.
Decide on which forum, go to that forum. On the page you first get to there is the list of threads. Scroll to the bottom of the page, see where it says "Start a New Topic".
Just fill in the subject box and write your message in the message box. If you want to add photos do it here. Then click on the orange "Preview Post" button. It will show you how it will look.
If you like it click on "Post New Thread". It is pretty easy. If you haven't put photos in yet maybe save that for another lesson so it is not too many new things at once.

Pistil,

Thanks for all the help - it's appreciated.

I HAD! good results at first with treeseeds.com but they have been messing up here lately, ordered one treeseed pack $1+4 something for shipping, 13 days later (today4-19-19 still no seeds.....