Did anyone start any trees from seed this year?

I turned my kitchen into a veritable potting shed these past two weeks and it isn't over yet. I feel like a soil chef concocting potting and germination mixes for everything from Hoya to Huechera to Hazelnuts and everything in between. I started some Pawpaw seed. I had meant to get some Persimmon but forgot- oops but there's always next year. Mostly I start my tree seed in 2-liter pop bottle with drain holes drilled in the bottom particularly when it is an oak or a hickory. I used Solo cups for my Pawpaws and drilled little holes in the bottom of the cups.

The Solo cups with the Pawpaws are in the front of the image below om a tray. Did anyone else start anything this year?

My favorite now is Quercus macrocarpa.

Very nice!

Sophora japonica. Three trees about 4 inches tall. SB

I'm starting Carica as well.
I think my favorite bit about the oak is the new leaves.

Yes, though not nearly as many tree seeds as last year.
Lesssee....

Ginkgo (about 30 seeds)
Pinus pinea "Italian Stone Pine" (tons)
Styrax (50+ seeds, but I don't expect many to germinate, due to their reputation)

Still in the refrigerator:
Maclura pomifera "Osage Orange" (about 30)
Cercis canadensis "Redbud" (about 40)

I also have leftover Kentucky Coffeetree seeds from last year. From my impression, I understand they will remain viable for quite some time until they are scarified.

Stressbaby: I grew some Sophora japonica from seed 2002. I got a wide range of phenotypic outcomes. Some are 6' or 7' tall, some are about 1' or 2' high, some died. The good ones are very good, that's all I'll say!

Equilibrium: Last year I grew Persimmon and PawPaw, with good success. They seem very easy to grow!

I have grown paw paw before also. And yes, they are easy. But don't damage those root radicals!!!!!

I'm a bit embarrassed this year. I think the only tree seeds I've got are some Blue Beech - Carpinus caroliniana (west WI providence) and some Canada hemlock - Tsuga canadensis from the westernmost known wild trees (central MN). But they are very special.

Yes, it is my understanding Kentucky Coffeetree seed remains viable for quite a while. How did you scarify yours if you don't mind my asking? I've soaked mine and then put them in vices and used big metal files and they always seem to go shooting off in all different directions. I manage to get them scarified but I always seem to lose a little flesh each time. Those darn things are like trying to put a dent in a little round glass marble.

I germinated both Persimmon and Pawpaw last year and I screwed up royally and gave them all away thinking I had set 3 each aside for myself. Big oops. I did keep a Ginkgo that I germinated for myself though. I have a few other areas where I have seed started seed and I too have some C. canadensis but I think I only have about 10 seeds. I started those on sand after boiling them for a bit and since I seem to have repeated problems with those damping off, I tossed a little sulfur on them.

Oops, I was posting when you were posting. You certainly are a little light this year in what you started. The Blue Beech sounds very nice.

Oh man, you put Kentucky Coffeetree seeds in a vice? Yikes.

I used a metal file. I just idly scraped 1 seed at a time over the metal file, while watching TV. I scraped until a small spot of the white undercoat showed, about 1cm under the brown seedcoat. Then I soaked the seed in cool water overnight. You can tell you've punctured the seedcoat, when the seed swells up to 2x or 3x original size. Then just plant it. 80% germination from there.

I've already germianted the KCT seeds and actually have 3 of mine planted out in my yard. I did it a few years in a row. I had a high germination rate. I recall trying to scarify them with an emory board and that was a balls out waster of time as I kept filing off my finger tips it seemed. That was when I got fed up and went and got a vice. I have this knife that is serrated and if I could get the seed in just the right spot, I could saw back and forth and got enough of the seed coat knicked in a few spots to get that really nice swelling. I tired a little experiment with them and after soaking them for a few days, I actually peeled off half of the seed coat. 100% germination sitting in cups in my window sill. Shame I forgot they were right in front of my face when I was doing dishes and such and forgot to water them. That was the pits. Really beautiful tree and I wanted a few here and I have a few so unless somebody wants me to germinate KCT for them, I'm out of the KCT germination business and moving on to other trees. Which reminds me, I need to get some Bald Cypress sooner or later.

No way, bald cypress was nothing at all to germinate, compared to KCT. I think I just stuck em in pots and I got a scant few to sprout....oh what, did I do something wrong with bald cypress? Maybe I did, but I got a few to germinate in 2003, maybe 20%.

I already have some Taxodium seedlings, but I have this undying urge to acquire some seeds for them and grow more.

Does anyone have a surplus?
K. James

I don't think my initial germination rate was as high as yours my first few rounds with KCT. It wasn't until I peeled off half the seed coat on 5 seeds that I hit 100%. I don't think the Bald Cypress was that difficult. I got it to germinate and if memory serves me, I think I pre soaked some of the seeds in Ethyl Alcohol and some of the seeds in Everclear and got a decent germination rate... higher than when I didn't treat them with anything which is rather odd as there are two schools of thought out there on pre-treating Bald Cypress. I lost 2 of the 3 seedlings I kept for myself and I forgot what got them. One is still out there somewhere so I'd like to germinate some more but totally forgot I wanted to germinate more until this thread came up.

editing to add I don't have any Bald Cypress seed.

This message was edited Feb 11, 2006 12:38 AM

I have the following seed planted this year :

(7) White Oak
(4)Live Oak (thanks to Equilibrium)
(6)Sugarberry
(4)White Ash
(5)Cherry Laurel

All of mine are outside in containers. I have them covered with a tarp right now, temps are supposed to be in the 20's tonight. Some of the white oaks have already started sprouting.

I have 1 flat of Albizia, 1 flat Paulownia, 5 flats of Zanthoxylum piperitum, 3 flats of Melianthus major, 4 flats of Trachycarpus fortunei and a flat of Woodwardia fimbriata. A few pots of Hedychium, Eucalyptus, etc.

So far the palms are all coming up, 1/2 of Melianthus and finishing stratifying the Zanthoxylum.

Good to see another person propagating Albizia. I was not going to admit to it alone. At what speed does Trachycarpus grow from seed? Luck to you on the chain fern.
K. James.

I soak Trachycarpus for 24hrs, plant in organic soil and wait 3 months. Bottom heat at 3 months speeds germination and fast growth to liner size. The seed were local collected. I'll be doing another harvest in 2 months.

have swamp white oak, white
oak, night blooming jasmine

Equil, somehow I'm picturing you with the Bald cypress seed and the Everclear as Julia Child when she cooked with wine: "One for the seed, and one for me; one for the seed and two for me"... Ken

Liquor, not for me. Everclear would probably put me in a coma since I only have a glass of wine a few times a year and if I'm feeling really adventuresome... I may have a Mike's Hard Lemonade. Now, ethyl alcohol I have used on my self when I've come in to contact with poison ivy.

Tee he, did you ever see Saturday Night Live's skit on her where she accidentally chops off her own hand or something and keeps cooking away? Pretty funny but she really does fly through the process and make a huge mess so if you've ever seen any of her cooking demonstrations, the skit would have been funny.

There is a chidren's book out there called the Wild Washerwoman. This woman really gets into her laundry is about all I can say and it is everywhere. Well, my kitchen currently looks like a combo Wild Washer Woman /Julia Child work area. Embarrassing to say the least but here's a photo I just took-

Hi all,
So far, I have the following seeds sown and in the refrigerator:

Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Cedrus libani var. stenocoma
Pinus koraiensis
Sciadopitys verticillata

I am going to sow the following seeds today:

Pinus bungeana
Abies bornmulleriana
Abies lasiocarpa arizonica
Pinus contorta var contorta
Abies procera glauca
Pinus sylvestris var mongolica
Syringa pekinensis

I have my fingers crossed that I will get at least a few of the Cedrus seeds to germinate. I think I am going to cut a couple of the seeds in half to see if they are any good. I purchased an ounce of the Cedrus seed and soaked them in water for a couple of days before I sowed the seed. I sowed only those seeds that sunk to the bottom of the cup after being soaked.
Good luck to all...
Mike

Everything you see in the photo should be in a potting shed but since I don't have one of those, my family has had to try to "eat" around my mess for a few weeks.

Here's the other side of the kitchen-

Hi Extemporaneous:

I wouldn't change a thing.

It'll feel like home to your visiting KY coffee tree and Ohio buckeye §:oÐ

Welll, then I guess my little KCTree and OhioBuckeye will feel really at home because you didn't see what I did to my husband's 3.5 car garage. I think at last count I had a couple hundred pots out there potted with temperate species carnivorous plants and we're not talking little 4", 6", or 8" pots either. I have 175 gallon AgroMaster stock tanks and bales of Canadian Sphagnum Peat and a mortar mixer just ready to be able to create more potting mixes for an order I've got coming from Australia this May. Must keep my existing babies above freezing and prepare for new babies. We anticipate being able to park at least one of our vehicles in our garage sometime in the year 2010 but maybe not.

Here's some of what I've started:

Acer grosseri v. hersii
Acer mandschuricum
Carpinus caucasica
Carpinus viminea
Cedrus libani v. stenocoma
Clethra barbinervis
Halesia monticola
Magnolia lilflora
Ptelea trifoliata
Prunus maackii
Quercos schmardii
Stewartia sinensis
Syringa pekinensis
Viburnum cassinoides
Acer palmatum (many seeds from numerous sources)
Lindera benzoin
Lindera angustifolium
Cornus kousa
Evodia (Tetradium) danielli
Evodia fargesii
Acer cissifolium
Aesculus parvifolia
Betulis lenta
Betulis alleghaniensis
Cercis canadensis (from Forest Pansy)
Pterostyrax corymbosa and hispida
Cornus officinalis
Cornus alba
Nyssa sylvatica
Corylus colurna
Magnolia kobus
Sorbus alnifolia
KCT
Halesia diptera
Styrax americanus
Euonymous bungeana
Styrax obassia
Rosa glabra
Aronia arbutifolia
Symplocos paniculata
Cornus foemia
Viburnum carlesii
Cercidiphyllum japonica

...and a few others. Most were put in baggies of damp sand in the garage. Because of the mild winter, I already have seedlings of Evodia, Cornus kousa, Stewartia sinensis, Syringa pekinense, and Ptelea trifoliata.

Scott

Impressive list!

Ohhhhhhhhh V V...... time for me to move on over to start the island. Sorry to disappoint you but there will still most assuredly be some nice mushy hairballs around for you to step in.

Oh what a difference a day in a kitchen can make!

OK EQ, you (and now Scott, heck nearly everybody) has REALLY embarrassed me. So I went searching the frig, and a good thing. I found:

Viburnum dentatum from the Minnesota borderlands with Canada (we have a cabin there)
Calycanthus floridulus (from 'Athens')

Now that's double what I had. Count 'em, four, four woodies to plant.

I feel much better now. (He says sarcastically.)

Rick

My brother in law gave me a huge tub of acorns. I plan to plant them directly in the ground throughout the woods. Will this work? Has anyone grown oak trees by planting acorns? I hate to go to the trouble of planting all these if it won't work.

Thanks,
Brenda

Do you by any chance know what kind of oak they are from? Just curious. If your brother has a digital camera maybe he could take a photo of the oaks in the are where he gathered the acorns.

Hey Brenda, the squirrels do it for us all the time. Here's what I would do were I you. Take that tub of acorns you have there and fill it with water. Soak the acorns over night and then drain the water and refill it with fresh water and soak them again. Drain again the following morning and refill with fresh water. I soak mine for about 3-4 days. Take which ever acorns have sunk and walk around your woods and push them down into the ground. You'd want to get them out there right away. The embryo needs a cold damp period of somewhere around at least 2 months to be able to break dormancy to germinate for you.

Any remaining acorns that were "floaters" can be set out for your squirrels or any chipmunks that will start coming out of hibernation in about a month or so.

Equil, will the ones with worm holes float or sink? Ken

Thanks for the advice Equil. I asked my brother in law what kind of oak tree the acorns came from and he said white oak.

I don't like hearing that I need to be sowing those acorns now in the cold. It is freezing here in Au Gres, Michigan. I can soak the acorns. No problem on that score. I'll tell you why I'm trying to plant all these acorns. My woods are primarily ash trees and the ash borer will be here in time to eat all my beautiful ash trees up. I'm trying to plant whatever kinds of trees I can. I planted a ton of walnut trees last year. Someone gave me a bunch of seedlings and walnuts. I think all the seedlings 'took' so someday we'll have a lot of nuts for the squirrels.

Maybe I can enlist some help on the planting of the acorns. :) Know any squirrels for hire?? Ha!!

Brenda

Decumbent,
Sorbus alnifolia sent the radicle out in cold. I germinated them in the fridge. I think it took 5 months. Potted them up and the leaves came shortly after.
What are you going to do with all those trees?
I am only starting stewartia pseudocamellia this year.

I have one more question please. Will oak trees grow well in a flood plain? Our woods stay very wet until late May or June. Can you recommend other varieties of sturdy long lived trees I can plant a lot of cheaply? I have 20 acres of woods I'd like to interplant.

Thank you,

Brenda

Loretta, Thanks for the info on the Sorbus. That is one I only collected some seeds of yesterday. Shriveled fruit raisons hanging on the tree. I'll have to clean those and put them in the fridge in some damp sand.

What am I going to do with all those trees? Dunno. Keep a few, give a lot away, I guess. If I thought it out enough, I surely wouldn't plant so many!

Scott

Hey Loon,

Your acorns don't have to go in the ground now. After you soak them for a few days, wrap them in damp (not moist) paper towels and slip them into ziplocks and toss them in your refrigerator. When the ground becomes workable, then go ahead and plant them if you choose to do so.

There are many species that come to mind that may work in any area such as yours but Oak may not be the most appropriate. I do have an area in which I have Swamp Oak planted and they are magnificent. It would appear your area was predominantly deciduous based on the Ash trees you mentioned. It would be best to share more details about the property to include the names of any other plants you have growing in that area. Are you in a position to post photos?

The state of Michigan has a phenomenal Dept of Natural Resources. Would you consider initiating contact with them to inquire about a list of species for your specific County? Chances are pretty darn good that your information is out there right now waiting for you to ask for it. It's your tax dollar, please go and use it. I'd hold of doing anything until you make a few phone calls. Let them know you have Ash on the property right now and let them know what your concerns are. They are all too well aware of EAB. I believe the State Of Michigan has nurseries that some residents may be able to tap into. This would mean saplings for a song and a dance to you.

I own property in Michigan. I am impressed with the quality of information available to land owners. I was even able to get personal visits to my property from ecologists and a biologist. Their services would have cost me thousands if I had to procure them from private entities. Please, go out and seek these people. Good planning based on solid research is in your best interests right about now.

That is a great idea. I'll look around for numbers to call and see what I can find out. No need in planting a bunch of acorns if they won't grow well here. My brother in law lives about 60 miles west of me in Houghton Lake and that is where the acorns came from. In my woods I also have white birch and maples and some oak (not sure what kind) but it is predominately ash. I've been planting maples up by the house because I know I'll miss the big ash shade trees when the borer kills them. I sure wish that bug would skip my county but that is wishful thinking. What a great loss. We also have some kind of a bramble bush growing in the woods and along the edge. The branches are red. In the spring it gets white flowers on it and in the fall it gets white berries that turn to blue. It is really a nice bush but I don't know what the name of it is. Do you know?

We dug a great big pond at one end of the property with hopes it will help drain some of the woods on that end. It is 60 x 300 and about 18 feet deep on one end. We will stock it with fish this spring. I got a permit from the DEQ to put the pond in.

I have a friend who is giving me a lot of beautiful blue spruce. His trees need thinning. I won't put them in the wettest part of the property. I'm afraid they would not do good with their feet standing in water in the spring.

Thanks for the help. I do have a few weeping willows planted down on that end by the pond and so far they're doing well and having given up the ghost with all the water.

Brenda

Hey Brenda,

18' is a great depth! You done good!

You really have got to start bonding with this website ;)
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr#RSS

Please poke around at this website and contact these people before you start stocking-
http://www.nativefish.org/?PHPSESSID=8c9036c9cf8cb3bdb40f564e7cb92cee

I had no idea how complex some issues could be. Sooner or later you will get through and someone will take you under their wing to help guide you by providing you with information so that you can make the best decisions for you.

I don't know if there is a way to contact the man who used to run this site but he would be a wealth of information-
http://www.ichthyophilia.com/home.html

I also got help from a member here-
http://www.mdwfp.com/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=5
I know it is for the state of Missouri but there are people in there who will be able to help.

This is where I ultimately ordered fish-
http://www.jonesfish.com/Fish.html
If you call him on the phone, he would help you and you wouldn't even need to purchase from him.

Another site that might be of interest to you, a good read-
http://www.aquahabitat.com/pond.plants.html

I bookmarked this site a while ago but never really poked around in it-
http://www.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glregionmic.html
Maybe there is contact information here?