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Author Topic: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings  (Read 264780 times)

Lesley Cox

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #645 on: May 11, 2016, 12:16:54 AM »
You are having a lot of fun there Tristan, so many new seeds all at once. A great time for germination.

I'm very impressed by your Gentiana verna seedlings. I sow some of my own seed every year and though it germinates well, they stay tiny, even miniscule for ages and ages especially if they have little room around each seedling and ultimately are very difficult to handle safely, separating the little seedlings seeming to do bad damage to the very fine roots. I tend to sow them too thickly. Perhaps I should sow in three or four pots and much thinner.

The general rule here in the far south is sow the seed at any time up to April (October for you but I think earlier is better) and it will germinate in August/September, about mid spring. If sown later, say in the winter, it won't germinate until the following year and still at that same time.

It's true that many say G. verna is short-lived but my best are now 5 years old and still looking good, but as you say, sowing seed is a wise precaution and after all, one can't ever have enough of this little gentian. :)
Lesley Cox - near Dunedin, lower east coast, South Island of New Zealand - Zone 9

Tristan_He

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #646 on: May 11, 2016, 08:02:55 AM »
I am having fun Lesley - though I completely OD'd I'm afraid! I think I will be spending the next few years scratching my head over where to put the seedlings.

Re: G. verna - this is my first time attempting this from seed. I don't make notes but generally speaking I sow seed I collect from the garden as soon as it is ripe, so probably about July / August. They came up in the cold frame in something like January but I was a bit worried about leaving such small seedlings out at that time so brought them into the unheated conservatory. As you can see they are still pretty small but are making ok growth. We will see.

All the above notwithstanding, I've had other gentians that I have sown between December and February this year and most are up now (including the G. terglouensis I posted). You need sharp eyes though as the seedlings are tiny.

Gentians don't like root disturbance as a group I think. I'll play around with the approach to pricking out (singly / clumps / pot on) to see what works best. 

meanie

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #647 on: May 13, 2016, 02:13:45 PM »
A bit of a long shot I know but I could use a bit of advice with these if anyone knows. This pot has/had Paulownia tomentosa seeds sown in it over the winter and was left (uncovered) in a sheltered spot.................




If anyone is familiar with growing Paulownia from seed could you confirm that they are Paulownia seedlings. I would hate to nurturing a pot full of weeds! A big ask I know.
West Oxon where it gets cold!

Maggi Young

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #648 on: May 13, 2016, 02:26:24 PM »
Re Paulownia  seed stuff .... here's a pic of the seed
 

and this, from a blog from someone in the Fort McMurray area of Canada - where the dreadful fires have been - is a picture of seedlings ....


and this site has handy pix of the stages of growth... http://dragontrees.com/
« Last Edit: May 13, 2016, 02:28:07 PM by Maggi Young »
Margaret Young in Aberdeen, North East Scotland Zone 7 -ish!

Editor: International Rock Gardener e-magazine

meanie

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #649 on: May 13, 2016, 03:30:27 PM »
Re Paulownia  seed stuff .... here's a pic of the seed
  (Attachment Link)

and this, from a blog from someone in the Fort McMurray area of Canada - where the dreadful fires have been - is a picture of seedlings ....
(Attachment Link)

and this site has handy pix of the stages of growth... http://dragontrees.com/
Thanks Maggi  :) Encouraged by the photos and link I dug one of the seedlings out and looking at the seed case "attached" to it I appear that I have a veritable forest of Paulownia on my hands  ;D
West Oxon where it gets cold!

johnw

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #650 on: May 13, 2016, 03:50:29 PM »
Puzzling why someone in Ft. McMurray would be growing Paulownia unless a climatically-challenged Atlantic Canadian working out there.  ;)

I love Dirr's comment on this tree -see attached.  Some inland trees this year lost all buds at temps above -17c (0F), despite that it looks like other nearby trees will indeed flower this year and they are loaded with buds so expecting a spectacle.  Winter of 2013/14 and 2014/15 we had a city low of -17c and var. coreana flowered fully, this year the low was -15 so we may see flowers on the straight species. Has a remarkable capacity to lift sidewalks and paving on our shallow soils.  Great fun to grow.

john
« Last Edit: May 13, 2016, 10:46:33 PM by johnw »
John in coastal Nova Scotia

meanie

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #651 on: May 13, 2016, 06:42:51 PM »
Puzzling why someone in Ft. McMurray would be growing Paulownia unless a climatically-challenged Atlantic Canadian working out there.  ;)

I love Dirr's comment on this tree -see attached.  Some inland trees this year lost all buds at temps above 0F, despite that it looks like other nearby trees will indeed flower this year and they are loaded with buds so expecting a spectacle.  Winter of 2013/14 and 2014/15 we had a city low of -17c and var. coreana flowered fully, this year the low was -15 so we may see flowers on the straight species. Has a remarkable capacity to lift sidewalks and paving on our shallow soils.  Great fun to grow.

john
Isn't 0°f really, really cold?
I'm going to try stooling a few to get the uber large leaves and plant one to grow without being messed with every spring.
West Oxon where it gets cold!

johnw

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #652 on: May 13, 2016, 10:55:15 PM »
Isn't 0°f really, really cold?
I'm going to try stooling a few to get the uber large leaves and plant one to grow without being messed with every spring.

Well in Canada for a one time night low in winter it's pretty balmy for those west of us and that means almost to coastal BC where the winters improve.  I remember being inland one winter and hopped into my car early in the morning at -30C - I'd never witnessed such temps before- and my tires had frozen flat on the down sides which made for an interesting ride the first kilometre.  The snow actually squeaks under foot at those temps.

john
« Last Edit: May 14, 2016, 02:31:11 AM by johnw »
John in coastal Nova Scotia

Rick R.

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #653 on: May 13, 2016, 11:13:52 PM »
Puzzling why someone in Ft. McMurray would be growing Paulownia unless a climatically-challenged Atlantic Canadian working out there.  ;)
john

Here in zone 4 Minnesota, USA, Paulownia usually freezes to the ground every winter.  But it spectacularly rebounds from soil level.  It's not uncommon to get multiple stems with big leaves reaching 10-15ft by the end of the season.  I know for folks in more southerly climes that's not such a big deal (everything seems to grow bigger in half the time), but for us in the cold north, it's pretty magical.
Rick Rodich
just west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
USDA zone 4, annual precipitation ~24in/61cm

johnw

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #654 on: May 14, 2016, 01:16:14 AM »
Rick  - Do you get dependable snow cover that protects the roots or is it indeed that root hardy?

I have even seen these stooled ones in Prince Edward Island which was a bit of a surprise.

john

John in coastal Nova Scotia

Rick R.

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #655 on: May 14, 2016, 01:32:22 AM »
Rick  - Do you get dependable snow cover that protects the roots or is it indeed that root hardy?
john

Well, before climate change snow cover was dependable, but not so much now: some years yes, some years no.  Recovery was never a problem before, but honestly, I haven't kept track of any Paulownias in the last 8 years to really be able to estimate root hardiness.  Our summers are a whole lot warmer than yours, and I would guess that would play a big role in this question, too.
Rick Rodich
just west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
USDA zone 4, annual precipitation ~24in/61cm

Gabriela

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #656 on: May 14, 2016, 02:06:06 AM »
Here in zone 4 Minnesota, USA, Paulownia usually freezes to the ground every winter.  But it spectacularly rebounds from soil level.  It's not uncommon to get multiple stems with big leaves reaching 10-15ft by the end of the season.  I know for folks in more southerly climes that's not such a big deal (everything seems to grow bigger in half the time), but for us in the cold north, it's pretty magical.

I've seen this in a city about half an hour from where I live (still zone 5). I will take a picture in late summer. It is indeed magical to see the tall stems and the gigantic leaves. Some years they are even forming flower buds, which of course then never amount to anything. I am curious to see what happened this year with the mild winter we had.
Gabriela
Ontario, zone 5
http://botanicallyinclined.org/

johnw

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #657 on: May 14, 2016, 02:40:47 AM »
Our summers are a whole lot warmer than yours, and I would guess that would play a big role in this question, too.

I think heat's a huge factor with the wood ripening properly, the lack here on the coast is problematic especially for the type.   P. tomentosa 'Coreana' seems much better for us near the ocean.

The last big flowering of striaght tomentosa in the hotter Annapolis Valley was in 2012 but they've had lows close to -20c/-22c in 2013-2015 and lost all buds.  Great seed set in 2012!

john 
John in coastal Nova Scotia

meanie

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #658 on: May 14, 2016, 08:30:36 AM »
When you consider the shear number of seeds in each pod all Paulownia needed for world domination was a better method of dispersal! This is the first time that I've had fresh seed (a whole pod) and germination rates are way over the top. I wish that I'd shared them now.
West Oxon where it gets cold!

Gabriela

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Re: Germinating now- - photos of seedlings
« Reply #659 on: May 14, 2016, 02:41:28 PM »
Meanie, the seeds don't have to be really fresh. They germinate like cress - warm germinators and need light - see the link.
Those seedlings are from seeds from the "climatically-challenged Atlantic Canadian" John  :) I was just checking them, I'll sow a fresh batch outside somewhere in June and see how they go. It can get pretty hot here in the summer.

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6490.570
Gabriela
Ontario, zone 5
http://botanicallyinclined.org/

 


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