Hello--
Now that the snow has all melted, I've noticed a bunch of Eastern Redbud seed pods below the tree, and the seeds seem to have made it through the winter intact. I know that this species needs cold stratification and/or scarification if harvested in the fall, but if the seeds are collected after winter, are they still viable, and do they still need scarification? Any help is appreciated!!!
Thanks
--Jordan
I've decided to conduct a little experiment. I've scarred some of the seeds to varying degrees (from just scoring the surface of the seed with an emery board to filing all the way down to the embryo), and put them in various seed starting mediums (peat pellets, jiffy seed starting mix, coconut coir, and soil-less potting mix). I'll post the results when (and if) anything pops up!
This message was edited Apr 20, 2011 2:28 AM
Redbud seeds need double stratification...(two winters) before they will germinate reliably. You might get lucky, depending on if your winter had a mild patch in the middle of it, but for the most part, they need two full seasons outside.
Good luck with your project! Let us know if you get a few seedlings!
this was an interesting topic, i hope it works out for you. similarly i have some concord grape seeds that i can't remember for the life of me when or where i got them so i'm not sure if they'll come up. so they're in a wet paper towel in the window.
5 days in and some of the seeds have swollen, but no germination yet.
Update:
The first radicle, as of 4/20/11, has emerged! It is one of the seeds that was scarred all the way down to the embryo and put in coconut coir!
Wonderful!
that is good to know, I may just try this with my Grandkids, they love to peel the seed pods apart to count the seeds inside.
So, 11 days into the experiment, and I've only had two seedlings begin to emerge. Both of the seeds were scarred all the way to the embryo with a fine grit emery board, and both were planted in loose coconut coir. The temperature has been a constant 74 degrees in the germination tray.
So far, it seems the best bet is to scarify the hard seed coatings down to the embryo before planting.
Pictured below are the cotyledons emerging from the first seedling to sprout.
And the 2nd seedling to sprout.
Unfortunately, only one of the two seedlings (the one in coconut coir) made it. I also had an experiment trying to root new growth tips from the trees, with minimal success. However, I have two large redbuds in my yard, and decided to try air layering three branches toward the end of april. So far, all three have good root growth, and appear about ready to be removed from the parent plants! The technique I used is from the book American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation, however the following website details pretty much the exact same technique I used:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/ornamentals/airlayer/airlayer.html
