Texas Mountain Laurel

Does anyone have experience with starting Texas Laurel from seed? (Sophora Secundiflora) I love it, but have not had good luck with the seeds. I did manage to get one started by placing seeds in a damp paper towel. I got the seeds from pods that were from last years growth.

I have two of these in the yard. Both are about 1 ft tall. I have managed to completly defoliate one and the other isn't looking to happy. Both have been planted outside for about a year. Anyone know about taking care of these at any stage would be my question. I'll have to post a picture of my sickly plants here before too much longer. Sorry to jump in here, but I figured as long as you were already enquiring on the subject. My Sophora secundiflora turned yellowish green and its not because of a lack of iron. Both are planted in pure sand which is native to Florida.

Well, Partner, we have them down here! I bought one fr the Farm last spring. I haven't bought my house yet so it is still @ the Farm. I got the guys to move it up close to my office so I can walk by it & sniff it every time I go up to the sales office. I looked @ it yesterday. It is loaded with the beginning of blooms. It is in a 15 gal pot & is multi-trunked.
Brugmansia, I think yours is in need of Magnesium. Had a customer call & ask what to do for it when it's leaves are turning yellow but wait til Monday & let me verify that.
Someone emailed me & wanted to know how to grow fr seeds. I said I would ask my Prod Mgr but then I couldn't find the address for that person & now I have forgotten the details. I can get them Monday @ the Farm for sure. We have 100's of them. & they will all be gone by April 15.
Kimwinter, are your seeds still in the pod? If, so, did you notice that the seeds in the same pod are all different sizes? The Prod Mgr said that that is Mother Nature's way of making sure that there will be more trees for yrs to come.

last week, i soaked seeds in lukewarm water for 3 days. changing water each day. planted the seeds in starting soil mix. 3 days later the seed emerge and are now about 10" tall. hope that help.

ma vie.

MaVieRose, that is awesome! These are really trees here and they have a reputation for being slow grower.
Oh, I know why you have 10" tall plants! It's your green thumbs, not just one but both.
But that makes sense. Because we have "boku" & they aren't brokered. Mine has grown maybe a foot max. Maybe that is slow for a tree. :)

not green thumb: lots of common sense,patience and years of experience growing plants. give plants TLC and it will give back many times of joy and pleasure seeing them grow. thanks for ur vote of confidence Smockette... see i spelled that right this time. ROTFLOL!!! ma vie

To grow S. secundiflora from seed, prick the red seed casing with anything you can get to make a tiny opening so moisture can get in. I have used a nail, a monkey wrench and a rasp to open the seed coverings a little. You can soak it but it isn't necessary as long as you keep it constantly quite moist once you prick it. Bury the seed in a loose soil, preferably alkaline, about an inch deep. Keep it moist until you see green growth. It will send up a seedling and several leaves, but will then grow slowly for several years. In fact, it can be kept in a 12" pot on the patio for years. They drop those seed pods into the soil beneath the trees, and when moisture is plentiful, will sprout and grow there with no help. The outer covering rots away gradually so it may take several years for all of the seeds to sprout. You step up this process when you remove the red beans from the pod and introduce moisture. Later, when your tree is older and gets leggy or develops an ungainly shape, you can cut it back to about three feet from the ground, and it will put out a whole new top and regain its former size within a couple of years. The more water they receive, the more they bloom and the less they are bothered by pests, but they require good drainage. They can be grown as understory trees or in full sun. I have thousands of seed for SASE if anyone is interested.

How hardy are they?If they can be grown in a pot for years can they winter in a greenhouse?

Thanks everyone for your replies, I am new to Dave's and am really glad I joined!!

This message was edited Wednesday, Mar 6th 3:44 PM

crested, I haven't seen them grown in greenhouses, because here it isn't necessary, but I see no reason to think they wouldn't be quite successful there. Why not experiment and let us know?

I'd love to Aimee.I'll e-mail you