Nyssa ogeche

Anybody grow this? If so can you tell me what is the easiest way to clean the fruit to get at the seeds. I haven't tried to clean a fruit like this before. Do I need to treat em with anything special before putting them in the fridge and what is the best way to store them? Paper bag, plastic baggy?

Thanks!

I just cleaned some fruits of Ogeechee Tupolo. The fruits are prized by wildlife. They're about the size of a grape and simply stated, squish them between your fingers to remove the pulp then rinse them well. Let them air dry for two days. From there you'll need 90 days of warm stratification followed by 90 days of cold stratification. Use a sloppy muddy medium to start these and cover them up with at least a half an inch of your medium. Room temperature of about 70° should be just perfect for your initial warm strat period and then you can toss them in your frig for the last 90 days. If you start now, you should be able to set them outdoors on your patio to germinate come May 1st '07 which would be ideal timing. Best wishes to you. This is truly a great native tree that is definitely underused in the landscape. FYI, this is not a drought tolerant plant.

Thank you for all the information. If you could help me a bit more, I'd appreciate it. When you say a sloppy muddy medium, what combination are you using, please? While they are in the "room temperature" period, do I need to cover them with plastic, or just keep the soil moist?

Also in your photo, I noticed your fruits are really red. I have some that are that dark and others that are lighter in color but were on the ground. Do you think they are viable?

I hope the seeds I got look as good as the momma. The form of her was just beautiful. This is a new tree for me I was just introduced too and now I have to have it. LOL

I been hunting for the seeds off of the Nyssa sylvatica too, but so far I can't find them. The leaves on it have been in red fall color for over a week now. Do you happen to know, have I missed the time they fruit? Thanks again!

I'll be germinating my seed for a friend who failed a few times due to damping off. I don't have many issues with damping off so I'm going to get her a few seedlings and then I'll ship them out to her. It is not my intent to keep any of them for myself.

I'll probably use a mix of top soil, Canadian Sphagnum Peat, Warrior Lite, and anything else that is conveniently available when I get ready to start. I'll microwave some damp sand and add a half an inch to cover the seed. I'll double tray them to make sure they don't dry out and I planned on setting them out on my counter top. What the heck, everything else ends up on the counter top anyway. I'll train a small oscillating fan on the containers. As far as the double tray goes, just use anything that will hold about an inch of water. I plan on planting the seed in tall SOLO cups that have holes in the bottom so that water will wick up. For holes in the bottom of the cups, just heat up the tines of a fork over your stove burner and poke them through and that works fine.

Don't cover them with plastic or you'll probably be inviting trouble. You could cover them with plastic when you move them to the frig but you'll need to check on them to make sure nothing is molding over. I think it would be preferable to place them uncovered in the frig in your kitchen so that opening and closing the door provides an air exchange and you can check on the water levels in your tray. Don't let these seeds dry out once you start the alternating stratification periods. Moist is evidently what these seeds like to germinate.

As far as the viability of the seeds, I can't answer your question. I collected seeds from the ground for my girlfriend and took an assortment of light and dark. I suppose I should have kept track of which were which to be in a position to determine which would have the higher germination rate but then hindsight is always 20/20. Sorry about that.

Great info. Thank you. I would have gone about it all wrong. I can sprout flowering seeds like crazy and rarely have a problem , but trying my hand at doing trees is totally new and not as easy at all. I have the patience to wait for them to come up, but wouild like to know at the end of months and months wait I can at least se e one baby for my work.

LOL.. Kitchen counter, what is that. Mine is covered with plants and pots and bulbs drying and trying to find another inch on it gonna be tough. The kitchen table about as bad with plants and books. Guess the spot for the balogna and cheese and mayo gonna disappear. I think I gonna hunt some garage sales to find another fridge. Open mine up and forget the food. Pots with dirt is all ya see. When company comes it's how about a coke and a peat sandwhich to go with it. Thank goodness for tv dinners and McDonalds. : )

My husband gave up on the kitchen counter but tries to condense my projects to an L shaped island we have. He did feel the need to reclaim our kitchen refrigerator so he bought me a big frig for the garage. Every little bit helps!