Friday, October 14, 2011

Germinating Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)



    The next species up is the lovely Jacaranda mimosifolia.  I have wanted to start these seeds for years and I'll finally get my chance.  I ended up getting a ridiculous amount: 100 seeds.  To be fair the pack only cost $2 so if anyone wants to trade for the extra seeds I may just have them!

    When making my plant selections I generally look for trees that can be grown as bonsai.  If you can grow a plant as a bonsai, it can clearly take some abuse and be trained to remain small.  However Jacaranda is one tree that may prove a little more difficult.  It doesn't like to remain small and when pruned often responds with vigorous vertical growth.  This might be ugly for a bonsai but could result in a nice, densely stemmed larger plant.  I have no idea if I'll ever see any blooms but my ultimate goal is to get my plants to flower.

    People suggest soaking the seeds for 12-24 hours prior to sowing.  Many sources state light as important for germination but I have also seen reference to buried seeds germinating.  I noticed a posting in a forum suggesting the best temperature was found to be a consistent 25C in a Brazilian study.  Overall the seeds should be easily germinated in any seed starting mix.  I'll probably experiment and try burying a few, while keeping others on the surface.

    The next species up is Colville's Glory (Colvillea racemosa).

7 comments:

  1. These are probably my favorite trees ever - I have been slightly obsessed with them ever since them flower in Portugal as a little kid. In my experience they germinate pretty easily but I have never managed to raise them to the point of flowering.

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  2. They are absolutely gorgeous. I've heard other people had difficulty growing them much past the seedling stage. I'll have to give them some extra care.

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  3. these are easy, and strangely enough, I had a grouping of three, grown as a bonsai! They behave better than you are thinking, and need trimmed three or four times a year, but not too hard. Mine froze when my greenhouse ran out of propane...and never bloomed, but they were only eight years old-I had high hopes! The fine foliage gives the illusion of a much larger tree. Winter defoliation for a couple of months if too cool, then fresh new growth as the days get longer.

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  4. Yikes, I'd be devastated if I lost mine, especially after eight years! I'm glad to hear they should do better being trimmed than I expected. If I have any questions, I'll know who to ask.

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  5. I got my seeds to germinate buy just planting them in potting soil and leaving on window sill in a 12x18 inch ziploc Bag, mine have germinated between 3-23 days with sun all day to heat up.

    just about to put in bonsai pot not has germinated

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  6. anonymous who couldn't resistOctober 16, 2013 at 11:05 PM

    "I noticed a posting in a forum suggesting the best temperature was found to be a consistent 25C in a Brazilian study. " Well, I certainly don't have access to a Brazilian study. Would a study anywhere else in the world work? or a sitting room?

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  7. I first saw these trees two years ago on a trip to Irvine, CA. I brought home a couple of old (empty) seed pods mainly for identification purposes. I found a seed or two remaining and was able to get them to germinate quite easily (but lost the plant as a seedling). I am going to definitely give it another try with seeds I brought back on a recent trip. I live in Zone 5, so it is definitely going to be an indoor bonsai and I am a bit worried that during the winter we don't get a lot of natural light. I would love to hear from anyone with experience with this tree in higher latitudes. I have had decent success with hardier ficus species indoors, but they still undergo stress during those months when we only get 6 hours of light a day.

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