Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) Seedling Update

My little (or not so little) Poinciana seedlings have been doing great.  I'm surprised at how quickly they seem to grow.  I'm actually hoping to give a few away so if anyone in Ontario would like to pick one up or knows of a garden centre, mall or greenhouse that would appreciate them, just let me know.  I absolutely adore these seedlings and I'm glad they seem strong and healthy.  There's something about fern-like foliage that you just can't beat.

Royal Poinciana Seedlings (Delonix regia)

I transplanted my Royal Poinciana seedlings about two weeks ago.  There was no new growth for about a week as the plants put out adventurous new roots.  I didn't see any signs of shock and there was no leaf drop whatsoever.  Then about a week ago they started putting out new and even larger leaves.  I'm a huge fan of large leaved plants, and these compound leaves make the plants look even more elegant.

I have no idea if I'll ever see flowers from these plants.  In my opinion, the foliage alone is a good enough reason to grow them.  I've been in contact with a local hotel with a glass atrium that is interesting in taking a few of the seedlings.  I'll keep some for myself and try to donate others to greenhouses and garden centres.  If you'd like to swap a plant (and are reasonably close in Ontario) just let me know!

If you ever plan on growing Poinciana for indoors I would recommend choosing "Dwarf Poiciana". It's actually a completely different species but more shrub like and therefore manageable indoors.

Seedling Update

Just a short post today.  My seedling are doing really well. Everything that sprouted seems healthy and has been growing rapidly.  A few more of the Jacaranda are starting to pop up.  I was worried I'd only get the one sprout but I'm glad to see more coming.

Delonix regia (Royal Poinciana)

Jacaranda mimosifolia (Jacaranda)

Schizolobium parahybum (Brazilian Tower Tree)

Seedlings!!! (Jacaranda, Schizolobium, Delonix)

I only planted this batch of seeds a week ago and I already have a bunch of sprouts! I purchased them from a seller in India via ebay. They took about a month to arrive but I'm extremely impressed with the quality of seeds.

First off are the Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia). They started sprouting within 3 days after planting! I put two seeds in each pot (actually reused plastic cups) and by today 9 out of 12 have sprouted. That's a 75% germination rate in just one week. At first I thought they looked a little lanky and needed to be moved closer to the light. After a quick google image search, it turns out this is normal and there's no need to worry.

Second to sprout were the Brazilian Tree Fern (Schizolobium parahybum). I Planted five per 6" (15cm) pot which seemed like a good idea at the time. After seeing the size of the sprouts I'm wondering if that was a good idea. The seedlings are giant! I guess that's to be expected of a plant that's said to have the largest compound leaves in the world.

Finally, yesterday my first Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) seedling began to sprout.  It's not even out of the soil yet, but I had to take a photo. You can just barely see it in the top right cell. You might have to click for a bigger image. :) I just noticed all three species have compound leaves. Coincidence?

I didn't have any Tomatillo sprouts yet so I decided to dig one up and see what was happening. No signs of germination at all. I looked them up again and found out putting the seeds in a freezer for 24 hours can speed germination. They are currently sitting in the freezer, soil and all until later today. Hopefully most will sprout within another week.

I also haven't seen any sprouts from my Screw Pine seeds. I expect these ones to take longer and figure I'll see the first sprouts within two more weeks or so.

Seed Planting

I should finally be getting my phone back tomorrow. To repair it will cost an outrageous $1080, substantially more than the price of the phone. I'll probably just deal with the problems and phone for the next little while. Then I'll have to figure out if it's cheaper just to cancel my contract and get a free phone with someone else. Hmmm...

I have had literally nothing sprout from the first shipment (from a seller in Canada). A lot of the seeds I purchased take a while, but not even the figs have sprouted. I'm a little worried this batch of seeds experience a hard freeze somewhere in shipment. I'll have to wait a few more weeks to see if anything happens.

Luckily my shipment arrived from India a few days ago. I've already soaked and planted everything. Now just to wait and hope I'm treated with some sprouts. I took pictures of all the seeds. I'm surprised how large some of them are!

Brazilian Tree Fern (Schizolobium parahybum)

 Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) after scarring and soaking 24 hours, notice the two upper right seeds haven't swollen and are not ready to plant.

Tamarillo (Solanum betaceum syn. Cyphomandra betaceum) and Royal Poinciana

Screw Pine (probably actually Pandanus fascicularis)

Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) - bottom packet