Jacaranda mimosifolia Seedlings

Although my Jacaranda seedlings seem to be doing well, I'm a little worried.  Some of the leaflets seem to be dropping for no apparent reason.  The weird thing is they're in the middle.  Not the old leaves, not the newest leaves, but the middle ones.  There aren't any insects, the leaves have no discolouration and they aren't dried out.  The leaflets are just dropping for no apparent reason.

This leaf drop seems to have stopped but I have no idea what was causing it?  Does anyone have experience with Jacaranda leaf drop?  Maybe I underwatered it for a bit?  Very strange and any help you can provide would be much appreciated.  This plant has gorgeous leaves and when one drops I die a little inside. :)

Jacaranda Seedlings

It's been about two months since I first started soaking my Jacaranda seeds.  After three weeks I only ended up with two sprouts. I was a little disappointed that the germination rate seemed very low so I figured I'd wait a little bit longer.  After another two weeks I still didn't seen any new sprouts so I transplanted the two seedlings into larger pots.

Although they're not growing very quickly, they seem to be healthy and vigorous.  These may be the most elegant looking seedlings I've ever sprouted - the leaves are just gorgeous.  I absolutely love Jacaranda and although they won't grow in my climate they can be grown in pots rather easily.  I'll put them outside for the summer and then overwinter indoors under lights or in a greenhouse.

By the way, you may have noticed my pots are actually plastic cups.  All I did was punch a few holes in the bottom.  This way I can see how root growth is progressing and it's a lot cheaper than buying actually pots!

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

Germinating Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)

Source: http://antranik.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Jacaranda_mimosifolia.jpg

    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).