Wordless Wednesday: Idyllic Home

Laburnum watereri (Golden Chain Tree) Update (261 Days)

Here's just a quick update on my Laburnum watereri.  They should be hardy in my zone but I decided I'd rather let them grow bigger inside.  The largest is almost 1m (3ft) tall!  I don't expect any blooms this year, but definitely next summer. 

They've also started a small Oak forest in the greenhouses.  I'm not sure what the plants are for but UWO grows many of it's own trees.

Laburnum watereri (Golden Chain Tree) Update (189 Days)

Just a quick update of the Laburnum watereri.  They seem to be doing really well.  They're supposedly hardy here but I wanted to play it safe, so I let them grow a bit bigger so I kept them in the greenhouses for their first winter.  You can see some rather sad Baobab in the background.  The one on the left died down so the stem was cut off and a little bit of new growth has been produced.

Golden Chain Tree (Laburnum watereri) (140 Days)

Here's an update on the Golden Chain Trees I started.  Three of them sprouted several months ago and another two or three have just sprouted in the last few weeks (they're hidden by the older ones).  I'll probably have to transplant them in early January.

Laburnum watereri (76 Days) Update

The Laburnum watereri (Golden Chain Tree) sprouts have been growing well but relatively slowly. They are already starting to branch. I don't think I want to leave them outside this winter. They are just too young and I don't want to risk loosing them. I really should have started the seeds in the spring instead of late summer.

The old leaves are a little sun burnt (I put them right into full sun which I don't recommend), but the plants still look adorable to me. I'm probably the only person in the world that thinks that but I'm alright with that. I just won't tell anyone so I don't have to face public ridicule. Oh wait, it's too late for that and there's no going back...

Seedling & Germination (Adenium 4 Days, Hippeastrum 55 Days, Laburnum 28 Days) Update

I noticed this morning that my Adenium arabicum seeds have already started to sprout. They were planted just under four days ago and I wasn't expecting any to sprout until tomorrow so I'm pretty excited. This morning only one was visible and now three can be seen. I expect most of the seeds to be up within a week but it may take up to 30 days.

Many of the Coffee seeds have finally ripped open and leaves are clearly visible. Towards the back of the tray you can see some young ginger sprouts. None of the Chinese Evergreen have sprouted but several of the Clivia have germinated. They are very difficult to see so I didn't upload a picture (the young sprouts are nearly the same colour as the soil). The coffee and ginger was planted about 6 weeks ago (really slow growth).

The Hippeastrum (Amaryllis) are still growing slow and steady.

There are still only three Laburnum watereri sprouts (two in this pot and one in another). I planted about 20 seeds so I'm a little frustrated. I tried to find the ones that I planted that hadn't sprouted but it was really difficult. Some day this week I'll go through and pick them out, then try soaking them again. The seeds were planted about a month ago.

This pot has a mixture of Quinoa and Moringa stenopetala. I ran out of pots for the Moringa so I just threw them in with the Quinoa. I think these sprouts are the largest of all my Moringa stenopetala. The Quinoa has really started to take off too. It's really slow growing to start but has doubled in size in the last week or so. The Moringa are about 2.5 weeks old and the Quinoa is about a month old.

Seedling Update

Here's a quick update on the other seedlings.

Hippeastrum (48 Days)

Laburnum (no more germination but first true leaves, I may dig up the remained and try soaking again or scaring, 34 Days)

Quinoa (very slow growth at first but then takes off, two Moringa stenopetala sprouts at the right)

Coffee (relatively slow growth, first seed leaves appearing! 34 Days)

Germination & Seedling Update

Here are the latest images of the seedlings. I must say that after being away for four days I was extremely underwhelmed with the amount of growth. The newest additions are the Moringa stenopetala. About four or five of the twelve seeds I've planted have started to sprout. Based on the Moringa oleifera sprouting speed I thought most seeds would be up with their first set of leaves. None are standing up yet but the first one should be upright by tomorrow.

I brought some of the Moringa oleifera home to see how it grows outdoors. My major concern is that it will be eaten by one of the many geese that live in the area. I also transplanted three of the Adansonia (Baobab) into new pots. I left the fourth in the original pot with the other three seeds that have yet to germinate. They are now all in full sun in my backyard and I expect relatively rapid growth.

Moringa stenopetala (about 4/12 so far)

Moringa oleifera (I'm concerned about some white patterns on the leaves and will research it after this post)

Adansonia digitata (still 4/7 seeds so far)

Laburnum watereri (only 4/20 seeds so far, there are two different pots)

Hippeastrum

Germination Update

Here are the latest photos of the seeds I've been germinating. It's been warmer and sunnier the last few days and the Ginger and Laburnum have started to sprout. The Baobabs have also done very well and four have now sprouted. I won't be back at the greenhouse until Wednesday next week so I hope to see a lot of new germination and growth.

Adansonia (4 out of 7 spouted so far, 10 Days)

Ginger (nothing for several weeks but I think the warmth of the last few days spurred germination, they're small along the right not the Clivia seed, 23 Days)

Laburnum watereri (3 out of about 20 sprouted so far, this one just sprouted and is in front of the tag, 10 Days)

Adansonia digitata (Baobab), Laburnum watereri, and Mystery Seeds

Today I received my next batch of seeds! I was surprised that they arrived in only about 8 days from Australia. When I order seeds from the United States it usually takes about four weeks to clear the border.

The first set of seeds is Adansonia digitata (African Baobab). Three of the eleven seeds I received clearly would not germinate. This was obvious from visual inspection but I floated the seeds in water and the same three were the only seeds to float. Afterwards I tried ripping open those three seeds with my hands and it was quite easy so I threw them out. For the remainder of the seeds I boiled some water in a kettle and then poured it over them for about 30 seconds in a collander. I then placed them in water to soak overnight and I'll plant them tomorrow. The soil will be about 50% sand as good drainage is essential.

The next seed variety is Laburnum vossii (Laburnum watereri, Goldenchain Tree). I have found a lot of conflicting information on germinating these plants. These seeds are small but have hard coats. They would be very difficult to scarify so I'm going to try soaking them for several days. The adult plant resembles Wisteria but in the form of a tree. It is a very beautiful plant that is covered with yellow flowers throughout late spring and early summer. I'm going to use a general potting mix

The last few seeds are mystery seeds. I think they may be Trachycarpus fortunei (Chinese Windmill Palm), but they are atleast five years old and may have extremely poor germination. I should be able to identify the actual species when they sprout. I'm going to use a general potting mix with about 1/3 sand.

The seeds soaking (baobab left, mystery centre, laburnum right).