Brazilian Fire Tree Seedlings (Schizolobium parahybum)

This plant is said to have some of the largest compound leaves in the world and is an extremely quick grower.  I originally potted four seeds into each one gallon pot.  As soon as the first spouts came up I realized I had underestimated the size of the plants.  After about a week I already needed to split them up into their own pots.  Luckily there was no shock and the plants started growing again rapidly.

I'm really excited for these plants.  They spend the first few years looking similar to a large tree fern.  Eventually they begin to branch and grow into mature trees.  I should be able to keep them relatively small when grown in pots.  I'm just not sure if they'll keep one stem or begin branching early because of cramped roots.  The leaves in these photos are still juvenile and will become much larger with hundreds of leaflets.  I'll just have to wait and see what the future holds.

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 Brazilian Tree Fern (Schizolobium parahybum)

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Schizolobium_parahybum.jpg

    The first species I'll be posting about is Schizolobium parahybum (Brazilian Tree Fern, Tower Tree, Brazilian Fire Tree).  Now to clarify, there also appears to be a Blechnum that is called Brazilian Tree Fern.  This is not the plant this post is about.  The plant I've ordered does not display any red foliage and is not a true fern.  As you can see in the above photo, it looks very similar to a tree fern when young.  As it ages, the stem begins to branch and the plant eventually grows into a large tree, covered with yellow flowers each spring.

    Now clearly my trees will never get this large because Schizolobium parahybum are by no means hardy in USDA zone 6 (minimum USDA zone 9b).  I'll just keep them in pots and bring them in for the winter.  I don't expect any flowers just small trees possibly with a few branches.  They enjoy heat and humidity and the summers in South-Western Ontario should suit them nicely.

    Most sources say this plant is easy to grow from seed.  Each seed should be scarified and soaked in water for 4 hours.  The seeds should then be planted 1-2cm deep in well drained soil.  They should be kept relatively warm (25C or higher) and constantly moist (but not soaked).  Some sources suggest putting the seeds in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them after lightly scarring.  Let them sit in the water for about a minute and then plant.  This is probably the method I'll use.  I've successfully tried it with Adansonia digitata (Baobab) seeds so I don't expect the seeds to be killed.  Germination should occur within about a month.

    Stay tuned for my next post on Jacaranda mimosifolia.