Germinating trees

newGrows

Active Member
I've been having a lot of difficulty getting things like apple orange and japanese maple seeds and even aloe and rose seeds to germinate. Tomato seeds and broccoli and safflower seem to jump out of the ground but the others just wont.

I've used the same method for all, 24 hours of soaking in warm water and then into the earth, but the trees and roses just won't germinate :(

what do i do?
 

Dave's Not Here

Well-Known Member
Trees and shrubs are harder to germinate, some might require refrigeration, I forget exactly how you do it so you probably should look it up and I imagine it varies for each plant... But I think for bigger seeds of a lot of trees and shrubs you put the seeds inside a moist but not wet bag of perlite and stick it in the fridge for a few months, make the seed think it has gone through a winter, then you sprout it.

Also scarification might help like carefully filing or sanding off some of the outer shell.
 
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dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
There's a technique for different species. Many things will pop right up like you said. Other plants require cold stratification first which is a couple months in the fridge like @Dave's Not Here said. Even so if the seed is gathered fresh and planted right away it will often germinate without stratification. Depends on the species.
Scarification is a process that requires you to bruise the hull with sand paper or you can soak the seed in water overnight.
Some species require two years before they germinate.
The best book I've ever read on woody propigation and identification was by Michael Dirr and he gets specific on just about every woody plant native and non native.
Even so it's easy enough to google propigating Apple trees from seed or Maple trees for an ease DIY tutorial without having to read a text book.
Remember though, if you plant a seed from a hybrid tree, that is to say a tree that's a cross between two species, you will eventually get one or the other parent not the tree you harvested seed from.
Good luck.
 

newGrows

Active Member
I saw some videos where people (claim) to just toss the seeds in the ground. I also tried peeling off most of the outer layer of the seed (I think its a more extreme version of scarification) and that hasn't worked so far…

Maybe the freezer thing is unavoidable :(
 

rolledupdriver

Well-Known Member
peeling off the outer casing completely wont work as well, many factors go into seed germination of fruit trees, and shrubs, the seeds must be ripe, just like cannabis you wouldn't try to germinate that immature greenish seed. like mentioned many fruit species require a cold period, many commercial nurseries have large refrigerated rooms for this purpose. This is also part of the reason commercial growers clone and reproduce their plants asexually, especially if you are trying to propagate a specific trait quickly in a plant. Usually seeds you buy from a seed bank are ready to plant, and tests are done to insure germination rates are constant. Also keep in mind if you are trying to get the same juicy apple that you ate the chances are not necessarily in your favor that a seed in that apple will produce the same great tasting apple. it may or it may not. Though I would encourage planting seeds of shrubs and fruit trees because it will promote genetic diversity in a species, instead of buying a cloned plant at a garden center. to me the quickest is stratification, obviously you dont want to peel off the whole case, but little incisions with a knife, or rubbing one side with sand paper as mentioned. or letting them sit in a acidic solution overnight. Keep at it though I'm sure it will work out.
 

tekdc911

Well-Known Member
have you tried planting the whole fruit ? if you let the fruit go past prime in the fridge alot of seeds will try to sprout in the fruit
also apples and oranges are usually planted from clipping seeing how the offspring dont hold the same qualities that the parent did
btw alot of trees grow slow so its kinda expected that some take upwards of a year before they sprout
 

FLkeys1

Well-Known Member
Keep in mind that Apple, citrus, rose are grafted on to a better root stock. If you get a seed to sprout it will still prob. Have a week root system and may not do as well as a grafted tree. This is not to say all trees of this nature will not grow and give you fruit, I have seen it happen..

Best of luck growing..
 
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