AusBonsai

I've got some giant sequoia seeds and I'm not quite sure how to start them off. Does anybody know how long these need to be stratified for? The most detailed info I could find on the internet after a quick read of a few pages is 'soak it overnight and shove it in the fridge for a few weeks.'

I just sprinkled mine straight into a pot with no freezer preparations during late winter/early spring last year . Theyve spouted. If you bought them from ebay, just check theyre not old seeds.

Edward Scissorhand wrote:I just sprinkled mine straight into a pot with no freezer preparations during late winter/early spring last year . Theyve spouted. If you bought them from ebay, just check theyre not old seeds.

Laura - If you are in Cairns, stratification is probably necessary. Even if they germinate, they may not grow in your climate No reason not to give it a go, though!

Glenda

I actually got them at a hardware store, Erica Vale seed packet 'trees suitable for bonsai'. It included four seed packets, labelled 'sequoia gigantaea' (I'm assuming they mean sequoiadendron gigantaea), 'calista' (which I think is a callistemon), 'liquidamber' and 'acer' (no idea which species, probably japanese or trident.) The whole thing cost about five bucks, so if I even get one tree out of it I've got a bargain haha. The 'sow before' date is 2014 for the lot. I haven't actually opened the packets yet (they're foil packed) so not sure how many seeds I have.

The only temperate/cold tree I've had a go at growing is a Japanese maple seedling (tube stock) which died, but that's unsurprising since my father sprayed it with roundup. I didn't even notice, I was standing over the comfrey with a machete to stop him spraying that...