AusBonsai

Can i sow seeds for Pines and Ashes now, or should i wait until after winter??

I just rediscovered some Pinus aristata (Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine) seed and was wondering the same.
I know they are meant to be stratified, but would overwintering in a pot in inner sydney be sufficient or should I fridge them over winter?
Or is it just too warm/wet to grow them at all where I am?

matt393 wrote:Can i sow seeds for Pines and Ashes now, or should i wait until after winter??

Hi Matt,

When I used to propigate from seed in big number I found that I could plant the seed as soon as they were harvested but if I planted the seed too early(ie Feb, March, April and early May) then the seed would often come up straight away and then either get hit by frost, get eaten by insects, snails etc or you would just have to protect them over winter.

Better to sow them once the chance of early germination is over; say late May or so in your climate.

This way they get a cold few months and then come out strongly in spring and grow through any problems they might encounter.

I never stratify as this always seemed to impede the seed rather than help; but I did live in a cooler climate as well.

Grant

hi guys
when is season for tiawan maple seed to plant as i got a few and need to see if they viable to grow
cheers dean

I always plant my pine seeds in spring without startifying(except soaking in warm water for 24-48 hours) and get great results. Propagation bible states no stratification needed but the profesionals stratify to give predictable germination time.

Most maple seeds need a cold stratification period. we are 5-6 months away from spring so there are several options. Soak seed (or not) then plant out now to recieve natural winter cold. Or find out the recomended stratification period(sorry don't have bible at moment) Most common for maple is about two months in the fridge after warm water soaking.
All depends on how many seeds you have and how technical you want to be. Fresh seeds will be easier to germinate than older ones.
Trident maple are very easy and may not need stratification either? tiawan maple may be a close relative?
Sorry not perfect advice but since you bumped

I stratify Maple seeds for 5 weeks in the fridge, then plant in Early spring

Ken

I stratify Maple seeds for 5 weeks in the fridge, then plant in Early spring

Ken

I plant seeds of both Maples (all sorts) and Pines from about May onward and leave the pots in the open to get natural stratification. They come up well in spring and grow strongly. Ad Jamie says pines do not need stratification and can be stored until Sept or Oct and will germinate straight away after sowing at that time. trident maple will also grow when planted in spring without treatment but germination may be erratic.

I find that most deciduous seeds do not need stratisfying in cold weather when sown in Oz.
As said in a previous reply, you can sow them whenever you like if you have a greenhouse etc, but you do need to avoid frosts if you sow them too early and plan to have them in an open position.
Maples, Elms, Ash, Elders etc get good-excellent germination rates when sown in about july/august. I had a bumper crop of Japanese Maples, Tri Maples and Chinese Elms last year when sown in June.
Not too sure on Pines, but if Brett has been doing extremelly well with his method of soaking i'd be taking that advice.
I know we can get too excited with Bonsai and do things outside the 'normal' seasons, but i guess if we can wait until the right time we see the ulitimate rewards of our patience!

Hmmm,

I tried the stratification method with about 60 Acer palmatum dissectum in the fridge (yes I did follow the directions) over winter and the results were 2 germinating, the rest?
I find Trident Maple to be a bit of a weed, it comes up just about anywhere there is some regular water, they are coming up in my front yard and the nearest tree is streets away but I am going to dig it up in August and put training wheels on it

Damian Bee wrote:Hmmm,

I tried the stratification method with about 60 Acer palmatum dissectum in the fridge (yes I did follow the directions) over winter and the results were 2 germinating, the rest?

Some maples can be very hard to germinate. Paper bark maple being one. Not sure about Acer palmatum dissectum. Sometimes it can just be bad seed. I have had many failures with seeds that need stratifying. Never got zelkova to wake up. Had a failure with hawthorn, cotoneaster. All purchased seed. Seed sellers will sometimes sell bad seed expecting you to think you did something wrong for no germination so if you are having trouble search out some fresh seed.
The golden rule is to soak seeds first. Any that don't sink in 48 hours are no good to start with.
On a couple of occasions I have given hornbeam a warm startification period as recomended before thier cold period and had them germinate in the middle of Winter. That is fresh seed from America. Maybe they where confused
Then other hornbeam species has given me 50 germinate from hundreds of seeds after full warm and cold period. Yet a nurseryman with a hundred or so got no germination so I can't be doing all too bad

The weeping japanese maples (A. palmatum dissectum) are notorious for poor germination. only a few % are viable but do grow just the same as other maples. as mentioned in other threads they are also hard to keep alive for more than a few years when not grafted.

I agree with Jamie on purchased seed. Sometimes just too old. Maple seed is known to go into deep dormancy when stored and it is very hard to break the dormancy and get it to germinate. fresh seed is always best.

Hmmm,

I followed the directions, and had fresh seed to boot. I can say that I dig a little bit of a dig into the soil and found that seeds were still intact but simply not germinating

I have two Acer seedlings germinated from disectum viridis and although they are very different to look at they are both very strong plants but viridis may be a stronger variety

It will be interesting to see what happens with the other two disectum seedlings (I wish there was a evil plotting smiley rubbing hands together)

Bretts when I sell seeds, I have germinated them myself even if I didn't need them, I would not take money for any seed I am not sure will grow under decent, but not intensive, care. If I am unsure of it, then they go into the giveaway seed tray.
For my stuff ( mostly herbs) it means a bit of seed mix, place seed, cover and keep damp for a few weeks. If you can do that, then I would be surprised if my seed wouldn't take, and I would replace or refund if it didn't. I'm only a backyard operator, but I have standards and stick to them.