Hi Len I think as long as the seed pod have gone brown its ready I know C.brewsterii is a native and C. fistula is non native but I have grown two C.fistula down here in Brissie two years ago from seeds I bought down from my tree in Townsville five years ago, so the seeds were three years old but still in the pod.

It was very hard and I had to smash it open with a mash hammer even the seeds were hard, I didnt do any thing special to the seeds I just put them in a small pot in potting mix but I do know that I planted them in the end of February and they came up in September, I probably planted them at the wrong time of the year and thats why they didnt germinate quickly having to get over the winter. But if your seeds are ready now I would plant them and good luck. I planted four seeds but only two came up and those two little trees are near one of my side fences now.

And a Happy Christmas to you and your Family Len....MM.

thanks mm,

and the best to you and yours for the season and the new year.

one pod the side of the shell is sort of brittle and when i twist it the seeds pop out. might just plant the seeds from that pod and leave the others. just that one comment i saw when i was researching these trees after getting it i/d'd on the forums indicated that the seeds could be difficult to germinate.

ta

len

len
a nurseryman friend has had good germination, let me know if you have poor results and I can check with him.
C. tomentella are prone to borer attack in the pods so it might be worth keeping a look out.
Do the seeds rattle in the pod when shaken?
Probably worth doing the general legume things (hot water, nicking), do you have plenty to play around with?
Have a good Christmas, hey?
Rose

g'day rose,

yes the seeds in the pod that is disintigrating rattles and only some in 1 other pod we have 5 pods and heaps more on the trees up the road.

just that these trees are growing in an area where they don't have any competition from other trees etc.,. just grass, and they aint exactly prolificating, in the 4 years we ahve been here there may be a couple or so new small plants growing.

and the best to you and yours for the upcoming seasons.

ta

len

rose,

had a storm bearing downon us i forgot to ask about the nicking and hot water trick.

as usual all help much appreciated.

good drop of rain and all could be in the 10mm range won't know 'till morn' and more coming! well a wet chrissy is booked this year.

ta

len

to the person who sent me an e/mail regarding 'c. brewsteri var brewsteri' seeds can you please contact me again, i thought the e/mail generated from this post and i now don't have your e/mail.

depending on how much seed you want yes i should be able to get plenty, whatever plenty equates to?

sorry about the mix up

len

mail len

lens garden page

g'day rose,

i'm not the greatest germinator out all i do is stick seeds into a medium if the grow the grow if they don't they don't, so will appreciate all help you can pass my way on this one.

the seeds in the pod look something like a flat sided peanut and about the same size as a small peanut. they are soft and firm spongey just like jersy-caramel sweets if you get what i mean? i'm used to seeds being fairly hard.

anyway so far i have stuck about a dozen seeds into some pots, and soak watered them to ensure the mix was properly wet to start with.

tia

len

len, sorry about the leave of absence
I don't know what to say about the consistency you describe, apart from doesn't seem right. I had my hands on some seeds in March and mislaid them, seem to remember they were hard, like the C. tomentellas

hot water: maybe just off the boil, I would leave in that water until the next day; or,
mechanical thinning of the hard outer coat: by rubbing a non-business part (away from the scar) on sandpaper, or gently pinching a piece out with nail clippers, then planting normally
Good luck
Rose

g'day rose,

ah'tis the season rose, i had a feeling you could be busy so patiently waited your response.

well all the seeds it would seem out of all the pods are that spongy leathery bendable quality. is there anyway we could find out if this is not supposed to be so then why is it so?? chuckle. the seeds look like a flat sided peanut without the red husk and the same colour except they aren't bent as a peanut is.

be good if i could get some going as i like the tree and ti would be something different in a suburban garden.

tia

len

I'll make some inquiries len.....in due course :)
Are there some more rattling-ripe pods you can access to compare?
Rose

thanks rose,

your help is appreciated, well every seed pod we have (4) has the same sort of seeds in them, there are plenty of seed pods on the trees but without checking each pod to see i can't figure how to figure if you get my drift.

another person sent me an e/m through the my page link in this forum, i just saw it was a garden web generated post and dumped it so i asked as you can see by my post and they came back to me rather off-handish, the bloke never asked what var' i had then in the second e/m said he doesn't want that one plus also in their 1st e/m they asked how many seeds i could get then came back and said they only wanted 4 seeds wow the bloke must be a horti' genius if he is going to go into bat with 4 lousy seeds, anyway the net's a funny place lots of good people and then there are the others.

i mean i only came here asking for help i didn't come here offering seeds i know nothing about.

tia happy new year will look for you post when your time permits.

len

Hi Gardenglen, you need to remove the spongy bit which will reveal a hard yellow seed. Soak overnight in water and then plant. They usually germinate fairly quickly. Jane

Glad you came along Jane :)

thank you jane, not taking anything away from you rose,

but hey starting to get it me luvly bev went an' broke open that leathery spongy bit and hey presto a hard yellowish seed inside hey presto.

anyway so now what happens we have planted seeds with this spongy leathery outer will they grow????

or should we plant some of the now obviuos seeds as well anyway?? oh and do we need to do any special tricks??

and if we want to preserve any of these seeds what must we do???

great group here hey luv yez all.

and a happy new year to all

len

Well, I suppose that in the wild they germinate after the pods and outer seed capsule breaks down but it takes a while. Some birds and possums could feed on the seeds but in my experience grubs are the best feeders! It is also possible the soft spongy cover may have a germination inhibitor so the seeds you have planted might not germinate. I would sow cleaned seed just in case. Jane

thanks jane,

i have been husking the little hard seeds so will plant them as well might as well leave the others as they are and see what happens.

if i collect the seeds as such how would it be best to store them for later use, i was thinking let them dry a bit then into a container in the fridge????

len

see what happens and I know you'll remember to tell, len

I'd forgotten all about the spongy "pill boxes" from tomentella. Old age...

A happy new year, all
Rose

Hi again, you just need to remove the spongy bit and store them in the fridge asap. Jane

ok jane,

that will be done, and how long will they remain viable. full of questions hey, just i rekon these trees should feature in gardens & as street trees more than some of the exotics we see.

and yes rose anything i find out i will pass on.

and once again a very happy new year to one and all.

len

Hi Len, we store them for a couple of years but I cannot give you an exact time frame. Yes, they are a lovely small tree and the flowers are gorgeous - much better than Durantas and the like many Councils favour!! If you wish to email me I can give you the contact for a very good botanist in our region. Jane

Jane, Id be interested in that contact also,
Thanks from Kris

I recently planted some seeds of Cassia sp. Lakefield from near Cooktown, it is a rare tree Cassia similar to C. queenslandica but with less leaflets.
Anyway, I poured boiling water over them and only 1 seed germinated. I have since planted more seeds and just soaked them, it seems that they germinate fine without boiling water, at least the more rainforestt species such as C.marksiana, sp. Paluma C.queenslandica and sp. Lakefield.
I havent tried C.tomentella or C.brewsteri from seed.
Cheers from Kris

ok i think one of the first seeds i planted encased in its husk has sprouted looks a little like a tomato seedling with the first leaves and the 3rd leaf looks fern like (very small yet), early days yet, haven't gotten around to planting the husked seeds yet today should be the day way too busy dealing with grass cutting etc.,.

len

ok 12 seeds planted 26/12/04 another 3 up now.

too easy well almost.

len

congrats len!

thanks rose,

this looks like the final tally 6 (from 12) seeds germinated for un-hulled/husked seeds, this could be due to that fact that there isn't always a seeds inside each husk, as i found when i husked all the seeds i have on hand. yet to plant those seeds. for me that's a better result than i commonly get from open pollinated seeds bought from a south east qld supplier.

ta

len