Germinating now?

[Tony Willis]

After 30 years of trying......

wow it look as as though it is romping away!

[Onion]

After 30 years of trying......

Giles,

I knew the frustration not have any germination by the seeds of Davidia. In the nursery we have a species of about ca. 120 years. A lot of fruits every year, but germination only 1 or 2 from more than 100 seeds. Often only one species are growing in arboreta or botanical garden. But when you can grow 2 or 3 species together the germination is excellent.
From the last sowing (about 100 seeds) more than 40 germinate.

[johnw]

After 30 years of trying......

Giles,

I knew the frustration not have any germination by the seeds of Davidia. In the nursery we have a species of about ca. 120 years. A lot of fruits every year, but germination only 1 or 2 from more than 100 seeds. Often only one species are growing in arboreta or botanical garden. But when you can grow 2 or 3 species together the germination is excellent.
From the last sowing (about 100 seeds) more than 40 germinate.

I have heard it said that the whole pod of Davidia should be sown and that only one will come up if the seed is viable. Is that true?

var. vilmoriniana is decidedly hardier than straight d. involucrata.

johnw

[Onion]

John,

we do it in an other way. The hole fruit in a pot of hot water. One/two weeks later the fleshy "cover" can be removed.
Than put the fruits in a plastic bag with peat or other potting soil. The bag go in the freezer, till spring, when the seeds will be sown. Peat/potting soil not wet.
Germination can take 3 years.

[Onion]

var. vilmoriniana is decidedly hardier than straight d. involucrata.

johnw
[/quote]

Davidia involucrata var. vilmoriana is the introducing from french nursery Vilmorin. Seeds collected by a french missionary.
Davidia involucrata I think is a introducing from a English nursery some years later. Maybe via Arnold Arboretum.
But I have no knowledge about the hardiness of the Davidia. Hardiness Zone 6 ( -10 to 0 Fahrenheit; -20 to 17,5 C) is possible.

[TheOnionMan]

Davidia involucrata var. vilmoriana is the introducing from french nursery Vilmorin. Seeds collected by a french missionary.
Davidia involucrata I think is a introducing from a English nursery some years later. Maybe via Arnold Arboretum.
But I have no knowledge about the hardiness of the Davidia. Hardiness Zone 6 ( -10 to 0 Fahrenheit; -20 to 17,5 C) is possible.

The plant grown at Arnold Arboretum is var. vilmoriniana (and so are the two specimens at Mt. Auburn Cemetery), and is hardy at least Zone 6, but others say Zone 5, which I would agree with.  I had a nice plant that I bought mailorder, it sat in a pot for 4 years outside, merely plunged into pine bark mulch, it it didn't show the slightest bit of winter damage.  I lost it one summer during a long dry period when I didn't water it enough.

Davidia seed recommendations and information
http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1638

Here's a nursery (wholesale) that sells 10 varieties of Davidia!  Useful as a reference just to see these variable forms, I never knew they existed until recently:
Buchholz Nursery
http://www.buchholznursery.com./

http://www.buchholznursery.com./plant_library_search.html?text=index:D&page=4
http://www.buchholznursery.com./plant_library_search.html?text=index:D&page=5

[johnw]

Uli

Yes D. involucrata was collected by Wilson for the Arnold Arboretum who sent it on to England.  After all the trouble he took to collect it it turned out his was the tender one (in eastern North America at least) and the one collected by the Vilmorin Nursery  - several years before and unbeknownst to Wilson after walking how many kilometres? - was the hardier one.  D. i. var. vilmoriniana is thoroughly hardy in Boston but the other can freeze to the ground in a cold winter, this according to the propagator there Jack Alexander.  How tragically ironic.  I'd say -20 to 17,5 C is more to var. vilmoriniana's liking at least here.

Mark  - Good grief what a selection of Davidias. Haven't been to B&B for a dog's age.  Somehow I think a variegated D. might detract from the flowers don't you think. It would be interesting to know if any are var. vilmoriniana.  They don't care much about such matters out west as they're all hardy for them.

Jack A. sent us a small whip of Vilmorin's back in the 80's.  I air-layered several plants from it. Mother was planted in the Halifax Public Gardens and it grew like mad but the idiots whipper-snippered it to death.  I was as mad as h....  The other went to the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens as a big plant but it died after a very dry summer.  It took awhile to find the true Vilmorin once again and they are fine so far.  The leaves are glabrous on the Vilmorin var.   Dick Jaynes at Broken Arrow sells the real mccoy.

I understand "Sonoma' has proven to be a tender one unfortunately, even in the mid-Atlantic States.

How long do they take to flower in Mass.? Do you grow the pink one?  

johnw

[TheOnionMan]

How long do they take to flower in Mass.? Do you grow the pink one?  

johnw

There's a pink one???... "get out of here!"    I've never heard of a pink one.  I only know by anectdotal internet info that these take up to 15 years to flower from seed. 

It should be noted, that the flowers have a decidely unpleasant scent, and the tree even in full flower, is somehow not overly conspicuous... the oversized white flowers not white-enough, or they are presented alongside large light green foliage that blend and compete for visual attention, do not create as much of a floral spectacle as one might think, although I still think it is a remarkable and outstanding ornamental tree.  Far showier in the landscape are familiar flowering trees like Cornus florida or C. kousa.

[Lori S.]

Nope, I have @ 14 trays of seedlings  

Whoa!! So how many species/varieties is that?  Sounds like you must have plans to put in more rock gardens or beds too!    

[Lesley Cox]

(Am I the only one with a collection of hundreds of plastic alpine (and other) pots?  )

Heavens no! If I sow about 4-500 pots of seed per year, pot on some and leave the ungerminated ones for 1 or 2 or more years, the numbers climb quickly to astronomical figures. Surely this is one of the distinguishing characteristics of true plant lovers, this accumulation of assorted pots.

[Lesley Cox]

I'm taking it with me when I go !!!

The leaves could get badly singed.

[Lars S]

There are at least two D var. vilmorina growing happily in the Gothenburg botanical garden. I got seeds from there this winter that have been cold stratified and I hope for the best.
There is actually one pretty large Davidida growing here in Stockholm as well. It is a fascinating sight when it flowers in the beginning of summer. It don´t know where it came from though, it must be rather old.

[Onion]

How long do they take to flower in Mass.? Do you grow the pink one?  

johnw

John,

a pink one  . Do you have some informations ?

We need 15-20 years to the first flower, normally. But we have a seedling, that "flowers" after 7-8 year without the white bracets. Two years later the tree flowers normally.

[johnw]

There is actually one pretty large Davidida growing here in Stockholm as well. It is a fascinating sight when it flowers in the beginning of summer. It don´t know where it came from though, it must be rather old.

That is very interesting Lars.  I think Stockholm is a bit colder than here biut perhaps the cold is not as persistent.

Might be a good idea to collect seeds from it sometime.

johnw

[johnw]

There's a pink one???... "get out of here!"  

Well it's really more red than pink. It's called 'Unglaublich', probably patented.

johnw