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Old 27-09-2006, 11:37 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

So - having brought 4 or 5 home, has anyone experience of sowing these, time
of germination, general preferences etc? For those who haven't seen them,
they're extraordinarily large - one description has them as the bowl of a
small pipe!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

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Old 28-09-2006, 12:48 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
So - having brought 4 or 5 home, has anyone experience of sowing these,
time
of germination, general preferences etc? For those who haven't seen them,
they're extraordinarily large - one description has them as the bowl of a
small pipe!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

I have not got a clue about this one nor would I like to hazard a guess.
Jungleseeds sell the seed and Peter is very obliging at answering email
enquiries about stuff like this.


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Old 28-09-2006, 10:12 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
So - having brought 4 or 5 home, has anyone experience of sowing these,

time
of germination, general preferences etc? For those who haven't seen them,
they're extraordinarily large - one description has them as the bowl of a
small pipe!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/


I thought eucalypt seed was fine and dust like inside the containers?
Normally it will disperse after fires but if you crush the seed to get it
out then the advice is to surface sow the debris and not bother to try and
remove the chaff except the big bits of case. I don't know whether that
applies to all but it has certainly been the case with all those I have
tried to date. I have now given up as although I get them to germinate and
grow, the wind soon has them over. I think they are great trees as the shade
is light and the smell is wonderful (and said to deter mossies!)

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and
Lapageria rosea


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Old 28-09-2006, 10:14 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

On 27/9/06 23:48, in article , "Rupert (W.Yorkshire)"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
So - having brought 4 or 5 home, has anyone experience of sowing these,
time
of germination, general preferences etc? For those who haven't seen them,
they're extraordinarily large - one description has them as the bowl of a
small pipe!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

I have not got a clue about this one nor would I like to hazard a guess.
Jungleseeds sell the seed and Peter is very obliging at answering email
enquiries about stuff like this.


Thanks Rupert. I'll drop him a line.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

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Old 28-09-2006, 10:28 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

This has been shifted out of Eucalyptus and is now Corymbia ficifolia.
Those pods contain quite a few seeds and provided they are sufficiently
ripe, will yield enough seed for a forest or two. Subjecting them to a
lot of heat for a very short period should persuade them to open.
Rather like many Eucalypts, the seed only tends to be released after a
fire, so throwing the pods into the fire for a few minutes or burning
them on the gas hob should do the trick. You could take a hammer to
them, but a lot of these things germinate far more readily if they have
been subject to heat and smoke.

This is a marginally hardy tree (only in the south west) that can
withstand temperatures to about minus 3C before any damage is incurred.
It does reasonably well in large pots, where its size will be
restrained. Flowering takes place after about 5 - 6 years, but there's
no guarantee for the colour - it could be white, pink or scarlet. Even
when out of flower, the leaves are very handsome, so once it has
reached a decent size it will look good regardless of flowers.



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Old 28-09-2006, 11:04 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

On 28/9/06 09:28, in article
, "DavePoole Torquay"
wrote:

This has been shifted out of Eucalyptus and is now Corymbia ficifolia.
Those pods contain quite a few seeds and provided they are sufficiently
ripe, will yield enough seed for a forest or two. Subjecting them to a
lot of heat for a very short period should persuade them to open.
Rather like many Eucalypts, the seed only tends to be released after a
fire, so throwing the pods into the fire for a few minutes or burning
them on the gas hob should do the trick. You could take a hammer to
them, but a lot of these things germinate far more readily if they have
been subject to heat and smoke.

This is a marginally hardy tree (only in the south west) that can
withstand temperatures to about minus 3C before any damage is incurred.
It does reasonably well in large pots, where its size will be
restrained. Flowering takes place after about 5 - 6 years, but there's
no guarantee for the colour - it could be white, pink or scarlet. Even
when out of flower, the leaves are very handsome, so once it has
reached a decent size it will look good regardless of flowers.

Very many thanks for all this, David - just what we needed! When you say
there's no guarantee as to colour, do you mean that because we picked up
seed from a red flowering tree, the flowers won't necessarily be red from
our seedlings?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

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Old 28-09-2006, 11:10 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

On 28/9/06 09:28, in article
, "DavePoole Torquay"
wrote:

This has been shifted out of Eucalyptus and is now Corymbia ficifolia.
Those pods contain quite a few seeds and provided they are sufficiently
ripe, will yield enough seed for a forest or two. Subjecting them to a
lot of heat for a very short period should persuade them to open.
Rather like many Eucalypts, the seed only tends to be released after a
fire, so throwing the pods into the fire for a few minutes or burning
them on the gas hob should do the trick. You could take a hammer to
them, but a lot of these things germinate far more readily if they have
been subject to heat and smoke.

This is a marginally hardy tree (only in the south west) that can
withstand temperatures to about minus 3C before any damage is incurred.
It does reasonably well in large pots, where its size will be
restrained. Flowering takes place after about 5 - 6 years, but there's
no guarantee for the colour - it could be white, pink or scarlet. Even
when out of flower, the leaves are very handsome, so once it has
reached a decent size it will look good regardless of flowers.


And following on from this - while we were in Madeira we saw the aftermath
of several forest fires, most/many of which involved Eucalyptus plantations
in the higher areas. The Eucalyptus were chosen for planting there because
there is high rainfall in Madeira and these trees both take up a lot of
water and help stabilise the ground. Their water absorption helps to
prevent vast quantities of rainwater racing down the hillsides to cause
damage or even just to swell the already existing and very beautiful
waterfalls!
However, as these trees had been severely damaged by fire, we wondered if
there would be nay hope of regeneration or whether, seeds having fallen
perhaps, there will now have to be a frantic thinning out of future baby
eucalypts!

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

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Old 28-09-2006, 11:56 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 28/9/06 09:28, in article
, "DavePoole Torquay"
wrote:

This has been shifted out of Eucalyptus and is now Corymbia ficifolia.
Those pods contain quite a few seeds and provided they are sufficiently
ripe, will yield enough seed for a forest or two. Subjecting them to a
lot of heat for a very short period should persuade them to open.
Rather like many Eucalypts, the seed only tends to be released after a
fire, so throwing the pods into the fire for a few minutes or burning
them on the gas hob should do the trick. You could take a hammer to
them, but a lot of these things germinate far more readily if they have
been subject to heat and smoke.

This is a marginally hardy tree (only in the south west) that can
withstand temperatures to about minus 3C before any damage is incurred.
It does reasonably well in large pots, where its size will be
restrained. Flowering takes place after about 5 - 6 years, but there's
no guarantee for the colour - it could be white, pink or scarlet. Even
when out of flower, the leaves are very handsome, so once it has
reached a decent size it will look good regardless of flowers.


And following on from this - while we were in Madeira we saw the aftermath
of several forest fires, most/many of which involved Eucalyptus

plantations
in the higher areas. The Eucalyptus were chosen for planting there

because
there is high rainfall in Madeira and these trees both take up a lot of
water and help stabilise the ground. Their water absorption helps to
prevent vast quantities of rainwater racing down the hillsides to cause
damage or even just to swell the already existing and very beautiful
waterfalls!
However, as these trees had been severely damaged by fire, we wondered if
there would be nay hope of regeneration or whether, seeds having fallen
perhaps, there will now have to be a frantic thinning out of future baby
eucalypts!

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

The Madeirans are wishing they had never planted them, they are not killed
by fire but will regrow from the lignotubers as well as forests of new
trees, and even the goats don't keep them down. But for those of us not used
to such large stands its a wonderful atmosphere walking through a eucalypt
forest the scent is wonderful

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and
Lapageria rosea



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Old 28-09-2006, 01:16 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

On 28/9/06 09:12, in article , "Charlie
Pridham" wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
So - having brought 4 or 5 home, has anyone experience of sowing these,

time
of germination, general preferences etc? For those who haven't seen them,
they're extraordinarily large - one description has them as the bowl of a
small pipe!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/


I thought eucalypt seed was fine and dust like inside the containers?
Normally it will disperse after fires but if you crush the seed to get it
out then the advice is to surface sow the debris and not bother to try and
remove the chaff except the big bits of case. I don't know whether that
applies to all but it has certainly been the case with all those I have
tried to date. I have now given up as although I get them to germinate and
grow, the wind soon has them over. I think they are great trees as the shade
is light and the smell is wonderful (and said to deter mossies!)


Thanks, Charlie. I don't think you've seen David Poole's post about this.
He refers to the need for fire, too - bit like the pesky Romneya!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

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Old 29-09-2006, 07:47 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

Sacha wrote:

Very many thanks for all this, David - just what we needed! When you say
there's no guarantee as to colour, do you mean that because we picked up
seed from a red flowering tree, the flowers won't necessarily be red from
our seedlings?


Yes. Flower colour is naturally variable and a red/orange flowered
parent will not necessarily yield 100% same coloured progeny, although
in *pure* ficifolia you might reasonably expect a 'selfed' red, cream
or pink to produce similar seedlings. Complications arise because
ficifolia readily interbreeds with a very closely related, larger
growing species - C. calophylla. This has broader, even more handsome
leaves, darker coloured bark and flowers that are predominantly white
or pink. Whilst it is relatively easy to identify even non-flowering
plants of either species when compared side by side, hybrids between
the two are far more difficult.

Unfortunately, in cultivation there seems to be many of these hybrids
or trees with this lineage several generations back. As a result, a
tree that has 'selfed' from a parent that has 'selfed' from an original
ficifolia x calophylla can superficially appear to be ficifolia, but
produce seedlings that have a variety of colours. Add to this the
natural variability of ficifolia and the likelihood of a range of
colours is quite high.

To be honest, I'm sure you'll be delighted with the results whatever
the colour. A characteristic of both species is that they flower after
they have completed their growth for the year and that flowers are
carried in large, showy clusters well above the foliage. In most true
Eucalyptus, the flowers are borne singly or in small clusters within
the leaf axils and are often partially hidden by the leaves. Even a
cream coloured variant amongst your seedlings will have considerable
'wow' factor when in full flower.



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Old 30-09-2006, 07:43 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
"Sacha" wrote in message


So - having brought 4 or 5 home, has anyone experience of sowing

these,
time
of germination, general preferences etc? For those who haven't

seen them,
they're extraordinarily large - one description has them as the

bowl of a
small pipe!


I thought eucalypt seed was fine and dust like inside the

containers?
Normally it will disperse after fires but if you crush the seed to

get it
out


The easiest way to do this is to put it in a paper bag and put it in a
closed car on a hot day. The seed pods will crack and scatter the
seed into the bag. I've always used this method but sometimes by
mistake. I found an interesting tree with amazing seed heads in the
middle of the most God forsaken plain in inland NSW and dropped one of
the heads onto the vinyl that sits around the gear stick of our farm
truck. Now I've got to figure out hos to get up teh seeds that have
fallen out into the folds of vinyl.

I have now given up as although I get them to germinate and
grow, the wind soon has them over. I think they are great trees as

the shade
is light and the smell is wonderful (and said to deter mossies!)


Make sure you never give them any phosphate. Aus is deficient in
phosphate.


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Old 30-09-2006, 07:47 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

"Sacha" wrote in message

However, as these trees had been severely damaged by fire, we

wondered if
there would be nay hope of regeneration or whether, seeds having

fallen
perhaps, there will now have to be a frantic thinning out of future

baby
eucalypts!


Eucs are famed for their capacity to recover from fire. Very quickly
they sprout again from the truck and later from the branches, not all
branches but most of them. In a few short years, you'd never know
that a fire had been through, except for the blackened trunk. Mind
you they also go up like tinder boxes in a fire - don't plant any near
the house.


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Old 30-09-2006, 11:08 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

On 30/9/06 06:47, in article
, "Farm1"
please@askifyouwannaknow wrote:

"Sacha" wrote in message

However, as these trees had been severely damaged by fire, we

wondered if
there would be nay hope of regeneration or whether, seeds having

fallen
perhaps, there will now have to be a frantic thinning out of future

baby
eucalypts!


Eucs are famed for their capacity to recover from fire. Very quickly
they sprout again from the truck and later from the branches, not all
branches but most of them. In a few short years, you'd never know
that a fire had been through, except for the blackened trunk. Mind
you they also go up like tinder boxes in a fire - don't plant any near
the house.


I'm glad to hear they're likely to recover because really large areas were
blackened. And yes, we did think of how quickly and easily they must burn.
There were houses in the area and one had scorched earth right up to its
front porch. They must have been frantic, poor souls. We could see smoke
rising up in the hills from where we were staying down in Funchal and were
told that they've had about 3 forest fires this year simply due to intense
heat.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

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Old 30-09-2006, 12:32 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
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Default Eucalyptus ficifolia seeds

"Sacha" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote:


Eucs are famed for their capacity to recover from fire. Very

quickly
they sprout again from the truck and later from the branches, not

all
branches but most of them. In a few short years, you'd never know
that a fire had been through, except for the blackened trunk.

Mind
you they also go up like tinder boxes in a fire - don't plant any

near
the house.


I'm glad to hear they're likely to recover because really large

areas were
blackened. And yes, we did think of how quickly and easily they

must burn.

They actually go off like bombs because of the volatile oils in the
leaves and in high winds they can cause spot fires kms ahead of the
main fire front. In 2003, 500 houses burned to the ground in Canberra
(the Capital of Aus). These were houses in the suburbs.

There were houses in the area and one had scorched earth right up to

its
front porch. They must have been frantic, poor souls. We could see

smoke
rising up in the hills from where we were staying down in Funchal

and were
told that they've had about 3 forest fires this year simply due to

intense
heat.


They are very scary things. During the 2003 fires we had burned
leaves on our lawn and we are about 70 kms from where the fires were.
They also were found about 200 kms from where the fires were.

We have started fire preps (like cleaning out gutters etc) now with
summer coming


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