On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 12:41:46 GMT, Andyd opined:

This was obviously a great year for Mountain Laurels. Now my large
Mountain Laurel bushes/trees are covered with green seed pods. I
would like to know when one should collect and plant them. Do you
wait until they get red/brown and hard? Do I wait until they fall?
If they get really hard, do I crack the shell before planting? I
would like to get a lot of Mountain Laurels started on my one-acre
lot, and at $6.88 a pop at Home Depot or Lowe's, it gets pretty
expensive. And the $6.88 only buys a one gallon plant, which means it
will be a looooooong time before they are of any size, and if I am on
that time-line, why not just go from seed for free (if I can).

Thanks.

andyd

This is what I did. First, you must wait till the pods become completely
hardened and ripe. This can take till the end of the summer ON the tree. When
they are fully dry and hard, crack them open to reveal the red seeds. They are
hard as a rock. I take sandpaper and scuff the shell coat up, carefully, trying
to avoid where the embryo is in the seed. I usually sand the seed on the side
to help avoid that problem.

I soak the seeds in warm water and it takes up to a month or two for the seeds
to swell. After they swell in the water, I continue changing the water every
day (this is very important) and when the seed literally splits and I can see
the cotyledon, I put the seed in moist potting mix (sterile medium) and continue
to keep it watered, not saturated.

The first year the plant sits there and virtually grows about 6 inches. Second
year it also sits quite still, as it is a very slow grower. Third year you can
expect to see a nice flush of growth, but inspect daily for bag worms and use
Bt-k powder to avoid problems with worms.

In about 15 years the plants will be about 6 feet tall and from then on get
larger over the years, but slowly. It's all worth it. Good luck.

Now, you can also go to the library and take out Jill Nokes book about
propagation, cultivation and care for Texas Native Plants.

Victoria


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