On a recent visit to Strassbourg, I came across some pods of the honey
locust tree Gleditsia triacanthos which grows abundantly in the park near
the European institutions.

I prised some seeds out of the pods and have tried to get them to germinate.

After various freeze / thaw treatments I planted the seeds in compost and
waited ... ...

After a month or two I grew impatient and so dug out the seeds. None has
germinated. They were exactly as planted - just as hard and shiny.

I attempted to scrape one with a sharp knife - for hours with little impact
at all, though i did get down to a slightly paler shiny hard surface in
parts.

Growing impatient again, and this time thinking that the sweet pods would
expect to be eaten, I placed the seeds in a thermos flask with blood heat
water and some wine vinegar for 24 hours. The seed I scraped swelled up to
twice the size and I could prize off the remaining hush. The unscraped
others are completely unaffected by the treatment - just as shiny and hard
as ever.

The one seed has a yellowish inside layer and two outer layers of what look
like semi-transparent plastic which get a little gooey on the surface.
There is still no sign of germination.

What am I doing wrong? What am I to do?

Surely a plant as common in the USA as the honey locust should be relatively
easy to germinate by a natural means?

Has anyone got any experience of this intriguing but irritatingly obtuse
plant?

regards
Don

On 1/5/08 17:53, in article , "Don"
wrote:

On a recent visit to Strassbourg, I came across some pods of the honey
locust tree Gleditsia triacanthos which grows abundantly in the park near
the European institutions.

I prised some seeds out of the pods and have tried to get them to germinate.

After various freeze / thaw treatments I planted the seeds in compost and
waited ... ...

After a month or two I grew impatient and so dug out the seeds. None has
germinated. They were exactly as planted - just as hard and shiny.


Found this on a very useful site. It applies to Gleditsia sinensis but I
doubt it's hugely different.
"Propagation
Seed - pre-soak for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in a
greenhouse[78]. The seed should have swollen up, in which case it can be
sown, if it has not swollen then soak it for another 24 hours in warm water.
If this does not work then file away some of the seed coat but be careful
not to damage the embryo[78]. Further soaking should then cause the seed to
swell. One it has swollen, the seed should germinate within 2 - 4 weeks at
20°c. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out
into individual deep pots and plant them out into their permanent positions
in the summer. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first
few winters outdoors."

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'