Have you seen a Dawn Redwood sprout from seed?

cornfed

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If so, does it look like this? 🤞🤞

(Sown on May 1st in 50-50 Peat & #1 Chicken Grit, misted twice daily, in greenhouse)

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cornfed

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Thank you! I wasn't expecting anything until Saturday at the earliest. The stuff has been in the greenhouse this whole time, so I don't know when a weed seed could've blown in there, but I suppose they are pretty tricky...

Wishful thinking. I am trying not to get my hopes up about them sprouting to avoid disappointment if/when they don't. But I really want to!
 

LittleDingus

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Here is one of my most recent crops from seed:


Dawn redwood should be planted very shallow. They "lift their heads" so to speak and will often carry the seed coat with them as they do so.

Your first picture is definitely not a redwood. They will look more like the second picture...though many species clone that look.
 

Lutonian

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Weeds offen come in the compost if it is lower grade or they can blow in. The redwood may still sprout they grow good from seed when the do sprout. I had around 40%-50% germination rate if I remember correctly. I had a bit of variation in new growth colour and coarseness of the leaves when grown from seed. There fun
 

cornfed

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Thank you for that share @LittleDingus. You joke about the veterans rolling their eyes, but noobs like me find progression threads super useful. I'm doing them for all my trees, more for my own notes than anything else. (Hopefully the vets will let me know if that is frowned upon).

I also got my seeds from sheffield's and also did not do any pretreatment and also only planted them a couple millimeters deep. I did not put a humidity cover over them, but it is pretty darn humid in that greenhouse. I should add one anyways.

But your thread has given me hope. I'll keep waiting...

I'm not too far away from you, are there any cool Bonsai nurseries or attractions in KC? My wife wants to go there this summer.
 

LittleDingus

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Thank you for that share @LittleDingus. You joke about the veterans rolling their eyes, but noobs like me find progression threads super useful. I'm doing them for all my trees, more for my own notes than anything else. (Hopefully the vets will let me know if that is frowned upon).

I also got my seeds from sheffield's and also did not do any pretreatment and also only planted them a couple millimeters deep. I did not put a humidity cover over them, but it is pretty darn humid in that greenhouse. I should add one anyways.

But your thread has given me hope. I'll keep waiting...

I'm not too far away from you, are there any cool Bonsai nurseries or attractions in KC? My wife wants to go there this summer.

Lol...the veterans rolling their eyes is because I'm doing everything "wrong" in that thread! Planted seed in the fall, growing entirely indoors, too small, etc, etc, etc...

It is more of a "for fun" thread though. I did basically the same exact thing two years earlier but in a slightly larger container and they're still fine despite my best efforts to kill them!

I've got a mixed planting of all three redwood species in the from seed competition too...

And I agree...lots of lesser experienced people, myself included, need more examples of what to expect...including the problems! Maybe especially the problems! It's one thing to say "I'm gonna let it grow for 5 years" but it's another thing to realize just how much space that takes up!!!

"A few millimeters" may be too deep. There are claims dawn redwood seed needs exposure to light to germinate. I'm not convinced yet...but...if too deep, it seems they aren't strong enough to lift their heads out of the media. My best yields have come when they are just barely covered by a light dusting. Humidity is important then so the roots don't dry out once they emerge. Soil temps greater than 70F seems to help quite a bit too. Careful with those observations though...they are mostly anecdotal. I don't tend to keep logs on my hobbies...did too much of that during career number 1!

I'm not aware of any good bonsai nurseries in KC :( It could be I just don't run in those circles though. If anyone knows one, let us know :D
 

cornfed

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And it was too deep.

Today I lightly scraped the soil back to get a peek at the seeds. I'm thrilled to report that I found sprouting seeds in 17 of 18 containers!

I did my best not to disturb them, I just got the grit off the top of them and dusted them with crumbled peat. Like a half mm this time.

In one container I found the seed a good 3/4 inch deep. I missed these guys every day, but ONE time I used the wand. I bet I washed some of the seeds down deeper with that action.

And a couple of them I accidentally entirely lifted out of the soil. I placed those back on the surface and dusted with peat like the others.

So hopefully I can share a more exciting photo in a couple days.

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Brad in GR

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Can confirm surface sowing is the best approach - about 50% germination rate for me this spring looks like.
Seems to be a sprout there to me! Good luck with them!
 

SevenOaks

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Concerning "pre-treatment" - does that mean stratification? Can I assume it is a waste of seed to put them into soil without two months in the refrigerator? I bought some seeds, inspired by a local specimen (grown tree in arboretum).
 

cornfed

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The directions didn't say to stratify. I planted right from this baggie.

I didn't cover to keep light out, but I did make the mistake of burying them too deep which probably kept some light out.

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SevenOaks

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The directions didn't say to stratify. I planted right from this baggie.

I didn't cover to keep light out, but I did make the mistake of burying them too deep which probably kept some light out.

Thanks, @cornfed - I'll make a trial with a few seeds without stratification, since I have some in the refrigerator too. We'll see what grows ... :)
 

cornfed

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Now THIS is more like it.

18 days since sowing.

When I have two or three guys growing together, should I move the spares to their own container or just let them grow together?

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LittleDingus

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I usually wait until they have extended some before separating them. If they are in an open mix you can use copious water...like a big bowl full...to further loosen the soil and detangle any roots that are entwined. I can usually get them separated and moved with 100% success easily enough.

It should be safe/easy enough until they are a few inches tall. After that, you may as well just leave them until spring and let them gain some movement by competing with each ;) Next spring you can cut off whatever is tangled to get them separated.
 

cornfed

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Help! I'm losing them! This basically happened over the past 24 hours.

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I recently moved them from the second shelf to the top shelf in the greenhouse.

I blame that? Or maybe it's been getting too hot in there yesterday and today?

They've been well misted. 2-3 times per day.

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cornfed

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I expect it has to do with my recent moving of them from the second to top shelf. Definitely more sun, probably more heat. I'm trying to remember when I moved them, 7 days ago maybe?

I just moved them back to the second shelf with that other seed starter above it, as it has been the entire time it germinated.

I counted 24 viable yesterday, 14 today... Let's see how many make it through the night.

😥
 

cornfed

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Feeling a little bit better today. Last night I took the tray out of the greenhouse entirely and moved it to the shady bench (full sun until noon, shade after). It has been overcast and drizzly and mild since then.

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Some of the survivors(?) have curled tips. A portent of misfortune? I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

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These guys look generally pretty good though.

This next part was probably inadvisable... but in the containers that had multiple seedlings growing together, I gently wiggled the weaker ones out and put them in the containers that had lost their seedlings. I used a skewer to poke a hole in the soil and gently lowered the root in. The roots were about an inch long or so. Hopefully the operation was so quick that the plant didn't notice.
 

Wulfskaar

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I just started my 4th try on these. This time I put them on top of some soil and then sprinkled a thin layer of fine sand over it. Then I put a humidity dome over it to keep it humid. These things are hard to grow!

I really hope yours make it. I'm looking forward to learning from your successes!
 
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