Posted by Charles on August 22, 19100 at 18:06:34:
In Reply to: Re: Magnolia seeds posted by MEADOW VIEW on March 18, 19100 at 08:52:40:
Here are instructions I copied about growing magnolia trees from seeds. It was
on a web page entitled, "Evolution of a Magnolia Blossom". A nice web page to
look at. Anyway, hope this helps. :)
Seeds should be sown in a fresh state, and not allowed to dry out. Remove
the seeds just before the pod bursts open or immediately after. Remove
the red-orange coating. This can be done more easily if you soak them in
water for a few days. Squeeze out the hard, black seed and wash them in
dishwashing liquid to remove the oily coating that prevents them from
absorbing moisture.
Sow in a light compost of two parts peat, one part loam and one part sand.
Don't let the seeds dry out. They should germinate in about four weeks.
Pot them after about four weeks, making sure the roots don't dry out..
With one or two exceptions, the Magnolias are not well adapted for
planting in lime soils. They like deep, well-drained loam and benefit by a
little peat or compost placed about the roots at planting time. Soil should
be well aerated. Transplanting isn't advised because injury to large roots
generally leads to ill health. They shouldn't be planted very close
together. In order to blossom, they need to be planted where they can get
plenty of sunshine. From my observations, the sunny side of a magnolia has
many blossoms; the side shaded out by other trees seldom has a blossom.