Seed Scarification: How to Scarify Seeds, Rare, unusual exotic hardy seeds for the garden

I have made a video on how to scarify hard coated seeds so they are easier to germinate, it involves sanding the seed coat and soaking the seed and placing it in moist paper towel

Buy Fresh Tropical Seed

How to to germinate seeds:

I have made a video on germinating rare tropical seed

Buy Fresh Tropical Seed

Smoke Seed Primer is ideal for treating seeds of Proteas, Leucospermums (pincushions), Leucadendrons, Ericas, Strelitzias, Helichrysums (everlastings), restios (Cape grasses), Lobelias, grasses, sedges, mesembs (vygies), Geleznowia, Hibbertia, Stirlingia, Verticordia, Actinostrobus, Pimelea, Lechenaultia Anigozanthus and many other species.

Many wildflower seeds are dormant and need very specific conditions for germination. The smoke seed primer solution contains a combination of natural substances that overcome dormancy and stimulate seed germination. The degree of germination success varies with the species, but on average, treated seeds give at least twice the number of seedlings that untreated seeds do.

For the average fynbos or protea seed that finds itself in the soil after a flowering season, it would be very difficult to grow successfully with dense fynbos shrubs around it. The fynbos would deprive it of the sun and the nutrients it needs to thrive. However, after a fire there is no shade and the soil is rich in nutrients - ideal conditions for a seedling. How would a seed know when it is safe to germinate because there has been a fire and and the rainy season is about to start? One cue would be getting soaked in smoky water as the first rains disolve the ash on the soil. In 1990 researchers realised that the chemicals in smoke from fynbos fires (and not just the heat of the fire) was responsible for breaking seed dormancy and stimulating germination.

Here I show How to smoke prime seed and make your own smoke primer and how to smoke prime seeds for free and you do not need "fynbos material" to make it as I did my own experiments and get high germination using hard wood branches and leaves and you don't need a smoke tent either.

Many people buy our seeds and have asked if we stock smoke primer discs, these can be expensive and not necessary. I show you how to mimic a bush fire and collect the essence using materials you already have or can find.

What you will need is quite simple:

1) Your seeds
2) A piece of metal screen small enough so the seeds do not fall through
3) A fire proof bowl or metal can don't use ceramic it can crack
4) Some branches and leaves
5) Free draining soil with extra grit (sterlised)
6) Your pots
7) Some water

1) Simply gather some dry branches and leaves, I used eucalyptus but you can use any seed, break these up and place in the can

2) Set the branches and leaves on fire, allow the flames to die down then blow them out so they smoulder

3) Place your seeds on the screen and hold the screen or suspend over the can / bowl but ensure you are NOT roasting the seeds. Subject them to the smoke for as long as possible. Remember it's not a BBQ and ensure your seeds do not fall through the screen

4) Extinguish the embers with water and allow to cool, this will be your smoke essence mixture.

5) Mix this with the soil and plant your seeds, all explained in the video

You might wish to keep your seed moist by making smoke prime water (repeat about procedure without smoking seeds, use cooled water if seeds dry out.

You can also mix ashes from a hard wood fire into the soil, DO NOT use ashes from a BBQ

I hope you enjoy the video, this works every time for smoke priming seeds such as protea and some of the South African species such as the tree gardenia, where indicated we will tell you in our germination instructions if seed needs to be smoke primed.

Making your own DIY smoke primer is great and will save you money

Praying Mantis Video: These mantids are excellent beneficial insects for the garden and ideal predators for getting caterpillars. If you don't like using pesticides and are into organic gardening and live somewhere warm try and introduce these into your garden just like I have.

This is my second video of the praying mantis that we found in a vine, I transported him into my garden to look for any insects and it looks like he has stayed. I have also posted the video of him in the day, a bit out of focus so I have included some close up detailed photo of this interesting creature.

They can be quite feisty and I have seen a praying mantis attack a cat that was meddling with it, believe it or not the praying mantis won!!

I have seen these praying mantis here in Africa in various sizes and they also fly around lights, they come in different colours as well, brown, red, white with red eyes (possible albino?) and various shades of grey and brown. They seem to be quite scarce and you really need to go looking for them but when you find them a very lucky great prize for the garden. They can tend to move quick and nip you if you grab them so take some care when it comes time to kidnap them, remember a praying mantis is for life just not Christmas!

Please ignore one of the locals singing or chanting in the background just my luck it's either the local kids screaming the guy who sings or the water pump when I start to video!!

Buy Fresh Tropical Seed For The Garden Greenhouse & Conservatory

Native to the Americas and the Caribbean, its the hardier species from North America which are of interest to most enthusiasts including me.

Depending on which book you read or website you access there are between 40 and 50 Yucca species and sub species native to the U.S.A. and Mexico.

Y.Glauca is one of the hardiest and it can be found growing as far north as Canada and from there south through the Great Plains into Texas.

It provides us with a useful demarcation line between the hardy and winter wet tolerant species to the east and south east and the hardy but less tolerant of winter wet species to the west and south west. (This conclusion is based on my experience.)

Yucca Gloriosa

At the present moment I have a small collection of 12 species, the majority of which Ive grown from seed.

Heres a breakdown of the plants Im growing now starting with the hardier types from the east/south east.

All of these are growing outdoors without any protection.

Y.Glauca, Y.Filamentosa Gold Sword, Y.Gloriosa, (and Y.Flaccida) are fully hardy and should come through the winter unscathed in most parts of the U.K.

Y.Aloifolia, Y.Gloriosa Variagata, these are also hardy but in my garden theyve suffered some minor leaf damage.

Y.Gloriosa itself is something of an enigma.

I've seen it described as a zone 7 plant on some websites and a zone 9 on others.

Whatever its zone is, my Y.Gloriosa pictured right, which Ive grown from an offset has turned out to be one of the hardiest plants Ive grown suffering no winter damage at all.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the Y.Gloriosa Ive grown from seed.

Now small plants, they have suffered some damage to the leaves.

Compared to some of the other's Im growing though, this has been minor.

Yucca BrevifoliaThe plants in this section are those Ive grown from seed.

All are native to the west and south west of the U.S.A. and Mexico.

Many find their home in one or more of the 4 great deserts that are found in this part of N.America, The Mohave, The Chihuahuan, The Sonora and The Great Basin Desert.

From these dry semi-arid areas of N.America, come most if not all of the more spectacular members of the Yucca clan.

Y.Brevifolia "The Joshua Tree" largest of all the Yuccas and a magnificent plant which really does grow to tree like proportions.

Native to the Mohave Desert, it has a National Park named in its honour.

Y.Whipplei from California (Baja) and Mexico is best known for its giant stem packed with flowers hence the popular name "Our Lords Candle".

Finally, from the Great Basin Desert comes the smallest of the Yuccas, Y.Nana.

Found in only one area of Southern Utah, Y.Nana was only discovered in 1985.

Described and named in 1998 it has been given species status but this in itself, has caused some disagreement among experts over its validity.

In between these examples, there are a host of other equally magnificent plants deserving of a place in anyones garden.

The names of the plants I'm growing now are listed below together with their U.S.D.A. zone rating.

Y.Baccata (5), Y.Brevifolia (7), Y.Carnerosana (8), Y.Elata (7), Y.Rigida (8), Y.Rostrata (8), Y.Torreyi (8).

If like me you're overwintering small plants outdoors, then I'd advise you to provide them with some form of cover to keep the worst of the elements at bay.

Failure to do so will almost certainly result in leaf damage and in severe cases, the loss of plants usually through the roots rotting.

This is due to the fact that these Yuccas come from areas where they have cold dry winters where as here in the U.K we have cold wet winters.

(How winter wet affects the large or specimen sized plants that are popular nowadays I don't know for the simple reason that I've never bought one.)

If you bring you're plants indoors to overwinter them, then beware of Red Spider Mite as this little beast can do considerable damage to young plants.

Cultivation

There's no great secret to growing Yuccas just two essentials, Sun and excellent drainage.

With some of the hardier species from the East/S.East you might get away with light shade and a slightly moister position.

However, I've found that species from the West/S.West aren't so accomodating and at least with me, they've proved to be very intolerant of excess moisture, even in the Summer.

With these latter species, if they're planted in positions where there's constant dampness, root problems, particularly rotting are an ever present danger and these are difficult, almost impossible things to cure.

Planting Out

A south to west facing position in well drained soil is o.k. for the eastern species, while the western species need as much sun as you can give them, a south facing spot being ideal.

If you live in a cold area, planting them against a south facing wall will help give them some protection from the worst of the elements as these areas tend to be a bit drier than the open garden.

As noted above, I've found that the ability of the soil to dry out quickly is critical for the western species and for those whose gardens have less than perfect drainage, I'd definitely recommend building raised beds.

There are those who advocate digging in piles of gravel to improve the drainage, but if like my garden clay makes up a large part of the soil, then to my mind you're simply wasting time, effort and money.

In Pots

Some of the eastern species make attractive pot/tub plants for the sunny patio with Y.Gloriosa variagata and various forms of Y.Filamentosa being popular.

I prefer plain clay pots for larger plants, only using plastic when Im growing plants from seed or offsets.

A straight mix of half and half J.Innes no2 or 3 is fine and if you want to add more gravel, then it wont do any harm.

If you use plastic or glazed pots, then increase the amount of drainage material.

Remember, unlike plain clays, plastic or glazed pots do not breathe so water takes far longer to evaporate, the compost must dry out quickly otherwise you could get problems

Buy Tropical Rare Seeds

The USDA zone system explained.

If youre new to growing exotics and youre looking through catalogues or browsing the web searching for prospective purchases, then youve probably noticed this "usda zone 8" included somewhere in the plant description.

This is the United States Department of Agriculture zone system and its use as an indicator of a plants temperature tolerance has become virtually universal amongst enthusiasts and specialist nurseries alike here in the U.K.

Note: The zones range from 1 which is the coldest to 11 the warmest.

The bulk of the U.K. mainland is zone 8, parts of the West and South West are zone 9 while a small area of central Northern England and the central Scottish Highlands are zone 7. (Central London is possibly zone 9 also.)

Although the zone system is a useful tool, it should be used with caution.

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that because a plant has a rating of say zone 6 then it will be hardy here in the U.K.

Unfortunately, this is not the case because as you will see, there are other factors to be considered as well as frost hardiness.

My thanks go to Mr.Ramon Jordan, Research Plant Pathologist at the U.S.National Arboretum for allowing me to publish this explanation of the zone system.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is based only on Temperature. It illustrates Zones based on "Average annual minimum temperature data". It does NOT take into consideration other environmental factors, such as those that you mention, including for example: snow, frost, day-length, days at a given temperature, rainfall, and altitude. It only shows "what is the average coldest temperature for a region". Plants listed with each region have been shown to be "hardy" at those average minimum temperatures. Having said that, every plant has a certain ability to adapt to a range of environments. Gardeners such as yourself have learned through experience where the great variety of landscape plants can (or can not) be grown. I hope this has been helpful.

Reading the above passage, its clear to see that theres far more to buying and growing exotics than just checking a plants zone rating to see if its hardy.

In the days when I used to log on to the various online forums, it was clear from the content of many of the posts that people new to growing exotics had bought plants simply on the strength of their zone rating.

As many of them had come to realize, this is a big mistake and can prove to be a very expensive one into the bargain.

Always do some research into your plants needs, because in the end it will pay dividends.

http://www.tropicalrareseeds.com/rss.xml