Planting floss silk tree seeds

[Roberta]

Hi everyone!

The floss silk trees in our neighborhood have burst their kapok pods, and we were able to gather up some kapok and seeds under one of the trees.

Anyone have advice as to how to plant the seeds?
Do I soak them first, or just plant them? Anyone know how deep?

Any help you can give is much appreciated....

thanks very much,
Roberta

 

[John Paul McMillin]

being in the east coast . is this tree the same as silk tree or Mimosa ( Albizia julibrissen )? If it is , Dirr says that acid scarification for 30 minutes permits germination, or you can take root cuttings in the spring and they will produce shoots . This tree is basically a weed here if it is even the tree you are talking about . JPM

 

[Roberta]

Floss silk tree

No, I don't believe it's the same. If you look up the floss silk tree or silk floss tree on the internet, you'll see what a strange tree it is.

We have mimosas that grow like weeds out here, so I think they're different. Thanks anyway!

Roberta

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Silk Floss it the one with the monstrus thorns on it , no?

 

[Roberta]

You got it! Monstrous thorns,huge seed pods with kapok in them - totally bizarre tree.

 

[linkin]

did you ever got around to planting?

 

[cemd76]

I have seeds too. Googled and found below info for silk tree seeds.

Found this on a different site :

Prepare a soil mixture by combining equal amounts of sand and potting soil.

Cut the drinking cups to about 3 inches tall and punch holes in the bottom for drainage. Fill the cups with the soil.

Obtain silk tree seeds from a seed pod of a parent tree and split open the pod to ensure that the seeds are free of damage or disease. Dispose of the empty pod. The seeds will be bean-like, brown and hard. Seeds also can be purchased at most garden centers or seed companies.

Place the seeds in almost boiling water in a bowl and submerge them in the water. Leave the seeds overnight to scarify and improve the chance of germination.

Plant the freshly treated seeds by placing one seed approximately 1 inch deep in each cup. Cover the seed with the soil mixture and water lightly. Repeat this for as many seeds as you want.

Place each cup into a medium-size, zip-top plastic bag and place it in warm place to encourage gernination. Keep the soil damp but not wet.

Check the silk tree seeds for signs of growth after about two or three weeks. After the seedlings have three to four leaves on them, transplant each seedling to a larger pot.



Things You Will Need

• Disposable drinking cups
• Medium-size zip-top plastic bags
• Potting soil
• Sand

hope this helps