Dawn Redwoods at Kew Gardens

A few weeks ago, while in the UK, I made sure to stop by at Kew Gardens to see their redwoods. They really had an impressive collection of sequoias, coast, and dawn redwoods. Unfortunately, I forgot to see their wollemi pine.

Seeds Tough to Sprout

Very good news (for a tree nut)...

Of my two-hundred dawn redwood seeds, I finally had a second germination in one of my seed/soil baggies. In a few days, when some green starts to show, I'll plant the new sprout and upload a photo. In the meantime, I'm not going to wait around for another -- I just ordered five-hundred more seeds from a different vendor to try a shotgun approach :) Even with a low germination rate, I should get a few sprouts out of the bunch. And, just for one last insurance policy, I'm also going to try to get some seeds from a local arboretum.

I don't know why these seeds are so stubborn...

Seed #1 - A Very Sad Sprout (But Getting Better)

About a week ago, I left my only dawn redwood seedling out on my deck... Just long enough for my dog to eat it. After a cooling off period, I put the tree back under the lights and hoped for the best. About half of the stem and one seed leaf seemed intact - a few secondary leaves were barely hanging on.

I guess I was too upset to snap a photo at the time, but after that week long rehab, this little guy is starting to grow a new shoot! The last remaining seed leaf is starting to wither, but it looks like the new shoot is already off to a good start. Once the dying part of the stem falls off, this shoot should take over, and all should be well.

Seed #1 - Transplant

This seedling was ready for transplanting, so I moved it into a six-inch pot with a well-drained soil mixture, consisting of:

• cheap potting soil
• vermiculite
• perlite
  
• sphagnum peat moss
• sand (just a bit)

Seed #1 - First Branches

Three weeks ago, I setup some grow lights for my seedlings. Since then, my only dawn redwood seedling has doubled in size, and has grown its first two branches. This is very good news - once seedlings make it this far, they have a much better chance of surviving.

Changing Baggie Method

I'm not having terrific success with the coffee filter baggie method, so I'm switching to the soil baggie method. I split my seeds out into two sealed plastic bags with a few tablespoons of seed starting soil (peat moss mixture) in each. I moistened the soil by spraying spring water on it, and put the baggies on a shelf. With any luck, the seeds will start germinating in the bags. When they do, I'll wait until they're showing off their cotyledons, then move them into their own cel-packs.

At first, I thought that my low germination rate was due to my seeds needing help breaking out of dormancy, but then I read that dawn redwoods don't need to be cold stratified. So, I'm hoping for better success with the soil baggies.

Seed #1 - Sprout Opened, Secondary Leaves Showing

This is still my only dawn redwood, but it's doing very well. The sprout was quick to open, and is now showing off the start of its secondary leaves.

Seed #1 - Sprout

I still can't quite make out how many cotyledons there are. It looks like at least one of these two is a grouping of two, just waiting to separate.

Seed #1 - Sprout

This is still my only dawn redwood to sprout, so I'm still very excited to see it progress. The cotyledons are starting to show - it'll be interesting to see how many it has.

Seed #1 - Sprouting Up From Soil

I've had such poor luck with my one-hundred dawn redwood seeds. So far, (and it's still early), only one of my them has germinated. After less than a week in the soil, that seed found its way out. This is a very good day... I hope this little guy knows how much I'm counting on him!

Seed #1 - Radicle

Of my one hundred dawn redwood seeds, this is the first to germinate. These seeds are so tiny and fragile, I was surprised to see any sprout roots. This is very exciting - unfortunately, I'm not seeing anywhere near the immediate success that I've seen with my coast redwood seeds.

Starting Out...

These are the smallest, most fragile seeds I've worked with so far. Next to this one is a toothpick for size comparison. I'm not expecting stellar germination rate from these little guys, but who knows.

To start them off, I soaked them overnight in aerated spring water. The next morning, I placed all one hundred of my seeds in damp, unbleached coffee filters in airtight baggies with just a little bit of air inside. This is known as the 'baggie method', and has worked well for me with my giant sequoias and coast redwoods so far.

I will keep them in the dark, checking them once a week for germination. Once they sprout their embryonic root, or radicle, I'll plant them in moist seed-starting soil in covered cel-packs. When they sprout, I'll remove them from the mini-greenhouse, giving them only indirect sunlight.