Bald Cypress & Chinese Elm seed propagation

dkalderis

Hi guys

just a few days ago I managed to get hold of some Bald Cypress and Chinese Elm seeds. The info I gathered mention vermiculite as the stratification medium but unfortunately I cannot find this where I live.
Will perlite do the job ?

Any other alternative methods for germinating the seeds ?
I live in Greece, the winter is relatively mild (temp not below 4-5 C).

best regards,
Dimitris

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Attila

Hi Dimitris,

Bald cypress and Chinese elm can grow in almost anything. The problem is something else: a fungus called Rhizoctonia which causes the so-called Damp-off. So you need a steril medium that is less prone to being infected by this fungus.
A mix of composted bark-mulch and perlite is a good one, you can also use pumice, or long-fibered sphagnum.

The bark and sphagnum are supposed to be less likely to accomodate the fungus. Important is good drainage and good aeration. A too warm, soggy environment with stagnant damp air invites trouble.

Some recommend sterilizing the soil with fungicide before the seed germinate. Others don't recommend it saying that fungicide kills beneficial fungi as well, thus killing potential competition for the harmful ones.

Regards,
Attila

Attila

A few more thoughts on this.

My experience is that if the surface of the medium stays wet, the danger is very high. Lately, I used a layer of small-sized bark mulch on top, about 2 cm deep. Between watering I always let the surface of the bark dry out to about 1cm deep, only then water again.

Vermiculite has never worked for me, it retains too much moisture. By the way, if you don't know what damp-off is, the stem of the seedling becomes brown at the soil level, and all of a suddent the seedling topples over, falls onto the soil. This happens very fast, from one day to the next. It's very frustrating.

TreeBay

You could substitute any clean (ideally sterile) well drained mix. Maybe vermiculite is known by another name there. It is an expanded mica. I'm sure you could substitute agricultural pumice or any generic seed mix you find at your garden center (probably a mixture of peat, sand and some type of volcanic)

Regards,

Matt

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timeless

Try sprinkling with talcum powder or any bath powder to control the damp-off disease.