I watered every morning with a spray bottle on fine mist to help keep the seed moist. The pot was covered with a dome to help keep humidity in. The light dusting helps keep moisture in contact with the seed coat. This lot was surface sown on NAPA 8822 with a light dusting of big box store Miracle Grow over the top. There's no meristem left for it to grow leaves from That one in front is dead it just doesn't know it yet. You can also see the dead tissue on the one in front where it rotted before it could shed it's seed coat. You can see how the two in the background still haven't fully shed their seed coats. Here's a pick of a few of my seedlings planted a few weeks ago. Many of mine seem to die just after germination because they can't break that seed coat from the soil and lift it up or they rot right where they emerge from the seed coat. That can be a week or more depending on conditions. They carry the seed coat until the leaves expand enough to shed it off. I do know that if I plant them too deep they aren't strong enough to lift their heads above the surface and I get very low to zero seedlings. I've seen many places that claim they do not need light to germinate, but they germinate more reliably for me if the seeds do get some light: surface sow. Of those that germinate, I generally lose ~30% to early death: damp off, failure to shed the seed coat, my sub-standard level of care, etc. The last package I received from them claimed 77% viability. If the seed if fresh (<2 years from harvest) I usually get over 60% germination rate from their seed. I generally buy my seed from Sheffield's so there is some measure of expected viability before hand: Sheffield's puts that information on the packaging. Assuming they're viable.I find I have better germination rates if I soak the seed for 24-48 hours first then sow on the surface of something that retains a lot of moisture.like coconut coir of ground up sphagnum. In my experience, the 'low viability' seems to be a function of technique.

Wahoo! Anyone else with experience seeing these cones? Plan will be to soak them and sow outdoors protected for natural stratification. One is a deeper green foliage and the other is a lighter green almost yellow. I think I have about 50 seeds from each tree (intense winds have removed the rest recently, will be putz-ing around the yard the next few days). They have matured and I spent some time on the ladder removing them today. This is a first! I’ve read that they enjoy warm summers, which we certainly had in 2019 here in west Michigan.Īt any rate, I’m over the moon and was so elated to see them growing this spring. The larger tree in the ground now for ten years, and smaller for 4.

Neat! EDIT: this is especially satisfying for me since my partner and I are looking at a new house (bonsai garden design is most certainly part of the search process haha) and will likely move next year. Maybe Douglas fir still wins out for me aesthetically but man. These cones are the my new favorite - so delicate and interesting.

SO excited to report, for any lovers of metasequoia, that my 10 year old (15’ high) and 15 year old (25’ high) landscape dawn redwood have produced cones/seeds for the first time since I planted them.

Metasequoia camera movement