Free seeds

[johng]

Zelma Your Seeds are in my mail box waiting on the postman! Good luck with them.

[ptwat]

what is golden raintree?

I didn't know what they were until last year. I park on the second level (top) of my parking deck usually. I can see the middle of the tulip poplar and enjoy watching them as Spring arrives blooming will all the nectar. It is a big difference over looking up from below.
Anyway, after the tulip poplar flow stopped I noticed a tree beginning to bloom along about July (outside of Atlanta GA) during what is normally a dearth here. Wasps, bumblebees and other insects were all over it. I did not see any honeybees but and wondered whether they would like it or not. I started asking people around work what kind of tree it was and I think they thought I was crazy. No one new. After some research I figured out that it was a Golden Raintree and was supposedly brought from China by Thomas Jefferson. It resembles a Sourwood with bright yellow flowers is the best way I can describe it. It produces a seed pod that is very unique and has a seed about the size of a BB.
One of the local bee clubs meets at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and I figured that I could ask someone there about a Golden Raintree and whether it was good for honeybees. No one that I had access to knew either. But fortuitously when I was leaving the meeting via a different path I normally take, there was a forty foot Golden Raintree in full bloom. In this case it was covered with honeybees because there are a few hives on the property. That answered the question about whether bees like then or not. I got very interested since it could help plug a nectar flow hole here in GA. This past Fall I collected as many seeds as I could reach from the upper parking deck and collected about 100-150 seeds. From what I read they are like weeds in Florida and many people do not like them for that reason. I think someone might have gone around the area here and dropped a lot of seeds. We will see how easily they propagate from seeds.

[ptwat]

ptwat
i transplanted a sour wood from the woods in august last year! its doing good, just add some food pellets, add water with miracle grow, set your plant in fill with some good rich earth with a little 13-13-13, and it will do good up to zone 4. i have planted ,"last year", sour-wood, natches white crap myrtle, vitex, black locust, basswood, and sumac. all are doing good and well, but they are immature tree's so the seed will be a while coming. i think this is a great idea for a seed trade forum! hopefully i'll have some seed for ya'll in a few years!

I collected several "boughs" of flowers that fell from our sourwoods. I am not sure what size the seed is but what I was able to get from the flower/pods was about the size of a period. So I am not sure if they are the real seeds. It is not clear to me whether my bees are attracted to them or not because when they are blooming my bees seem to be going in the wrong direction.
What I would like to do is get different trees/shrubs/flower started to extend the nectar flow through the summer. When do the trees you mention above have their nectar flows?
I am also going to try sowing clover this year in my small fields around the house. I will probably just end up feeding the other beeks bees in the neighborhood .

[bradley39482]

ptwat
right now in south Mississippi, the wild plum,pear,red maple, pine, are in bloom or pollinating, if you will send me a pm with your address i will send you the university of GA plants list for bee's, and it gives the blooming time for these plants, not all plants are for bee's, such as the red clover or crimson clover, the bee's prefer dutch or white sweet clover. and sumac is a great end of the summer tree to plant, not the poison sumac, send me a pm of your e-mail address and i will send it to you in a word doc.

[johng]

Yes, Golden rain trees are a great nectar source and you are right they bloom late in the year when most other plants have stopped producing. You will have no problem getting them to grow from seed. As a matter of fact they can be a little invasive. They will come up in every flower bed you have around your house once the tree starts producing seeds. They will even come up in your gutters if they are not kept cleaned out.

[bradley39482]

hey ya'll
have asked troy about starting a forum on seed exchange, but have not heard anything back from him, do ya'll think that would be a good idea, instead of having to go all over the planting forum to look for a thread!

[ZZZnature]

Thank you, John! I'll be excited to get the Tupelo Tree seeds germinated. Have the containers ready to go!

[carbide]

Last year some painting contractors discovered a structural defect on the main support beams of a local river bridge that they were painting. As the bridge was shut down for a few weeks I was forced to take an alternate route that I rarely use. Going through a small town along the route I discovered a tree about 15 feet tall that was loaded with yellow flowers and as many honeybees as it could hold. I had never seen a tree like it before and immediately stopped to ask the property owner what variety of tree it was. The house was adandoned and it didn't appear that anybody had been in the place for a while.

Not wanting to be charged with trespassing, I left and went home to get on the internet to try to determine what type of tree it was. After some diligent searching I figured out that it is a golden rain tree. Unfortunately, the tree is too far away for my bees to be able to find it so about two weeks ago I went back to the property to see if anybody was now living in the house. The place is still empty so I didn't think that anyone would mind if I helped myself to some of the seeds that were still hanging in it's branches. I plan to plant about 50 of the seeds as soon as the ground thaws out enough to till the soil. I figure I should be able to grow quite a few of these trees on the 20 acres that I have around my house.

Who knows, maybe in a few years I'll actually be able to get a unique varietal honey from them.

[ptwat]

Just for full disclosure about the golden raintree- one of course is that it can be slightly invasive. The ones (~4-5) at my workplace are between 15 and 40 ft tall depending on the tree and put out a lot of seeds. I have not noticed any small seedlings growing around them but there is a landscaping crew that maintains the area.
The other slightly negative is that it attracts a beetle we call here a "stink bug" or a beetle like it. People recommend not planting close to buildings if you do not want the bug on your building. I have found them on my vehicle in the afternoon when I park close to the tree.

[bradley39482]

well i hope i can get the raintree to grow down here, can't be as bad as the chines tallow tree we have around here! wonder how long it takes them to be fruitful?

[kilocharlie]

Carbide- I'd love to obtain some of those Golden Rain tree seeds.

Anybody - does anyone have a line on Australian Flame Tree or Tarra tree seeds? I'd love to obtain those!

BTW, The bees show more enthusiasm on organ pipe cactus flower than any other flower I've ever seen. I found 17 different kinds of flying insects on the only flowers low enough to see up close. So many bees coming and going for so few flowers...must taste good to them.

[johng]

Mr. Sean and Mr. Robert your seeds are on the way.

[ptwat]

johng,

Anything special about propagating tupelo seeds? Do they need to be stratified?

[johng]

No, I just use those little peat pellets inside one of those small seed starter domes. They come up pretty easy.

[ptwat]

I have had several people ask how to propagate the golden raintree seeds. This is my first year attempting to propagate them. Since raintrees are supposedly very prolific I just used a "throw-down" technique of spreading seeds last fall in areas where I can see if they grow. So the seeds went through several freeze and thaw cycles to help break the tough cover. I am also trying to germinate them in one of the peat starter packs you can get at the home stores. I started them about a week ago and have not seen anything yet but will keep you informed.
Back in February of this year I noticed an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution from a column by Master Gardener Walter Reeves and I added it here.


2/24/2011
Walter Reeves

Q: I have been trying to reproduce a golden rain tree for 12 years. How do you get the seeds to germinate? –Jack Williamson, email
A: The key is harvesting and planting the seed when fresh. Sow them shallowly, an inch apart, in a protected location immediately after the pods drop in fall. If you haves some saved seed, try soaking them overnight in lukewarm water, then putting them in a plastic bag with slightly damp sphagnum moss. Put the bag in your refrigerator crisper drawer and make a note to check them in May. Any that have germinated can be planted then.

[ptwat]

I checked my raintree peat pots this evening and two plants are emerging. I planted them on 3/6 so it has been nine days for these first two to come up. Also of note, the ones that came up are from the group that I scored before planting.

[John C]

I believe Aborday.org offers goldenraintrees along with 8 other flowering trees for like 10 bucks if I remember correctly. Just thought I'd throw that out there

[ptwat]

No, I just use those little peat pellets inside one of those small seed starter domes. They come up pretty easy.

Johng,
I put the tupelo seeds in the little peat pots about a week and a half ago. I don't have any seedlings coming up yet but I do have a lot of what looks like white fungus growing above where the seeds are. Is that normal?

[johng]

yes, sometimes fungus will grow on the peat pellets before the seeds come up. Just give them a little more time. I have always had good luck getting them to come up.

[tsmullins]

I collected several "boughs" of flowers that fell from our sourwoods. I am not sure what size the seed is but what I was able to get from the flower/pods was about the size of a period. So I am not sure if they are the real seeds. It is not clear to me whether my bees are attracted to them or not because when they are blooming my bees seem to be going in the wrong direction.
What I would like to do is get different trees/shrubs/flower started to extend the nectar flow through the summer. When do the trees you mention above have their nectar flows?
I am also going to try sowing clover this year in my small fields around the house. I will probably just end up feeding the other beeks bees in the neighborhood .

Sourwoods are one of my favorite trees. They take a long time to get established after transplanting. My uncle and I moved six Sourwoods from a field to my yard. The trees ranged from 2' to 8' and they all survived, even some I really had my doubts about. In my experience it takes them two or three years to get established.

Shane