Brothers International LTD

"We specialize strictly in Paulownia, helping others who wish to start their own plantation"

Seed Germination Directions

Paulownia Seed Propagation

ABOUT SEED

Paulownia seeds are easy to germinate! Germination rate will be between 50 and 90%, averaging 80%! You must meet the following germination requirements:

Primary Requirements:

Light and warmth

Bare, weed-less, and loose soil ( best to use sphagnum peat )

Constant high moisture with high humidity ( best to let sphagnum set in shallow water)

Secondary requirements:

Protection, Protection, Protection! This is the same rule as “Location, Location, Location” in the real estate business. You must germinate indoors!

Fertilizers (just a little; too much will kill the seedlings).

SEED SELECTION

Best seed would be from a nursery seed tree that has excellent form and growth patterns. Your best seed always comes form two genetically superior parent trees, not one. Paulownia has perfect flowers, so most Paulownia self-pollinate, making the parent tree both the father and mother. That is not good from a genetic standpoint. To get genetically superior Paulownia seed, there would be a lot of labor involved in the pollination process to remove the male parts from one superior tree to pollinate another tree. I don’t know anyone currently doing this and should be looked into.

Second-best seed choice would come from China. The USA may have a narrow gene pool of Paulownia. Most of the trees here in the USA probably came from a few trees back in the 1800’s, whereas Asia would have the full range of genetic variance. Again, it would be best if the seed had two parents instead one. So, in nature, try to obtain seed where there are many paulownia trees clumped together.

The third choice would come from local seed where the trees have good form and growth patterns. Again, try to obtain seed where there are many paulownia trees clumped together.

How To Do It

There are many ways to start Paulownia from seed. This is one way. There is nothing new to this technique. It is just borrowed from many other people and modified to suit Paulownia.

You can do it in your home without a lot of money tied up in a greenhouse or nursery beds, and that you can raise over 1,000 small seedlings in a 6 square foot area. This makes it very nice! It gets you through the germination problems associated with Paulownia and to the point where the little trees want to grow.

Materials Needed:

(You can get most of this material at a greenhouse supply store.)

6 grains (or 4 teaspoonfuls) of Paulownia seed

2 flats to hold sphagnum peat

10-12 gallons of high grade sphagnum

4 clear plastic domes to go over the flats

1 tablespoon of instant potato flakes

4 – 48” cool-white fluorescent lights

4 – 48” daylight lights

4 plug trays (288 size 1" in size) or larger trays

Indoor environment (no sunlight) of 80 degrees F

Spray bottle & water

A glass quart jar

DIRECTIONS:

First:

Mix the seed with the instant potato flakes in a quart jar to dilute the seed for even spreading.

Second:

Put about 1.5 gallons of dry sphagnum into each flat. Make it level

Third:

Spread the seed/potato mix evenly on top of the sphagnum. Leave it on top! Do not mix into the sphagnum. Light on the seeds is required for germination! 700 to 1,000 foot-candles are best.

Fourth:

Fill 2 plastic domes with water and gently place the seeded flats on top of the water-filled domes. Allow the sphagnum to become completely water logged before removing the flat. (About 12 hrs.)

Fifth:

Remove the flat and pour out the remaining water from the dome. Place the dome over the top of the seeded flat. This will make a miniature green house with an excellent environment for germination.

Sixth:

Place the seeded dome flat about 10-14 inches under the 4-foot lights. Apply a water mist lightly ever day. Don't over water. You might deplete the nutrients in the peat.

(P. S. When mounting the lights, they should be very close together! They should occupy a space of about 1.5 x 4 feet.)

Seventh:

Leave the lights on 24 hours each day. Wait 3 weeks. Don't let the temperature get below 70 degrees F and not above 85 degrees.

Eighth:

At 3 weeks and with a sharp pencil, transfer the small seedlings into the 288 plug trays. These plug trays need to be filled and packed with wet, high-grade sphagnum before transferring. (At this point you can use any size pot you want, but a greenhouse will be required! This paper deals with home grown. )

Ninth:

To allow establishment, place a dome over each of the 4 trays for another week, then remove the domes for good. At this point, fertilizer can be used for the first time. Any earlier use would burn the young roots.

Tenth: Eight weeks after sowing, the seedlings will need to be “hardened”. This takes about 1 week of tapering off from their protected, inside environment and building them up to the harsh, outside environment.

Eleventh:

In 9 to 10 weeks, the seedlings will be ready to bed-plant or field-plant, or to be transferred into larger pots.