Collecting Giant Sequoia SEEDS from Cones

[@GeorgeMaier]

Loving these videos! With regard to using heat to open the cones - this might help but studies have shown that exposure to 100C kills 100% of giant sequoia seeds, not sure what temp your device was running at. Worth keeping in mind that the cones can help protect the seeds themselves from more extreme heat for very short periods of time.

[@planterbanter]

Thanks George. Thanks for the info - I always appreciate your tips and insight. Yes I knew that there was some risk to seed viability when exposed to heat, but I am curious to see if any will germinate. The temp was 90C for most of the time and then 120C until the cones opened up, however, I opened the door every 2/3 mins. Lets see if any will grow. I have 2 green cones that I have stored, but will collect a lot more this week and will let them open up themselves (so that I have an enormous seed bank for the future). This spring I will be looking at the different germination success rate between: online purchased seeds, collected dried cones, collected green cones and collected green cones that have been heated.

[@ttaylor5911]

If you hang the plastic bag paper towel germinating sacks vertically from a hanger or something, the root will sprout down and the plant up... making them easier to plant in my experience. they also won't sprout through the paper towel as often risking tearing apart when you pull them out to plant.

[@planterbanter]

Awesome, thanks for the tips!

[@MrNosajwhitey]

Lucky to get to experiment with these

[@planterbanter]

Very lucky indeed.

[@maglev_]

been waiting for more sequoia vids lmao

[@planterbanter]

Haha thanks mate! Appreciate it. If you like sequoia videos, I posted one about 2 weeks ago if you haven't seen that too. I actually should have another sequoia video coming out in a week or so as well.

[@planterbanter]

New sequoia video out my friend (I know you’ve been waiting 😛)

[@maglev_]

@@planterbanter thanks for reminding me!!!

[@andrewclack4881]

Ive collected these cones here in England, brown and green ones. Ive had at least 10 germinate and have grown well this year. Some germinated last October! and survived. One thing I noticed was that when soaked the towel turned crimson which I didnt see on any you tube videos. I am currently trying coast and dawn redwoods plus bald cypress all beautiful trees.

[@planterbanter]

That’s awesome! You’ve got some awesome tree species you’re trying. You’ll have the best results if you germinate them start of spring :) good luck!

[@aliya-lawton]

So cool that you found some local giant sequoias!

[@planterbanter]

I know, I hit the jackpot 🤗🤗

[@TIMOTHYEET69420]

In my local area theres so many sequoias

[@planterbanter]

@@TIMOTHYEET69420 Amazing! Do you know how old and tall are?

[@TIMOTHYEET69420]

@@planterbanter no 2 of them i do they are about the same size as one planted in 1887 so they are probably about 140 years old and they are at least 110 feet tall the rest are just cuz im in oregon usa in the coast and willamate valley sequoias are all over the place cuz its damp and moist here

[@arborsamurai]

Love your whole vibe 😃

[@andrewthompson4351]

@planterbanter Hey there. I have about 8 giant sequoia cones and am trying to harvest the seeds. Is there any way you can offer more detail on how they come out of the cone? Or where they are in the cone? It was difficult to see the detail of how you harvested the seeds in the video, but I'm finding the scales on my cones to be very rigid. Any insights would be appreciated.

[@planterbanter]

Hi Andrew, if your cones are green, simply wait a few weeks and the lines within the cone will open or 'crack'. When they are green the cones are sealed shut. Within those openings, there will be an abundance of seeds. It is impossible to miss! Try tapping the cones on a hard surface like a plate, or pry open the cracks in the cones with a butter knife. If your cones are already dried (turned brown and hard) and opened up, and you don't see any seeds easily, then your cones are not viable/most of them have fallen out. Hope this helps.

[@andrewthompson4351]

@@planterbanter Thank you

[@emmanuelcasale7719]

Hi Lawrie, thank you for your videos, they are so useful. I live in France and just came back with a green cone from a giant sequoia in California (I also bought some seeds with a starters kit) . I was so amazed by it I had to try to make some grow here. As you already said I will try it when spring comes but I was wondering is there any way I should keep the seeds "safe". For now the cone is green but once its hard and dry how should I preserve them ? Thanks,

[@planterbanter]

@@emmanuelcasale7719 Hi Emmanuel! My pleasure. It's always great talking with other people that love trees! In the past, I have kept the cones indoors and let them dry out naturally (room temperatures will be fine). Once the seeds dry and you have extracted them from the cones, I would keep them in a cool dry place over the rest of your warm months. Once the cooler months begin, either keep them outside (if your area is cold) or in the refrigerator. I have used both methods and it has worked well for me. The seeds will stay viable until next spring! I hope this helps a little.

[@gayefanner731]

Happy New Year Lawrie 10k ! God bless you and yours and if it’s possible/suitable love n hugs to dear Sam and family who we miss and deeply grieve with 🙏✝️❤️‍🩹

[@planterbanter]

Happy New Year to you too :) Indeed we do grieve for Sam and his family, I hope he can bounce back in time.

[@testiboule5416]

Nice video, when you put the seeds that have germinated in the soil do you water only on the surface or do you water until the water falls from the bottom of the pot

[@planterbanter]

From the surface. I let the water drain all the way down into the pot and drain out. I give it a really good and gentle soak until the water drips out the bottom of the pots. then wait until the soil is only a tiny bit moist (not quite dry but close to it) and then I water again. The important thing is that the trees always have enough water but that they dont sit soaking water for long periods of time. As seedlings, they are at their weakest and most vulnerable state. This is when they need the most attention and care for survival. As they get older, they get stronger and can handle certain things that will kill them when they are young.

[@howtogrowdragonfruitplant7849]

Nice!

[@planterbanter]

Was very fun collecting giant sequoia seed for the first time! :)

[@angry9901]

How cool, I will be very interested how the seeds in the oven go. Makes me keen to have another go at propagation. Having no luck with cuttings.

[@planterbanter]

Thank you. We shall see how they go. I’ll have a video on giant sequoia cuttings out this week actually. I’ve never done giant sequoia cuttings, but have lots of experience with conifer cuttings so I am optimistic

[@angry9901]

I will watch what you do and copy that. Got to be better than my current efforts.😭

[@planterbanter]

@@angry9901 I have never actually taken giant sequoia cutting before these. We will say how they turn out. I have been successful with other conifers this way so we shall see how it goes. It is most certainly a far more difficult cutting than many species.

[@markspoerk6126]

I just collected some sequoia cones from the sierra nevada range in California, hoping to harvest seeds, and plant a few for my yard in Wisconsin. Having 18 cones, I didn't find a single seed. So bummed. Now I really want to buy some seeds, but I'm concerned about getting seeds that aren't viable, or aren't actually sequoia. Do you have any recommendations?

[@planterbanter]

Hi Mark, sorry for the slow response. Hmm that's weird. Were the cones you collected green or brown? If they were brown then they would have been dried out, which opens them up. They may have been old as it is usually very easy to see the seeds within the cones (usually you can just tap them if they are dried and open and a bunch will come out). If they were green and you waited for the cones to open up, and there were no seeds, then unfortunately the cones were not viable. Buying seeds online is very easy if you know how to look. I use Ebay or Etsay. The one trick is to look at the reviews. I always go with the sellers that have thousands of reviews (that way you know they are legit and not a scammer!). They will not send you the wrong seeds, it has never been the case for me. As for what the seeds look like, they are a sandy/browny/yellowy colour with a darker stripe down the centre of the seed. If you go onto google images and search it up, it will help you know what you are looking for. I hope this helps Mark. Good luck and remember, start germinating the seeds very late winter/early spring!

[@fiscolorado656]

😢 Dang, no seeds?!

[@jacklegminercanada3866]

So the green ones are good then, i have a bunch of dawn redwood cones but theyre all green

[@planterbanter]

Yep green is good! Just wait for them to dry out

[@jeffreyhutchings561]

Nice video. So, what was the verdict? Did the already dried out cones have better success than the green cones? I just collected some cones yesterday, both green and dried out brown cones.

[@planterbanter]

The verdict was the green cones work best! Pick them green and let them dry out on their own. Only 3/4 germinated from the oven and 0 from the dried cones from memory. Maybe 1. Lots from the collected green cones that air dried! That’s from memory. I have to go back and look at my notes. I’ve got 2 giant sequoia videos coming out in the next few months including planting 30x giant sequoia seedlings at a property (2-3 years old).

[@MasterChiefSha]

I would love an updated video. Wish i could communicate with you somehow about the coastal redwoods im growing.

[@planterbanter]

I’ll send through my KZbin email when I get home. It may be on my profile if not I’ll send it here.

[@planterbanter]

[e-mail]

[@thomasderond]

how did your experiment(from last year) of sowing giant sequoia in autumn go? did they survive and grew more than usual?

[@planterbanter]

Hello Thomas. They most certainly survived, although the growth was STUNTED! They probably grew about half the amount as what I would normally get in a growing season (from spring - autumn) even though they had 3 months extra growing time. It's almost as if if they have a growing clock each season and after that, they just stop growing until next spring. Maybe it was because they were all out of sync with the seasons, I'm not too sure. They didn't have that burst of growth you get when you do it in spring. I definitely recommend germinating at the right time haha! It was a good lesson not to fight nature's way. They survived and were left in my sister's care while I'm over here in Canada for a few years. She is very busy with work, young kids and a huge garden of her own... We will see if they survive the next few years with less attention than what I can give 😂My 2022 Canadian batch are about to start their second growing season and are going strong. I will give an update when they start to grow again and as you see from this video I have hundreds to germinate for 2023!!

[@normabreazile5500]

😃😃love it!

[@planterbanter]

Thanks for watching and sorry for the slow reply!!

[@TIMOTHYEET69420]

The way i open mine is with a fire i get the to about 250 dagrees than pull them out and smack them on the sement untill out of nowhere seeds start spewing out

[@planterbanter]

That sounds like a great technique! Do you germinate a lot of giant sequoia yourself?

[@TIMOTHYEET69420]

@@planterbanter yes i do lol i have some in the fridge rn but sadly i havent had any sprout cuz keeping the soil moist is so hard but i think i found a way

[@TIMOTHYEET69420]

​​​@@planterbanterits also so i can keep the pinecones cuz i like sequoia pinecones i have a collection and after a few years of giveing up iv started going back to my local giants and picking up the cones and getting my collection back

[@M.Aiman1234]

Wow can this be planted in a tropical country?

[@flyandshy00]

@@M.Aiman1234i think yes, California has it, it’s pretty hot in summer

[@realalexesparza]

I scavenged a few cones to try and germinate some seeds. I took the cone apart and found none. Are they located deep at the base of the "arms" of the cone? Normally, with pine cones, im used to seeing them easily. Not sure what im missing. I have a green cone im waiting for to dry. Maybe the seeds fell out of the one I tried to harvest?

[@planterbanter]

They usually have hundreds of seeds… you should be able to tap them and dozens fall out when they’re opened. I’d say they had already fell out. The green cone will open up and you should find lots of seeds in that cone. Let me know if you get some from that cone.

[@sandorivanyi]

Frosting or cooling? You wroted; - 11 C..This is frosting.

[@andrewbetrosian2784]

Have 5 as bonsai.

[@planterbanter]

That's awesome, how old are the trees?

[@andrewbetrosian2784]

@@planterbanter Very young for sequoia 6 years .

[@sandorivanyi]

I dont understand. Why necessary the 2-3 month relax in frigider for the seeds?

[@planterbanter]

Giant sequoia seeds need a cold period in order to germinate well. In their natural habitat they are exposed to cold temperatures during winter. Once it warms up, the snow melts and it triggers the seed into germination. Putting them into the fridge for a time, and then taking them out (and keeping them moist!!) imitates what they experience in nature and will allow for best germination rates.

[@gggggggggg-ms8lm]

Hey how did the seeds from this video germinate?

[@planterbanter]

I got decent germination success but only from the green cones that I let dry out on it’s only. Probably around 40 that lived (about maybe 60 germinated but around 20 didn’t make it past the first week or so). Only 3-4 germinated from the green comes in the oven and I don’t think I got any success from the dried cones, maybe 1 or so. I actually just went and planted 30 of my 2-3 YO sequoia and filmed it. I’m in the process of editing it so you’ll get to see some go in the ground!

[@gggggggggg-ms8lm]

@@planterbanter Thanks. I could only find dried brown cones today. Guess those won't germinate then. I'll watch your new video.

[@planterbanter]

You never know - may get a few! You can buy giant sequoia seeds cheap off Etsy and they work really well 👍🏽

[@sandorivanyi]

I buyed 50 Sequoia seeds from e bay..

[@planterbanter]

Good luck I hope they germinate well for you!

[@arsecheeks365]

Sequoia

[@OOOOO0KKKKKKKK]

been waiting for more sequoia vids lmao

[@planterbanter]

I’m editing one as we speak! Just planted a small grove of them 😎