Growing Paulownia From Seed

[@thebonsaiprojectkernow]

Oh the takeaway tub,a vital tool for us gardeners lol I'm going to attempt to grow these in Cornwall...

[@DropTheMyc]

Hello from prison island (Australia)🇦🇺 Thanks for the great info mate. Best Paulownia video I've watched 👍🏼

[@dustinfisher29]

I am excited if I can get my batch to grow up this year. I will raise them up and plant them out in our street.

[@Gardeningat58N]

From seed they tend to grow to only about a foot tall in thier first summer, but then they'll really take off in the second year and can jump up to several meters in height.

[@ponyrang]

Wow... !!! My best friend, Great Good... !!! I wish you every day of your development.

[@johnterrance3075]

Firstly, I'd like to Thank You for posting this video. I'm growing these from seed. I laid the seeds out on April 17/2024 & I took a quick peek on them today, and noticed a couple have already sprouted. A few questions: 1) When should I take them out of their germination tub & put them in planters? 2) When I put them in planters, I'm assuming I won't need the heating mat, is that correct? 3) How fast do these typically grow in their first year?

[@Gardeningat58N]

Thanks, if you use the correct germination conditions they really do germinate very fast. They are extremely small plants at first so wait a few weeks until they are big enough for you to transplant them, probably wait until their second set of leaves form. At this stage they will still be really small, but hopefully big enough that you can transplant them. Yeah they won't need a heat mat once you transplant them, its only important for getting them to germinate. In their first year they start off growing slowly, then speed up a lot once they get some decent sized leaves, but will then stop around mid to late summer and will only reach about a foot tall in their first year. In their second year things get very exciting, if you planted them in the ground in the early summer of their first year and allowed them to establish their roots they can grow from one foot tall in spring to over three meters tall by autumn. But for this very fast growth they need to be in the ground and need to be fed and watered well in their first and second year, after this their roots will be established and feeding and watering is not as important.

[@jerryhibbs7841]

I just started germinating the Pao Tong seeds 4 days ago I live in Mid West USA. Zone 5 with cold winters and hot summers mostly. Hope I can get it to grow.

[@Gardeningat58N]

They should grow very well in your climate, they do well with hot summers and can survive dry conditions once they get established. Just be careful they don't grow too well, they will need a lot of space. The only issue might be some frost damage to the young shoots, but the thicker parts of the tree and the roots should survive your frosts.

[@jerryhibbs7841]

@@Gardeningat58N can I put my seedlings in miracle grow potting soil? Right now they are germinating in south facing window with a room temp between 72F-74F

[@jerryhibbs7841]

Have you transplanted these into individual pots yet? When is a good time to move these. I am at this stage currently with 4 leaves in a small "shallow" plastic container.

[@Gardeningat58N]

Yes, they are currently in 9cm pots and some in 2L pots and around 30-40cm tall with hand sized leaves. I separated them at around the 4 to 8 leaf stage, expect some losses though as they don't like root disturbance and they also easily rot if the roots are too wet.

[@jeimyumanzor9993]

did you cover them, like dome? I have- possibly had some in a covered container and after a week uncovered them over night so try and get them adapted but this morning they look sad-dead.. :/

[@Gardeningat58N]

They were covered in the plastic container whilst they germinated, but once they were germinated I removed the cover, if too humid they will rot and go mouldy.

[@johnterrance3075]

I was just wondering; if I choose to grow these by seed & use soil blocks, could I simply sprinkle a bunch of them onto the top of each soil block, or would it cause the roots to struggle, as multiple seeds attempt to grow roots in each soil block?

[@Gardeningat58N]

The young seedlings will struggle to compete for space, so once germinated you would need to remove most of the seedlings so that only one remains per block.

[@DJ-uk5mm]

Do you have any seeds left? Can I buy some. I’m based in England

[@dakunssd]

Where were you in Germany for those photos? I study Landscaping Engineering and Management at Weihenstephan near Munich and we have a few coppiced P. tomentosa in the Perennial Garden here. In fact our Prof. for horticulture did a coppicing experiment on a few different ornamentals two years back. If you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods I'd be happy to give you a tour/arrange one with staff of the gardens and campus grounds.

[@Gardeningat58N]

It was in Berggarten Hannover, it's right next to another amazing garden of the Schloss Herrenhausen. The berggarten has at least two large coppiced Paulownia and also some pretty impressive bamboo groves. The Schloss Herrenhausen garden is very formal and a completely different style to the botanic garden, but has some huge potted palms and tree sized Brugmansia. A tour of the gardens in Weihenstephan would be interesting, I usually visit north Germany every few years as I have relatives there, although it will probably be a year or two until I can travel due to Covid.

[@bnovack172]

Thanks for the great info? What was your watering strategy? I have started a couple different ways, on top of soil like you, in a bowl of water. Germinated in both situations, but on top of the soil, only germination on one end of the tray? Do you need to keep them saturated so they don't dry out?

[@Gardeningat58N]

I made sure the compost was wet at all times and I kept the humidity at 100% by keeping the container covered with cling film. However the new seedlings hate wet roots, so once they germinated I just kept the compost damp and removed some of the cling film to reduce the humidity a little. Once growing in pots I tend to keep them damp, but avoid having the soil wet as they easily suffer if over watered.

[@jdee4956]

Can you do a video on grow lamps - because there are so many and I have absolutely no idea what is good or no good. Thank you.

[@Gardeningat58N]

I could do, but there are several youtube channels which have the correct testing equipment and make good videos about grow lamps so I probably will leave it to them. There are new grow lamps on the market almost every month and their quality varies hugely so its difficult to keep up to date with all the changes. The best thing to do is read reviews about specific grow lights and work out how many watts of power you need for your number of plants.

[@patrickmsendema4982]

Awesome. Please help where I can buy the seeds. A site link would also help...

[@flyandshy00]

I have been growing them for 3 weeks too. But mine look exactly the same as they were in first 2-3 days. No growth, only 2 leaves that are smaller than the ones you have and the trunk very thin, something is not right. I have tomentosa and shan tong. Both are he same. Yours look like have thick trunk and have small hairs. Mine look not the same. Shan tong all of them just dried up and withered. :(

[@Gardeningat58N]

They may need more warmth and sunlight, January is a very dark cold month, keep them on a warm sunny windowsill and use a grow light if you live somewhere with dark winters. They can be a little slow to get going at first as the first leaves are so small they can't capture much light, the growth becomes exponential once they start putting out new leaves. Watering is also difficult at this early stage as they can dry out very easily, but are also very susceptible to over watering.

[@ghaffarchaudry8971]

Do we have to make it airtight after planting the seed?

[@DJ-uk5mm]

Mine haven’t germinated. 21degrees in the room …. Could that be why

[@Gardeningat58N]

I would expect some germination at that temperature, make sure the seeds are on the surface of the compost and are receiving bright light, but make sure the pot is covered in clear plastic to make sure that they stay damp and don't dry out.

[@flyandshy00]

I see you bought them from my country Lithuania :D The ones I got are tomentosa and shan tong, tomentosa grows faster.

[@Gardeningat58N]

Yes that's where the seed merchant is based, I'm surprised your tomentosa grows better than the hybrid Shan tong, maybe tomentosa suits your climate better.

[@dimkish1]

I got 2 plants growing from seeds in the pots, they are about 25 cm now and 3 month till winter. It can get -15C here in Canada. What should I do with them for the winter? Plant in the ground and cut back? Or keep inside till spring? Thanks.

[@Gardeningat58N]

It depends on what species you are growing, most will be fine with that temperature as long as they are in the ground so that the roots are protected from the hardest of frosts. You will find that most species will loose the tips of their shoots even if they a are hardy species, but this isn't a problem as they will just reshoot from lower down. Your best planting in the ground, if it is paulownia tomentosa, but if its is Paulownia fortunei I would keep them somewhere away from the hardest freezes, but still cold and then plant in the ground next summer, after their first year they are more tolerant of frost.

[@dimkish1]

@@Gardeningat58N Thank you!

[@iranoveryourhead]

Hi I’ve planted two small paulownia about 30cms tall in my garden which were just coming into leaf but unfortunately an unexpected frost came and has damaged the small leaves. Do you know if they will push out more leave to replace the damaged ones. Thanks in advance.

[@GilaMonster971]

If it’s only 30cm tall cut it down to the ground before growing season. I’ll be 15’ by the end of the season.

[@ghaffarchaudry8971]

In what season should it be planted

[@amealnet2495]

When should fertilizer be used?

[@ghaffarchaudry8971]

and what should be the temperature

[@mamacooksfoods]

where can i purchase online the pauwlina seeds?..thank you..

[@Gardeningat58N]

You can buy them online from various seed catalogues, but they tend to be seed catalogues that sell rare or unusual seeds. Also amazon and ebay might have some, although the quality is probably better from online seed catalogues.

[@shazra2720]

SIR I WANT TO Purchase Hybrid PAUWLONIA Seeds ONLINE. I AM FROM WESTBENGAL INDIA. Guide ME PLEASE

[@amealnet2495]

E-bay

[@THR368]

Hello, I bought a year ago from Etsy these seeds but they didn’t come out.. where did you bought yours? And btw, the variety’s of yours looks amazing!

[@amealnet2495]

Are you using coco coir to start seeds?

why didnt you show how much to cover them ?

[@Gardeningat58N]

Because they shouldn't be covered, they need to be on the surface, they will only germinate well if exposed to light.

you said in the video that you were gonna cover them hehe@@Gardeningat58N

[@T_THE_TRAIN]

do you have a link to buy the seeds you have?

[@chno3157]

Where can I get these seeds? I live in USA

[@jamestomlin5525]

Where did you get this seeds? And by chance, do they ship over seas?

[@VioRoman]

🔴🤗🔵Hey! Where did you buy Pao Tong Z07 paulownia seeds??? 🔴☝️🌞🔵

[@jamestomlin5525]

Ebay

[@perry4252]

Hello, im growing the plant from seeds i have a glass terrarium with led lights that provide high source of light and temperature (total of 90W 6500K and around 25-27°C of terrarium temperature). It's about 1 week and the seeds seems to change color, like a green color around the seed (precisely on the flake that's around the seed) is it some progression or is it something bad?

[@TeoTeo99-]

How are you heating aquarium?

[@Mediamarked]

@@TeoTeo99- I'm guessing ambient warmth + LED. Most leds output some heat.

[@blooky102]

Hmm what I would do is cut it down until there's only 1 stem going up so that it grows nice and straight and as high as it can.

[@Gardeningat58N]

I did that this spring, I let it grow unpruned for two years to let its roots get established before cutting back.

[@richarddurham1503]

Trying in Galicia

[@Gardeningat58N]

Good luck, once established It should do really well in your climate as its warm and gets a good amount of rain.

[@PatriciaKelley-uq2yt]

I wanted to see the seed itself

[@Gardeningat58N]

You can see the seeds at 1:28

[@reeld99]

takes 7 min before the actual sowing takes place

[@TheLeontheking]

But there's interesting information before that.

[@mileslindley3760]

I cannot get them to grow at all, tried and tried.

[@valueforvalue76]

Do you mean you cannot get them to germinate? If so I can offer a couple of tips as I failed my first couple of tries as well.

[@mileslindley3760]

@@valueforvalue76 Tried putting them in water in sunlight, in several kinds of compost, I've tried in the poly tunnel, on the window ledge, bought a light and sat the tray on a heater mat with the light over it, put it in a chicken incubator, I've tried everything, nothing will work.

[@valueforvalue76]

@@mileslindley3760 First I'd be curious about the source of your seeds? I bought mine from ebay seller subculture9. In the instructions they gave (which I didn't follow) they recommended mixing equal parts seeds and potato flakes. The flakes are supposed to keep the seeds moist. As I said though I did not follow that. This is what I did: Get peet pellets whichever size you want. Water them thoroughly to get them to expand. Put extra water in the tray (not a whole lot just make sure they are completely saturated. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil. I use a grow light (be sure to get a good one, I bought a cheap one at first and it wouldn't grow anything.) keep the tray covered until you see seedlings sprouting. You might have to mist the seeds occasionally as they must be wet and have light to germinate. I've also read that the seeds benefit from being placed in the freezer a couple of weeks. I did not do this either, but it might have been done by the ebay seller. It can take these seeds up to 30 days to germinate so be patient. I also grew a whole tray of seeds in seed starter mix. Some of course sprouted before the others. I just mist the seeds that haven't sprouted every day. They are gradually all germinating.

[@mileslindley3760]

@@valueforvalue76 I've bought from two different places, I have come to the conclusion that they hate me. I bought some little plants over the winter, they have been in the polytunnel and have hardly grown at all this spring. I should just bung the whole damn lot in the shredder.

[@valueforvalue76]

@@mileslindley3760 It is my understanding that their first year they put considerable effort into their roots. Do you have them in containers, because if so, you likely want to put them into a bigger container so they can continue to establish their roots. The seedlings that I am working on growing currently, within a few days grew several inches of roots once I transplanted them to larger pots.

[@jitubaruah8069]

Can I purchase from u?

[@Gardeningat58N]

Sorry, but in my country I can't sell plants without an expensive licence.

[@ghaffarchaudry8971]

Hello

[@mindsurfer101101]

Halfway through your video and you're still just talkin in front of a Tupperware

[@tiamisrahi6226]

aaah talk so much, still no t covering important q

[@GeorgeRow]

Why? Why would you introduce something that has been known to be an invasive nuisance plant in other places? I live in a place with a climate like northern Scotland. On the wild hillsides near where I live we already have invasive rhododendron, Japanese knotweed, Himalayan Balsam and other invasive plants that fill whole valleys shading out every plant that was part of the balance of the local ecology. The knotweed seeds, for example, spread along streams and rivers germinating on the riverbanks and choking out everything else. When it gets to urban areas knotweed undermines foundations and makes homes unsellable. A wildlife park where I go hillwalking recruits teams of volunteers each year to summer camps where they spend weeks clearing invasive rhododendron. The organisers of those camps explain to their volunteers how a gardener brought that plant in because of its beautiful flowers and was at first pleased to discover that he had found a variety that thrived on the local soil not realising that in decades to come he would be cursed for his naivety. Do you want to be remembered as “the man who let loose Paulownia on Scotland”?

[@Gardeningat58N]

Paulownia is not an issue in the UK and its not on the invasive plant list, I wouldn't have decided to grow it if I thought it was on the invasive plant list or could potentially be a problem here. It can be invasive in warmer climates, but even with several degrees of global warming the climate here won't be warm enough for it to be invasive. There is a chance it could be invasive in south England in the future, but currently it doesn't seem to be an issue. I won't be allowing this plant to set seed and if I move house I will completely remove the tree along with its roots before I move house. They have had these trees growing for decades in Edinburgh botanic garden and allowed to set seed and there has been no issues. Paulownia tomentosa even has an AGM ( Award of garden merit) from the RHS. The hybrid variety I'm growing might be new to Scotland, but they are planting vast plantations with tens of thousands of these trees across South Europe and China. I think the EU will watch these plantations closely for any signs that they could escape and become invasive, but so far they seem to be planting many acres of them.

[@GeorgeRow]

@@Gardeningat58N The problem with consulting an “invasive plants” lists is that plants that have not yet escaped into the wild and become invasive are not listed. Looking at little seedling doesn’t necessarily inform you as to its future impact. In the 1960s the Cypress Leylandii was greeted as the wonder-hedge-plant. My father who was a horticulturist explained to me that it could grow several feet in a year and could provide a shelter screen faster than any other hedging plant. As a teenager I worked with him on Saturdays and in my school holidays doing landscaping jobs where we planted this wonder-plant around newly built houses. We carefully briefed the homeowner about regularly shaping and trimming their new hedge, but inevitably they or their successors in the house took their eyes off it. Fortunately leylandii does not spread seeds and become invasive but it is notorious for overshadowing neighbouring gardens, invading drains, undermining foundations and creating disputes between neighbours. In recent years I pass places where we did our landscaping work fifty years ago and shudder at the monstrous trees looming over neighbouring gardens that are going to cost thousands of pounds to safely fell.

[@GilaMonster971]

Only the tomentosa species is invasive. I have a P.elongata in my yard I planted 20 years ago. Many millions of seeds later I have only found 2 plants that grew in my yard....probably from a root of the original tree. I dug them up and put them in large pots on my deck. A lot more of my native trees (maple, Douglas fir, Alaska ceder) grew in my yard in those 20 years.

[@GilaMonster971]

@@Gardeningat58N if it’s not a P.tomatosa it won’t be invasive anywhere in the UK. Only the P.tomatosa is considered invasive. The others are hard to germinate from seed in nature and rarely roots send up shoots. A very easy tree to keep from spreading.

[@paulz6869]

I thought pao tong only can be done by root cuttings not by seed ?