Magnolia Seed Pods are Magnificent!
Magnolia Seed Pods can be used to decorate your interior tabletops, mantles, or wherever you want to put them. I think they are beautiful. You can make arrangements in vases with water that will last even longer.
Want to learn more about them?
It's Late September on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The magnolia trees are laden with Magnolia seed pods, decorating the branches like Christmas decorations. Brushed with a touch of crimson as they ripen, the pods themselves are uniquely beautiful.
They have grown and ripened since the petals of the blossoms fell off in May, looking like the above photo, preparing for Mother Nature's way of propagating her species.
Around here, with all of the squirrels scampering
like Tarzan from tree to tree, most pods don't make it to the ground
with any seeds. They love magnolia seeds! In fact, sometimes they
even munch on the magnolia blossoms in April and May, the proof of
which can be seen in a nearly-opened bud that has been gnawed
(The rare pod found on the ground with seeds) I seldom find a seed pod on the ground that has ripened to the stage of bursting open because the little squirrel creatures get to them and chew the seeds out before they fall. Under my big magnolia tree I find "nubbings" and scattered about, a few single, red seeds that they dropped. In the "woods" of our property, magnolia trees are always sprouting up, so I suppose a squirrel drops a seed and it falls into the proper conditions to germinate. Some seasons I find the red seeds scattered all over the ground under the magnolia tree. This happens when too many ripen on the tree at the same time, allowing them to burst open and fall to the ground. I consider them my "fallen rubies".
Most of these pods shown above have been chewed by the squirrels.
So, you ask, "How can I get seeds to plant?" If you pick one at the stage of the image above, or not even as open, in a few days it will pop open to display the crimson seeds.
The seeds are attached to the pods by a tiny silken thread, as shown in the above photo.
How to Propagate: Magnolias thrive in fairly rich, moist, peaty or sandy loam, but can grow satisfactorily in any garden soil if acidic fertilizer is added. Most magnolias are grown from seeds, or from cuttings, by grafting or by layering. Rare kinds are sometimes propagated by grafting in winter or spring in a greenhouse. The period between sowing of the seed and germination may be as long as 18 months. Magnolia Grandiflora trees grown from seed may take from 15 - 20 years to produce a blossom, while trees that are grafted bloom much sooner. Please keep in mind that trees grown from seed may not be exactly like the tree the seeds came from due to haphazard pollination. How to plant the seeds: Seeds should be sown in a fresh state, and not allowed to dry out. Remove the seeds just before the pod bursts open or immediately after. Remove the red-orange coating. This can be done very easily if you soak them in water for a few days. If, when put in water, the seeds float on the surface, they have gotten too old. Squeeze out the hard seed and wash them in dishwashing liquid to remove the oily coating that prevents them from absorbing moisture. Sow in a light compost of two parts peat, one part loam and one part sand. Don't let the seeds dry out. Cover with 1/2" of compost. Cover the tray or pot to maintain moisture and protect the seed. They should germinate in about four weeks. Pot them after about four weeks, making sure the roots don't dry out. In colder climates, you may not be able to plant them outside. Place the seeds in a bag containing a damp, sterile medium such as peat or grit, seal and label and put in the refrigerator at about 40 º. In February, sow the seeds under glass at temperatures of 64-68 º. With one or two exceptions, the Magnolias are not well adapted for planting in lime soils. They like deep, well-drained loam and benefit by a little peat or compost placed about the roots at planting time. Soil should be well aerated. Transplanting isn't advised because injury to large roots generally leads to ill health. They shouldn't be planted very close together. In order to blossom, they need to be planted where they can get plenty of sunshine. From my observations, the sunny side of a magnolia has many blossoms; the side shaded out by other trees seldom has a blossom. Please note that I get my "how to grow" information from books... I'm not a horticulturist, so I can't answer all of your questions. I've never had to plant seeds. Around my house, the seeds fall to the ground in the woods and I'm always finding new tree shoots. Guess I'm lucky, huh? So - don't write me for any more information about growing magnolias from seed. This is all that I know. |
More Seed Pod Photos
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