Catalpa bungei |
Native Region: China
Zone Range: 4-9
Preferred Climate: Full to semi sun; well draining acidic soils
Harvest Date: Monday 03 December, 2012
Seed count: 30-40
Description:
A rare hardy dwarf Catalpa bearing lovely sweetly fragrant pink-rose orchid like flowers. Lilac-ish leaves and its umbrella form makes it a wonderful ornamental shade tree. Tolerant of pollution making it ideal as a street tree. Loved by many wild things...nectar seekers to gardeners alike. Grows to 9 m tall with an equal spread. Seed pods are incredibly thin...reminds me of yardlong beans. Considered a 'jeweled tree' in Chinese Buddhism.
Cultivation:
Soak seed 24 hours. Surface sow and mist well. Keep moist; using a clear plastic cover/dome/lid is a good idea as seed needs light to germinate. You might want to anchor the seed down to the surface with a very light dusting of coarse sand. Germinate at 20-25C. Should see sprouts in 3 weeks sooner. Since the root/radicle pore is located on one side of the seed, you will need to assist those whose roots are poking in the air...again keeping the humidity high via clear plastic cover will keep these roots alive (not dry out) until you are able to reorientate them towards the medium.
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