Re: Davidia involucrata (Dove Tree)

At 11:18 AM 5/6/1999 -0500, geoff wrote:

>i have had success with exceptionally hard resistant pits by grinding them
>to expose the inside meat just appearing through the shell, and then putting
>them straight into the soil, unsoaked;  soaking seems to allow the endosperm
>to swell too quickly and 'strangle' the germ, i surmise.    do you know the
>soil type in its original native habitat?     geoff
>                                                          gstanf@swbell.net

This is definitely worth a go, but I will try a belt sander.  The seeds are
like rocks and resist even a heavy file! <grin>  Christo has kindly sent me
abstracts that list some articles about propagation that I will also track
down.  Right now a speculation would be that the soil type would be
slightly acid and could be clay but that is only a loose guess based on my
general knowledge of the geology of the orogenic belt in Sichuan.  

Fred and Therese Stone who planted this tree both lived to be nearly a
hundred, but alas they never saw it bloom.  Maybe the anticipation
increased their longevity all the same ::smiles::  I delight in showing it
to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren who come round to visit. Up
to the end, they had an active gardening life and left Corvallis with a
treasure-trove of wonderful plants.

I will be sure to let you know how the continued propagation effort goes.  

Cheers,  Louise
Corvallis, Oregon
p*@peak.org

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