Hobby corner: Growing conifers from seeds

in #science6 years ago

Patience is a virtue, and life teaches you this well.

Growing trees from seed is not a hobby for those that lack patience. Some conifer seeds require 2-6 weeks in refrigeration and then 2-4 weeks to germinate. Keeping the soil moist, but not waterlogged and not letting it dry it out is key to letting them grow. I will share with you all some of my findings here in this post.

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Spruce seedlings coming to life. A new genetic code in each one.

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Pinus teocote seedling. A pine of Mexico that grows high in the mountains. Ocote in Spanish means pine tree.

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A giant sequoia seed awakens. If left to its own devices, it can grow to become the largest tree on earth. Given enough sunlight and rainfall this can become a seriously massive tree.

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A giant sequoia seedling begins showing its second set of leaves, the true leaves. It's exciting to see this unfold as the multiplicative force of more leaf area and more photosynthesis leads to more and more rapid growth.

I'll keep you updated on my experiments, and let me know if you have any questions or ideas in the comments.