Eucalyptus dalrympleana Seed Germination Advice

[PalmTreeDude]

I have around 50 Eucalyptus dalrympleana seeds that I had in the fridge cold stratifying for at least eight weeks now (maybe longer, I forgot exactly) in a damp paper towel. The seeds are super tiny. I was going to germinate these in a little closed container just on top of some moist soil. I heard they can germinate fine at tempatures around 65°F. Does anyone have any advice about germating these? I never germinated Eucalyptus seeds before. 

[Chester B]

I’ve done it with success. I put the seeds in damp community pots with fast draining soil  and then sprinkled with fine sand to cover them.  The pots were then covered to keep the moisture in.  8 weeks in the fridge and then brought out and germination wasn’t too long after that. The seedlings are tiny and kind of weak so keep a close eye on them and expect not all of them to make it. When you transplant them don’t disturb the roots they are very sensitive.  Also eucalyptus don’t do well in pots so get them in the ground early - growing them out in pots to a larger size is a detriment and can really set them back. 
 

The fastest growing one I have is perrinianna. Went from 1’ to over 25’ in less than 3 years. 

[PalmTreeDude]

On 1/2/2020 at 2:01 AM, Chester B said:

I’ve done it with success. I put the seeds in damp community pots with fast draining soil  and then sprinkled with fine sand to cover them.  The pots were then covered to keep the moisture in.  8 weeks in the fridge and then brought out and germination wasn’t too long after that. The seedlings are tiny and kind of weak so keep a close eye on them and expect not all of them to make it. When you transplant them don’t disturb the roots they are very sensitive.  Also eucalyptus don’t do well in pots so get them in the ground early - growing them out in pots to a larger size is a detriment and can really set them back. 
 

The fastest growing one I have is perrinianna. Went from 1’ to over 25’ in less than 3 years. 

Thank you, I actually just took mine out of the fridge and put them into a container. They were so small, I tried to get as many as I could on top of the soil. Then I sprinkled a super thin layer of sand over them. I'm not sure how old the seeds were when I got them, but I'm hoping I get at least one or two, but we'll see if I get any. 

Edited January 12, 2020 by PalmTreeDude

[Chester B]

Good luck.  If they sprout they are miniscule.  

Look up BocaJoe on Youtube.  He shows some Eucalyptus growing in Virginia.

[PalmTreeDude]

Yes! Looks like some of the seeds were good after all. These just popped up. 

Edited January 19, 2020 by PalmTreeDude

[Chester B]

Good job. They’re tiny alright. 

[Matthew92]

Nice- I actually sprouted my dalrympleanas without stratification. Sites I read said you can but you can get decent germination either way. 

RPS only gave me about 10 seeds each of the Eucalyptus species I ordered so I had only 2 that ended up making it to maturity. One mysteriously died after planting in ground, and the other I planted in ground but has been stunted and gets leaf fungus (back in Northwest FL).

Would definitely like to try growing them again, especially considering the success someone else here on PT has had growing a very healthy specimen in South Carolina. The dalrympleana is one of the best looking Eucalyptus species IMO.

[Chester B]

Some require stratification some don’t. I have five species in the ground and my favorite is the first one I got E pauciflora “niphophila”. Can’t beat neglecta for the smell though, they smell amazing when it’s hot or after a rain.