Monterey Cypress Seedlings - process from seed

[florencechan.ca]

Hi Folks!
I am mostly a lurker here. I tend to research more than I post, but a recent prod via message here on the forums has encouraged me to document the growth of my monterey cypress seedlings, which I have kept notes on since emergence last year.

I also figured I would discuss this from the point of view from someone living in Zone 5B. Since these are native to 8-10ish, it's been interesting to see whether I could make it work
Seedlings 1 month after sprouting, May 4 2019. These were all in a 1:1 mix of DE and pumice.



2 months. Steady growth ahead. IN total, ~30 seedlings came up in this 21-pot flat.


Late September, 2019. Steady growth, shortly after separating a handful of the more congested pots in to individual plantings, and sometimes replanting singles back in their original containers. Here, the tallest are around 8". 3-4 of the separated seedlings didn't maintain vigour, but I ended up selling off maybe 5-6 of the ones that did at a local show later in October.



Some light trunk styling for movement in November, done to maybe 5-6?


What remained were kept indoors in a cool room over winter. They still pushed a lot of growth and by February 2020, this was the result. By this time, I was thinking of potting a bunch together in one basket to start a forest.

 

[florencechan.ca]

More recently (IE: today):

Repots happened roughly 3 weeks ago. Good amount of roots developed so far. New mix is 1:1:1 DEumice:Fir bark.


It's interesting to see the difference even between seedlings a year on. The majority of what I've got have more of a bluish-tinge to them - more obvious maybe a week after putting them back outdoors and allowing them to experience night-time lows around 0-10C.

This one black sheep on the left has always been a bit longer in needle and more green, though, so I wonder if it is either a) not actually a H. microcarpa? or b) some sort of variant? All the branching and trunk properties are the same though.


If left to their own devices, they retain a strong apical dominance. Even if pruned maybe at 2/3 its height (as the one in the Burpee pot was in October), it does tend to send up a new shoot to get back where it would have been if left undisturbed. Branching below the chop definitely seems to become more dense though.


I also got around to potting up 9 in a nice big basket, just to see whether it would work out. No firm placement in mind as of yet - just want to get them all acclimated to each other in a sizable space, rootwise.


I have noticed a couple worrying spots on one or two of my trees and I'm not sure whether these swellings are just part of the whorling behaviour or something I should be taking more action to contain. I find they either swell at joint areas on the trunk or on branches where needles emerge, even if the surrounding foliage has not yet lignified.


And here is a pulled back shot of the separated trees to give some idea of scale.

 

[rollwithak]

This is really cool to see. Thanks so much for sharing. I have a lot of seeds that I took straight from Monterey, Ca this winter. Took a little while to germinate in the fridge, but now a lot of them are starting to germinate and I’m starting to wonder if it’s going to be too hot to start them outside. It was 98 today and we have 4 consecutive days next week that will hit 100+

I have some grow lights and humidifier in a room of my house, wondering if that would maybe be a safe place to start them?

 

[florencechan.ca]

This is really cool to see. Thanks so much for sharing. I have a lot of seeds that I took straight from Monterey, Ca this winter. Took a little while to germinate in the fridge, but now a lot of them are starting to germinate and I’m starting to wonder if it’s going to be too hot to start them outside. It was 98 today and we have 4 consecutive days next week that will hit 100+

I have some grow lights and humidifier in a room of my house, wondering if that would maybe be a safe place to start them?

Hmm. Hard to say. I suspect it may be dependant upon what substrate you've given them and whether you have a shaded space for them. A vented humidity dome will probably also be very important.

When I put mine out last year, I did lose a few before I could get my hands on a humidity dome and under a 40% shade cloth for at least a month. For that month, I watered sparingly, but kept the dome on, weighted down to ward off birds and chipmunks. I actually didn't end up supplementing that very much afterward; the dome kept in enough moisture to keep the substrate moist but not waterlogged, and keeping the flat in shade mitigated any tissue damage which direct sun would have caused. As far as the heat itself, I'd suggest that, as long as you are managing the water and light, you should have less to worry about. Gentle heat would probably even encourage your seedlings to grow faster. If you are really worried, perhaps keep a portion back under grow lights? I don't think you should keep them indoors year round though - when they are vigorous and acclimatized, they really like full sun as long as their feet don't dry out.

DE/Pumice was okay for me in my climate mostly because I work from home and regular supervision of water needs was possible for me. Part of my adding bark with this year's potting was to help individual trees retain a bit more moisture just in case.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[rollwithak]

Yeah that’s what I was planning on doing. Trying my hand in a partially shaded area outside and then seeing if I could get a batch started indoors under the lamps and heat mats with humidity domes and then move them out towards the end of summer. We shall see. I’ll try to remember to post progress pics.

 

[Potawatomi13]

A couple questions please to enlighten confusion. Are these a tree variety or shrub? Aren't tree Monterey Cypress scale foliage trees?

 

[Potawatomi13]

duplicate
!

 

[Loup97]

I wonder if you fertilize this kind of seedlings, and if you do, since wich developpement and with what kind of fertilizer ? I grow monterey seedlings too at this time.

 

[sorce]

worrying

Welcome to Crazy!

I don't know if these get cedar rust, looks like that, seems about the right time for it to pop, since ours did a week or so ago.

Keep an eye on it.

Sorce

 

[florencechan.ca]

A couple questions please to enlighten confusion. Are these a tree variety or shrub? Aren't tree Monterey Cypress scale foliage trees?

The seeds I ordered did not have any variety attached to them. Originally, I thought they were just plain Hesperocyparis macrocarpa, which are Monterey Cypress. But last night I was doing some research and saw New Zealand actually has more varieties than what are commonly available, *including* a bluish one, which seems to have more of a shrubbing habit? I'm not 100% sure what I have, other than the fact it's supposed to be H. macrocarpa.

And yes, eventually as they mature, they are supposed to go scaley.

 

[florencechan.ca]

Welcome to Crazy!

I don't know if these get cedar rust, looks like that, seems about the right time for it to pop, since ours did a week or so ago.

Keep an eye on it.

Sorce

Thanks, I'll do a bit more research. I do think those particular little nodules have been around for at least a couple months - they have not really grown since, but i have noticed some callusing elsewhere. Perhaps I should do some preemptive spraying for fungal issues.

 

[sorce]

Perhaps I should do some preemptive spraying for fungal issues.

I'm totally anti that. Plus, it won't cure rust.

Those half look like future buds, but size reference is rough.

Sorce

 

[florencechan.ca]

I'm totally anti that. Plus, it won't cure rust.

Those half look like future buds, but size reference is rough.

Sorce

So in lieu of this... quarantine? remove? I guess I'm not sure what the best course of action would be moving forward.

 

[sorce]

The more I look at it the more it looks like rust.

I think quarantine would be good, since you can keep observing it, and know for sure. Then also have a better understanding of it in the future.

Usually there is a distinct orange color, which looks dry, then it will get jelly like and ooze.

Many recent pics.

Everything under our 4-6 here..

Search results for query: Rust

www.bonsainut.com

Sorce

 

[rollwithak]

Hey Dude. I really like the way your soil mix looks. What did you put in? Pine bark, pumice and???? My little guys have really started well indoors. Should be reporting into bigger individual containers soon.

 

[florencechan.ca]

Hey Dude. I really like the way your soil mix looks. What did you put in? Pine bark, pumice and???? My little guys have really started well indoors. Should be reporting into bigger individual containers soon.

Looking good!

My current mix is 1:1:1 Pumice, bark, and a pebbled diatomaceous earth product called 'Can-Dry'.

 

[rollwithak]

Not too bad of results for a month and a half!!! Going to put in individual pots today I think

 

[florencechan.ca]

A quick update on the basket growing together, which has seen the most growth, even over the past couple of months (top-left from June 5, bottom-right July 21):


I haven't been terribly particular about fertilization - I think i added a handful of slow release shrub fertilizer (23-10-13) back in late May, then again last week.
Basket growing has been probably the biggest benefit here, compared to the others - very strong, visible root and foliage growth. I am not 100% sure that I will keep every tree from this potting together (for styling reasons) but they certainly seem to be doing well together for now.

 

[florencechan.ca]

A few shots of the singles.

So it looks like the new growth recently on this one has finally started to go blue like the rest of the seedlings. Hopefully needles will start getting more compact soon.
getting a fair variety shape wise.

Also, this last one was near dead due to an accidental overwatering in January; there is still a small amount of dead material, but I am glad to see how well it has bounced back.

 

[Firstflush]

I really like these. Here is my hesperocyparis macrocarpa. It has the exact phenotype parentage of the stands native to central California. A beauty.