Ben, those seeds.

Hey Ben, I received the Ficus columnaris seeds in the post the other day and immediately put them into a pot. How long would you say it takes them to germinate?

I do hope that the seeds you sent are fertile and not all sterile like you feared.

The following thread was started by Barry on December 27, 2004 at 0:01 am PST

Hi Barry,

Glad they arrived. They are certainly fertile, as there were fig wasps in the fruit, so no worries there. If you lose them, I can send more later.

I have found that ficus seed tend to be difficult, but I think this is because I try to baby them along too much. A friend of mine puts the seeds into a pot and doesn't touch them again until they are 5cms tall or more with excellent results, I usually try to transplant small likem a eucalyptus seedling.

As for time, they germinate over a reasonable period, there could esily be still coming up this time next year. All depends on temperature, I suggest you aim for around 20-25C soil temp to approximate a Lord Howe Island climate. Keep moist, but too wet will kill them fast. I have found LHI banyans and other Aussie figs seem to do best when given no more water than natural rainfall (about 1000mm per year for me here).

The above followup was added by Ben on December 27, 2004 at 11:17 am PST.

Well, I've got them in our western exposure bay window, which is in the kitchen. The temperature in the house is around 20 - 25C, so it sounds like I'm right on the mark.

I really do hope they grow well for me. I had an interesting dream involving them, and they germinated and grew to a foot tall in one night! If only they were that fast and easy :).

The above followup was added by Barry on December 27, 2004 at 3:40 pm PST.