Seeds

Does anyone have contact information for Ben McNeill ? Would like to ask him some questions about Banyan Trees.

The following thread was started by August de los Reyes on July 25, 2009 at 2:42 am PST

You can ask Ben questions right here on Cloudforest Cafe, He logs on fairly regularly and responds to posts.

If you cannot reach him this way, I could send your request to him by email, so as to respect his right to privacy. If you post a question, he may connect with you here or by email, his choice.

I can alert him, you have questions here on Cloudforest, so he will take a look more quickly maybe.

David

The above followup was added by David Johnson, Waterford CA, zone 14 on July 25, 2009 at 9:08 am PST.

Thanks David, that would be much appreciated. My email is gusissleeping@hotmail.com

The above followup was added by August de los Reyes on July 25, 2009 at 5:16 pm PST.

Please ask, we may not have the answer but, we can try.

The above followup was added by Gregory in Palo Alto on July 26, 2009 at 9:58 am PST.

Would like to get some detailed information on propagation of banyan tree seeds and what is the best way to go about it. Are there any types of ficus similar to the banyan tree that would do well in my climate in Victoria , British Columbia, Canada? Right now I have my banyan tree seeds in a jiffy greenhouse. I put the seeds on the top of the soil, the greenhouse cover is on and I have it outside in the sun. I only have one seed in each of the 72 planters in the greehnouse. Are you supposed to put several seeds in one planter ? I open the greenhouse cover every few days and spray with a mist of water. I bring the greenhouse inside the house at night. Should I just leave the greenhouse outside at night ? I have more questions but right now I just want to get the propagation right and get them started.

The above followup was added by August de los Reyes on July 26, 2009 at 11:11 am PST.

Would like to get my hands on more banyan tree seeds if anybody has any that they would be willing to give. I really would like to try to grow this tree and the more seeds I have the better chances I might have. Thanks for all the tips so far from everyone and looking to hear from more people and advice. I will pay the postage for seeds if anyone has them. Thank-you kindly, August

The above followup was added by August de los Reyes on July 26, 2009 at 11:17 am PST.

Sow Ficus seeds on surface, keep moistish, dry is MUCH better than wet. If they are covered they will usually die. Sow as thick as you like. This is about 4 weeks post sowing.

The above followup was added by Ben on July 27, 2009 at 2:00 am PST.

Don't pot up the seedlings until they are at least 50mm tall. There is a temptation to pot up at cotyledon stage, but I've found this results in 99%+ mortality. Leave them to 50-80mm tall, and you can literally pull them out of their growing media, leave them in the sun all day and still expect them to grow. Very hardy plants.

Once they are potted, they can handle amazing neglect. I had some in pots which I put outside and did not water for 3 years, with only one fatality out of 30.

Here is my largest banyan at age 12.

The above followup was added by Ben on July 27, 2009 at 2:15 am PST.

LHI banyans are very cool tolerant, and extremely hardy in suitable climates. Coldest part of habitat has summer temps around 14C night, 21C day, winter 14C day, 8C night. Real cold with frost seems to be a problem for them though, from California experience. But there are seedlings from my tree growing in two places in Ireland, so they do handle very heat-deprived climates.

They also grow very fast.

This F. columnaris is in Palermo, showing true banyan habit.

The above followup was added by Ben on July 27, 2009 at 2:20 am PST.

thanks Ben, I was wondering if I should leave the seeds covered until they start to sprout ?

The above followup was added by August de los Reyes on July 30, 2009 at 1:28 pm PST.

They need light to germinate. If you cover them, you will have a long wait!

The above followup was added by Ben on July 30, 2009 at 3:15 pm PST.

hey Ben, I have one of those seed starter greenhouses with the clear plastic lid to cover them. They get light through the clear plastic lid but was wondering if they are better in the open air or with that lid on to keep moisture in and humidity ? The lid also helps to diffuse the light a bit as well. I hear they like indirect sunlight is this so ?

The above followup was added by August de los Reyes on July 31, 2009 at 12:25 am PST.

banyan seeds naturally fall into rocks, tree limbs etc, and germinate, often sending down roots a long way to the ground. So, they can handle a lot of drought (even in wet rainforests these guys germinate in super-dry spots). As long as you give them light equivalent to the higher parts of rainforest canopy they will be ok. Bright diffuse light is fine.

The above followup was added by Ben on July 31, 2009 at 11:35 pm PST.