Ambarella extremely poor seed germination

[luc]

So far I only managed to get one from seed , any tips

[Bob407]

I've had the same problem and the one that did sprout grew almost one inch in a year and then died.

[luc]

I am letting some fruits go to waste now ( overripe ) see if that helps .

[Mike T]

I have had good germination from my UD ambarella with several plants at times from a single seed.This has been from dry seeds,seeds from young to rotting fruit and I don't do anything specieal with them.Maybe people who have received seeds from me have been less fortunate with germination rates but I was under the impression that the UD has better a better success rate.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

I've heard germination is poor...but I think that the ultra dwarf must have higher success rate than usual ones, because I had no trouble.

Maybe planting too deep is a problem as well?

They don't need to be planted deep at all.

[luc]

I have had good germination from my UD ambarella with several plants at times from a single seed.This has been from dry seeds,seeds from young to rotting fruit and I don't do anything specieal with them.Maybe people who have received seeds from me have been less fortunate with germination rates but I was under the impression that the UD has better a better success rate.

Mike , how tall is your UD when adult and how big is the fruit ?

[tabbydan]

So far I only managed to get one from seed , any tips

You're not alone.  I had low germination rates (2/15), and sometimes they took forever (~10 months).

Good luck.

[Guanabanus]

The dwarfs seem to often have good seeds, but the regular ones are often seedless, even though they have visible "seeds" in them--- if you cut those seed coats open they can be empty.

[BMc]

I have had good germination from my UD ambarella with several plants at times from a single seed.This has been from dry seeds,seeds from young to rotting fruit and I don't do anything specieal with them.Maybe people who have received seeds from me have been less fortunate with germination rates but I was under the impression that the UD has better a better success rate.

My UD's took about 8months to show. I treated them rough though as I thought they would be just like the regular dwarf form, but after tasting the fruit I changed the mix and they sprouted soon after going into good seed raiser. most have multiple plants from a single seed.

[luc]

OK so I need more patience......

[Roy-Ind]

In N E India,regular ambarella(Spondias dulcis/Spondias cytherea) is quite popular. One should use fresh seed(just skin and pulp removed),soaked in lukewarm water for 24 hours or so and planted in sandy soil.In my case it germinated within three weeks or so.The soil should not be dry,rather be little watery. Next time I shall post the photo of the tree.

[Recher]

Spondias are normally propagated from cuttings and even trudgeons

Ambarella has such an interesting seed morphology.

Had my first ever spontaneous seedling of a Spondias.... S. mangiferum

[luc]

Paul , forgive my ignorance and lack of the English language .....what is a trudgeon ?

[BMc]

Truncheon - a large limb cutting. Like a frangipani limb can be stuck into the ground and braced and will grow. I've never done it with spondias, but assume thats what Recher means?

[Recher]

Truncheon - a large limb cutting. Like a frangipani limb can be stuck into the ground and braced and will grow. I've never done it with spondias, but assume thats what Recher means?

EXACTLY  what I mean. Erythrina species are classic.. you can do chunky stuff like 10-12 cm dia... Chorisia is another genus....hmmm Spondias Chorisia Erythrina are all soft woods with a 'spongy soft ' center.. I killed a big mother chorisia and in under twelve months the stump is crumbling.

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

Cut all the seed's spikes and take an old small brush to remove all the pulp between the nook and crannies of the seed. Soak the seeds for 24h and plant the seed...they will germinate within 3-4 weeks and will sprout several seedlings. My record is 4 seedlings from a seed. Should i leave the 4 or repot to make more seedlings? Thanks in advance

[Recher]

Should i leave the 4 or repot to make more seedlings? Thanks in advance

THEY are not polyembryonic so each is a unique individual.

IF you want them all, then separate if you can.

If you don't need them all then your choices include thinning to the strongest OR choose one to grow and approach graft others onto that one and soon after cutting the tops off the unwanted seedlings leaving a multi rootstock and a cool looking landscape specimen

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

Should i leave the 4 or repot to make more seedlings? Thanks in advance

THEY are not polyembryonic so each is a unique individual.

IF you want them all, then separate if you can.

If you don't need them all then your choices include thinning to the strongest OR choose one to grow and approach graft others onto that one and soon after cutting the tops off the unwanted seedlings leaving a multi rootstock and a cool looking landscape specimen

Hi Dr. Recher,
Thanks for the advice...I will approach graft them and make the seedling produce much faster with the extra root systems

[Recher]

don't think multi-stock will speed up fruiting

what i  do know is if you grow a bunch of seedlings say custard apple and graft them onto a bearing tree they will come into fruit sooner than if left on own roots.

[fruitlovers]

The dwarfs seem to often have good seeds, but the regular ones are often seedless, even though they have visible "seeds" in them--- if you cut those seed coats open they can be empty.

I have had seedless (sterile) ambarellas, both from large and dwarf trees. But if Luc had one germinate this obviously is not the problem. It seems that ambarella requires some cross pollination from another tree to have viable seeds. The seed in the center is not a seed, but as Har has pointed out already, a pod that contains the seeds. If you open up the pod you will get to see whether there are indeed seeds inside. Also my guess is that the seeds will sprout a lot better and uniformly if taken out of the pod. Just crack it slowly to make sure not to damage the seeds (if any).

[Mike T]

I found my UD had viable seeds in the fruit right from the start and there are no others near it that I know of.My impression was that it is self fertile.I found viable seeds in all the locules when I chopped it through but the seeds would get damaged in the operation.With multiple germination from one compound seed they can be teased out and seperated.
Some germinate within weeks and others can take months without any special treatment.

[fruitlovers]

I found my UD had viable seeds in the fruit right from the start and there are no others near it that I know of.My impression was that it is self fertile.I found viable seeds in all the locules when I chopped it through but the seeds would get damaged in the operation.With multiple germination from one compound seed they can be teased out and seperated.
Some germinate within weeks and others can take months without any special treatment.

The ultra dwarf may be different than regular dwarf. All the UD seeds you sent me sprouted fine. From my regular dwarf not a single pod has viable seeds. I'm not sure what causes this sterility...just guessing it is lack of pollination. Same exact situation with my standard ambarella, not a single seed.

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

don't think multi-stock will speed up fruiting

what i  do know is if you grow a bunch of seedlings say custard apple and graft them onto a bearing tree they will come into fruit sooner than if left on own roots.

Hi Dr. Recher,
With multi-stocks the plant will grow faster with the extra nutrients, water and hopefully bear much faster. I got a multi-stocked white sapote, that grows quite fast.

[TravelingFriend]

Bump.

The neighborhood tree just gave fruit, ~12 - 15 were planted in coarse mulch compost sandy topsoil, whole fruit, flesh and skin intact, and we have 2 unplanted.
Wonder if we shall clean up the flesh with a brush as suggested and then plant these 2?

I would love some fresh seed if there are any problems with these, we love the fruit locally, but not always able to get our hands on it.

[Aaron]

can someone describe the differences between dwarf and ultra dwarf ? I saw a earlier post it was mentioned the ultra dwarf has larger fruit. does anyone have pictures of both?