Author Topic: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.  (Read 6898 times)

Gary Greenfingers

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 27
    • England, UK
    • View Profile
Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« on: October 23, 2013, 07:05:40 PM »
Hello,

I'm new to this forum. My name is Gary, and I am from England, UK. I like to grow subtropical and tropical edibles and ethnobotanicals as unconventional containerised houseplants/indoor plants. Many of my plants have aromatic foliage; I like to put my chemistry knowledge to practical use by extracting the essential oils and other useful phytochemicals from plant material.

Until I can afford a spacious heated greenhouse, my growing space  is confined to within my home, with the aid of supplementary lighting during the shorter days of  autumn and winter, and a large clear polythene plastic walk-in growhouse (to maintain a humid microclimate around the plants).

 I grow all of my plants from seed, as I personally regard buying young or pre-germinated plants as 'cheating'! I am currently growing various species of citrus (Nagami kumquat, Marsh grapefruit, Meyer lemon, kaffir lime and clementine), soursop, red- and white-fleshed dragonfruit, Hass avoacdo, pineapple, lychee, carambola, passiflora ligularis, sapodilla (manilkara zapota), turmeric, patchouli (p.cablin) and damiana (the last 3 are obviously herb species).

Obviously, the fruit tree species will never reach tree-like proportions indoors, so branch and root pruning is a must (think 'semi-bonsai'). If they ever bear fruit in containers, then it's a bonus, but I am growing these plants purely for pleasure. If only I was lucky enough to live in the Tropics!  :D

I would like to procure fresh and viable seeds of the following:
1.Miracle fruit
2.Allspice (pimenta dioica)
3.Cassia cinnamon
4.Coffee (coffea arabica, canephora, liberica, etc)
5.Canistel (egg fruit)
6.Soursop/guanabana
7.Cacoa or other theobroma sp., such as cupuassu (I know that it is possible to grow cacoa indoors; take a look at Ray's 'Voodoo Garden' Youtube video: Look what's growing! Cacoa features at 24.10)

Do all of these species grow well in large containers, with regular root and branch pruning?

Having failed to germinate kaffir lime, soursop and coffee seeds purchased from UK-based horticultural suppliers (most of which are on Ebay), I have vowed to obtain the freshest seed possible, preferably directly from the source or country of origin. Whenever I sow fresh, viable seeds immediately after removal from the fruit, I nearly always get a 90-100% germination rate, no matter what the species.

Conversely, when I purchase dried, dessicated (most likely non-viable) seeds from horticultural suppliers, the resultant % germination is a big fat ZERO! Much to my frustration, every seed becomes discoloured and mushy. Eventually, a furry 'jacket' of grey mould covers the entire batch of expired seeds.  Pre-treatment with hydrogen peroxide (to kill fungal spores and bacteria) makes no difference. I start all my seeds in moist perlite, which is a sterile, inorganic growing media.

I would be very happy grower if fellow forum members can direct me towards a source of the seeds listed above. To ensure seed viability, I need the freshest seed possible, preferably direct from the source or country of origin. Dried or dessicated seeds, or seeds that have been stored for many weeks prior to purchase, simply don't work for me.  :(

Gary










Daintree

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1209
    • Boise, Idaho - zone 6, with a zone 12 greenhouse...
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2013, 10:09:40 PM »
Hi Gary,
I sympathize with you - it can be very hard to find seed in Northern climates. 
Sometimes you have to think a little bit outside the box.
Have you tried international markets, not for seed, but for fruit?  I have a favorite one that I hit during various times of the year, and I will buy absolutely any tropical fruit that they have.  Sometimes you can even get it cheaper if it is past it's prime for eating, but the seeds are still good.  I have successfully germinated and grown longan, lychee, cherimoya, durian, dragon fruit and jackfruit from fruits I have bought.  My papaya and tamarind i just bought at our local grocery store.  Also, I bought some "soap nuts" for laundering clothes, from the local health food store, and managed to grow six soap nut trees.  I have heard that some of the fruit is treated, so as not to germinate, but I have even got a couple mangosteen seeds to sprout (although they died very quickly) so I am not sure how true that is.

Also, I do have a coffea arabica in my greenhouse, but the seeds are still green.  When they ripen up, I will give you a shout and see if you are still looking for coffee seeds.

Good luck with your seed hunt!
Carolyn

Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2013, 04:51:23 AM »
GG most of those are pretty common in tropical places. You may not need fruit trees to unleash your phytochemistry on botanic subjects.My kaffir is pretty 'citrus tame' and oil free compared to wild bush trees I stumble across like Evodiella muelleri and lemon aspen.

tonius

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 6
    • Melbourne, Australia
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2013, 05:09:25 AM »
Hi Gary, yes the markets are a good place to get fruit and extract the seeds from them for growing.
Brixton Market is the largest Caribbean and African market in Europe and the UK. I believe some of the African shops there sell a number of exotic fruits including Safou (Dacryodes edulis) imported from Africa when in season.
I got some Safou seeds from Congo recently but they were too soft and broke apart. If you ever go to Brixton would it be possible for you to buy some Safou fruit and send me the seeds here in Oz. I’m happy to swap or pay for the costs.

fyliu

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3216
    • Burbank/Covina, CA 10a
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2013, 03:01:08 PM »
Isn't rarepalmseeds.com in England? They're expensive though.

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2013, 05:32:48 PM »
Isn't rarepalmseeds.com in England? They're expensive though.

 rarepalmseeds.com is in Germany.
Oscar

FlyingFoxFruits

  • Prince of Plinia
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12548
  • www.FlyingFoxFruits.com
    • USA, FEMA Region IV, FL Zone 9a
    • View Profile
    • Flying Fox Fruits
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #6 on: October 24, 2013, 05:44:10 PM »
you should grow the Red  jaboticaba (hybrid) that Oscar sells.  It's the best fruit tree for growers like yourself...who push the limits.

btw, if you need miracle fruits, I have plenty to sell.
www.FlyingFoxFruits.com

www.PLINIAS.com

https://www.ebay.com/usr/flyingfoxfruits

www.youtube.com/FlyingFoxFruits

https://www.instagram.com/flyingfoxfruits/
I disabled the forum's personal messaging system, please send an email to contact me, FlyingFoxFruits@gmail.com

plantlover13

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 895
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #7 on: October 24, 2013, 05:49:36 PM »
you should grow the Red  jaboticaba (hybrid) that Oscar sells.  It's the best fruit tree for growers like yourself...who push the limits.

btw, if you need miracle fruits, I have plenty to sell.

I keep noticing this word used with this jabo. Is it really a hybrid?

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #8 on: October 24, 2013, 06:01:57 PM »
you should grow the Red  jaboticaba (hybrid) that Oscar sells.  It's the best fruit tree for growers like yourself...who push the limits.

btw, if you need miracle fruits, I have plenty to sell.

I keep noticing this word used with this jabo. Is it really a hybrid?

Yes hybrid, but the details of how this hybrid was achieved are not known with certainty.
Oscar

plantlover13

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 895
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #9 on: October 24, 2013, 06:17:19 PM »
you should grow the Red  jaboticaba (hybrid) that Oscar sells.  It's the best fruit tree for growers like yourself...who push the limits.

btw, if you need miracle fruits, I have plenty to sell.

I keep noticing this word used with this jabo. Is it really a hybrid?

Yes hybrid, but the details of how this hybrid was achieved are not known with certainty.

So the seeds come true to type then? ???

Hope i'm not hijacking this thread, so confused right now.

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #10 on: October 24, 2013, 07:26:55 PM »
you should grow the Red  jaboticaba (hybrid) that Oscar sells.  It's the best fruit tree for growers like yourself...who push the limits.

btw, if you need miracle fruits, I have plenty to sell.

I keep noticing this word used with this jabo. Is it really a hybrid?

Yes hybrid, but the details of how this hybrid was achieved are not known with certainty.

So the seeds come true to type then? ???

Hope i'm not hijacking this thread, so confused right now.

Yes, it's a hybrid that is stabilized, not much variation from seed.
Oscar

Gary Greenfingers

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 27
    • England, UK
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2013, 07:30:36 PM »
Hi Gary,
I sympathize with you - it can be very hard to find seed in Northern climates. 
Sometimes you have to think a little bit outside the box.
Have you tried international markets, not for seed, but for fruit?  I have a favorite one that I hit during various times of the year, and I will buy absolutely any tropical fruit that they have.  Sometimes you can even get it cheaper if it is past it's prime for eating, but the seeds are still good.  I have successfully germinated and grown longan, lychee, cherimoya, durian, dragon fruit and jackfruit from fruits I have bought.  My papaya and tamarind i just bought at our local grocery store.  Also, I bought some "soap nuts" for laundering clothes, from the local health food store, and managed to grow six soap nut trees.  I have heard that some of the fruit is treated, so as not to germinate, but I have even got a couple mangosteen seeds to sprout (although they died very quickly) so I am not sure how true that is.

Also, I do have a coffea arabica in my greenhouse, but the seeds are still green.  When they ripen up, I will give you a shout and see if you are still looking for coffee seeds.

Good luck with your seed hunt!
Carolyn

Hi Gary,
I sympathize with you - it can be very hard to find seed in Northern climates. 
Sometimes you have to think a little bit outside the box.
Have you tried international markets, not for seed, but for fruit?  I have a favorite one that I hit during various times of the year, and I will buy absolutely any tropical fruit that they have.  Sometimes you can even get it cheaper if it is past it's prime for eating, but the seeds are still good.  I have successfully germinated and grown longan, lychee, cherimoya, durian, dragon fruit and jackfruit from fruits I have bought.  My papaya and tamarind i just bought at our local grocery store.  Also, I bought some "soap nuts" for laundering clothes, from the local health food store, and managed to grow six soap nut trees.  I have heard that some of the fruit is treated, so as not to germinate, but I have even got a couple mangosteen seeds to sprout (although they died very quickly) so I am not sure how true that is.

Also, I do have a coffea arabica in my greenhouse, but the seeds are still green.  When they ripen up, I will give you a shout and see if you are still looking for coffee seeds.

Good luck with your seed hunt!
Carolyn

Hi Carolyn,

I love your tropical greenhouse, fondly named "Daintree".  :)

Speaking of jackfruit (artocarpus), do they respond well to container culture, with regular root and branch pruning? I mean, in its native habitat, jackfruit can grow  to be a pretty hefty tree! I was thinking of buying some jackfruit from an online Thai food store, primarily for the purpose of growing the seeds.

I haven't had any success with mangosteen, despite the fact that I sowed the seeds immediately after they were extracted from the fruit. The seeds, which were sown in ordinary seed starting potting compost, became mushy and succumbed to rot. Who knows, it could have something to do with the fruit being irradiated to kill off pathogens. Perhaps I kept the compost too wet, which could have prevented oxygen from reaching the embryo? From what I've read, mangosteen is one of those particularly finicky ultra-tropical fruit tree species; if the conditions aren't exactly right, the plant 'kicks the bucket' and decides to die. I get the impression that you only have to look at a mangosteen plant the wrong way for it to die! However, I will keep on trying to grow one until I have success- I enjoy a challenge!

Tamarind, the ripe fruits of which are readily available from Thai food stores, are easy to grow and make great bonsai plants. They have attractive foliage, but would a seed-grown tamarind ever bear fruit in a large container?

Thankyou for offering some fresh arabica coffee seeds! I'd love to grow a coffee plant or two, but I've had no success whatsoever in trying to get dried, dessicated coffee seeds to germinate.

Gary

Gary Greenfingers

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 27
    • England, UK
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #12 on: October 24, 2013, 07:39:32 PM »
you should grow the Red  jaboticaba (hybrid) that Oscar sells.  It's the best fruit tree for growers like yourself...who push the limits.

btw, if you need miracle fruits, I have plenty to sell.

I keep noticing this word used with this jabo. Is it really a hybrid?

Hi ASaffron,

Could you possibly supply me with whole, ripe miracle fruits or freshly harvested seeds? I've read that miracle fruit seeds are recalcitrant and have a short storage viability.

Gary Greenfingers

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 27
    • England, UK
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #13 on: October 24, 2013, 07:42:48 PM »
GG most of those are pretty common in tropical places. You may not need fruit trees to unleash your phytochemistry on botanic subjects.My kaffir is pretty 'citrus tame' and oil free compared to wild bush trees I stumble across like Evodiella muelleri and lemon aspen.

I am quite intrigued by the native Australasian citrus/rutaceae species. I'd love to grow a finger lime.

FlyingFoxFruits

  • Prince of Plinia
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12548
  • www.FlyingFoxFruits.com
    • USA, FEMA Region IV, FL Zone 9a
    • View Profile
    • Flying Fox Fruits
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2013, 10:26:16 PM »
depending on the rules for customs, I might be able to send whole fruit.

but please trust me, if the seeds are cleaned free of pulp and stored properly, they will last for months.

the seeds can also be dried somewhat, (which helps them germinate I believe, by making the embryo separate from the seed coat) as long as the embryo within doesnt dry out.

with low temps, and low humidity, I suppose they'd lose viability much faster...but in my home there's usually a slight amount of humidity; and the temp ranges from 60-80F.

 
you should grow the Red  jaboticaba (hybrid) that Oscar sells.  It's the best fruit tree for growers like yourself...who push the limits.

btw, if you need miracle fruits, I have plenty to sell.

I keep noticing this word used with this jabo. Is it really a hybrid?

Hi ASaffron,

Could you possibly supply me with whole, ripe miracle fruits or freshly harvested seeds? I've read that miracle fruit seeds are recalcitrant and have a short storage viability.
« Last Edit: October 24, 2013, 10:28:13 PM by ASaffron »
www.FlyingFoxFruits.com

www.PLINIAS.com

https://www.ebay.com/usr/flyingfoxfruits

www.youtube.com/FlyingFoxFruits

https://www.instagram.com/flyingfoxfruits/
I disabled the forum's personal messaging system, please send an email to contact me, FlyingFoxFruits@gmail.com

Daintree

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1209
    • Boise, Idaho - zone 6, with a zone 12 greenhouse...
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #15 on: October 25, 2013, 12:41:53 AM »
Speaking of jackfruit (artocarpus), do they respond well to container culture, with regular root and branch pruning? I mean, in its native habitat, jackfruit can grow  to be a pretty hefty tree! I was thinking of buying some jackfruit from an online Thai food store, primarily for the purpose of growing the seeds.

I haven't had any success with mangosteen, despite the fact that I sowed the seeds immediately after they were extracted from the fruit. The seeds, which were sown in ordinary seed starting potting compost, became mushy and succumbed to rot.

Tamarind, the ripe fruits of which are readily available from Thai food stores, are easy to grow and make great bonsai plants. They have attractive foliage, but would a seed-grown tamarind ever bear fruit in a large container?

Thankyou for offering some fresh arabica coffee seeds! I'd love to grow a coffee plant or two, but I've had no success whatsoever in trying to get dried, dessicated coffee seeds to germinate.

Gary

Hi Gary,
I planted about 20 mangosteen seeds, and got 2 to germinate, but I don't know where I went wrong after that.  Maybe not enough humidity?
My tamarinds never bloomed, but they got really tall, and I finally chopped down a couple, and gave the others away to another gal with a greenhouse.
And yes, I know these coffee seeds will grow for you, because if I accidentally let the fruit (which tastes really good, by the way, sort of like a sweetish celery) fall, I get baby plants in the pot!
I have found that pretty much anything will grow and make fruit in a pot.  I don't prune the roots at all, I just move them to bigger pots.  The major limiter, when I was growing indoors, was not enough light.  I had horticultural lights that would give me a sunburn when I worked in the "plant room", but things still wouldn't bloom.  Then I built the greenhouse, and "pow"!  Everything bloomed at once! Happy plants! Lots of food, low pH (I use vinegar), and lots of the RIGHT kind of food.

Doglips

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 980
    • Houston TX 9A
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #16 on: October 25, 2013, 07:00:05 AM »
Tamarind, the ripe fruits of which are readily available from Thai food stores, are easy to grow and make great bonsai plants. They have attractive foliage, but would a seed-grown tamarind ever bear fruit in a large container?

They was a guy on GW that lived in Northern Florida that had a Tamarind, I think it was in a pot.  He had one seed pod on his.  It was still a young tree.  I hope they do, otherwise I'm wasting my time.  I don't think they are that persnickety.

plantlover13

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 895
    • View Profile
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #17 on: October 25, 2013, 05:00:04 PM »
Guava seeds can store. I know from experience. THe experience involves lots of negligence. I now have 5 little guava seedlings. So it works.

Beni

  • Indonesia Rare Fruit
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 626
  • Ngabang kabupaten Landak West Borneo
    • West Borneo, Indonesia
    • View Profile
    • beni_prasya@yahoo.co.id
Re: Fresh, viable seeds wanted.
« Reply #18 on: February 10, 2015, 02:27:33 AM »
sorry for the service being slow tone of me. I will try to give my best and did not disappoint. For fruit and fruit mundu polyanthum in my country, including seasonal fruit. And I obtain seeds in the previous season. For the near future, I think the seeds will be available again. I am very honored if you are willing to wait.
Thanks and Regard
Beni Java Fruit