Author Topic: Got some fresh rambutan seeds  (Read 876 times)

Jaboticaba45

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Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« on: June 11, 2022, 09:08:58 PM »
So I got some fruits from some south american country and they are non-irradiated as mentioned on the box. Best fruits I've ever had.
Anyone want some seeds to fool around with?
I can give 30+ for $20 free ship.
2-3 packs about

brian

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #1 on: June 11, 2022, 10:23:57 PM »
Sure I'll try some.  I got a few to sprout before but most died soon after.  Maybe I will have better luck with more acidic soil

Jaboticaba45

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2022, 10:50:09 AM »
Sold! Thank all

brian

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2022, 07:40:47 PM »
It looks like most of the seeds germinated.  Unfortunately, again most of the sprouts died shortly after germination while still under an inch tall.  The pulasan seedlings I got in the spring did the same.  Not sure if this is a soapberry thing, lychees seem to have a much higher survival rate

Anyway I got two healthy plants out of this batch so far, and possible more will survive given time.  I am curious what others' experience with rambutan is.  Every one of the seedlings from my previous batch that survived seems to have yellowing leaves that go necrotic quickly, though so far they have been replaced by new leaves.  I tried acid soil, high potassium fert, high humidity.  Not sure what it is they are wanting. 
« Last Edit: July 31, 2022, 07:43:09 PM by brian »

W.

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2022, 01:15:20 AM »
It looks like most of the seeds germinated.  Unfortunately, again most of the sprouts died shortly after germination while still under an inch tall.  The pulasan seedlings I got in the spring did the same.  Not sure if this is a soapberry thing, lychees seem to have a much higher survival rate

Anyway I got two healthy plants out of this batch so far, and possible more will survive given time.  I am curious what others' experience with rambutan is.  Every one of the seedlings from my previous batch that survived seems to have yellowing leaves that go necrotic quickly, though so far they have been replaced by new leaves.  I tried acid soil, high potassium fert, high humidity.  Not sure what it is they are wanting.

I grew some rambutans from grocery store fruit last year. Apparently, the fruit was not irradiated. But, since I had never had any success when I had tried to germinate rambutan seeds in previous years (probably because that fruit was from a different company and had likely been irradiated), I did not try and germinate those rambutan seeds. I just threw them into a compost bucket. In less than a month, I had a dozen or so rambutans. They grew excellently for about three months until summer ended and fall started settling in. I could not bring in my compost bucket for the winter; it is filled with insects and other things I do not want indoors. But, transplanting those rambutans killed them almost instantly. They were all dead within a couple of weeks. Although I had tried to take care not to disturb them too much during transplanting, I had apparently still disturbed their roots too much.

So, if I were to try and grow rambutans again, I would put them in an extremely rich potting medium: basically put the seeds in pure compost. I would keep them in part shade. The environment would be one matching an Alabama summer: very hot and very humid. Compost readily retains moisture; I do not remember watering them much since I think it rained every few days, but I would water them as needed.

Maybe try some of those tips and see if they work for you.

brian

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2022, 12:38:51 PM »
Thanks, W.  I will try pure compost next time. 

It is also possible I was watering these too much, I'll try letting half of the next batch dry out a bit more instead of keeping them constantly wet.

Jaboticaba45

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2022, 04:05:37 PM »
That sucks they didn't work out for you.

I think there is a chance of growing them if you can get your hands on a grafted one from PR.

brian

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2022, 10:27:01 PM »
That sucks they didn't work out for you.

I think there is a chance of growing them if you can get your hands on a grafted one from PR.

No complaints at all, btw.  You sent me good seeds, I think they are just finicky.  When it comes to the really difficult plants like rambutan, durian, mangosteen I'm not spending money on grafted until I can at least get seedlings to thrive! 

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2022, 11:14:24 PM »
I would think seedling rambutan would be preferred over grafted for sure especially in marginal areas.  In my experience Rambutan are quite a bit tougher than durian, during a recent cold snap i had 2 seedling durian drop all their leaves yet my seedling rambutans remain unaffected.  They certainly like acid soil and thrive in super humid warm soup like conditions.  Yellowing leaves seems to be common with rambutan however they put out enough growth and are very vigorous so doesn't seem to bother them at least not in my climate,

W.

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Re: Got some fresh rambutan seeds
« Reply #9 on: August 02, 2022, 04:57:40 AM »
I never had the slightest bit of yellowing with my rambutan seedlings, and they grew about eight inches in three months. There must have been something about my compost that they loved. Perhaps the key was oak leaves, which probably (given my yard and what I put in my compost) were a major component of that batch of compost.