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Flame tree from seed - stuck shell

samuelkavanaghT-KfHJsgsamuelkavanaghT-KfHJsg Posts: 1
in Problem solving
I planted a flame tree seed and it's not doing badly except part of the shell of the seed is still trapped on the plant and is stopping it opening up and getting leaves out properly! Any advice on what I can do?

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited October 2021
    Try misting the seed case with water to keep it moist, then the growing leaves might be able to push it off. Or if you have very steady hands and some fine-pointed scissors, you could try a little snip vertically from the bottom edge of the seed case to loosen it.
    Slightly off-topic, you might want to get it out of the "teabag" and into a pot. Those things are supposed to disintegrate but often they don't, and many people on here have reported finding a teabag strangling the roots of a dead or struggling plant.
    PS welcome to the forum :)
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • natashawayne86natashawayne86 Posts: 1
    I'm not sure what to do. I planned two seeds, apparently to deep, and today uncovered they were at this stage. I tried to move some of the dirt mix to the sides and bring them up higher. When do I need to move them to a pot? Can they go together? And the one has its seed stuck in a weird position, is this ok? I water them daily with a mister. Sometimes twice. Also the one doing well came out of its seed but the root didn't break so I stuck it back in right away, is that ok? I have no idea what I'm doing, first time! But I don't want to kill these guys! 
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Welcome to the forum. Stop worrying about your little trees. They will be fine if you don't keep trying to move them about although if those are what I think they are, you really shouldn't have them both in one pot as those things can grow huge and even as babies, they will be fighting for space. Maybe take out the one you already stuck back in the pot, give it its own pot, and them leave them both to get on with the business of growing. They don't need to be kept wet and you shouldn't need to mist them. Seed compost should be damp (not sodden) but probably won't need watering every day unless we have a heatwave (as if that will happen). You can kill plants with kindness as well as with neglect and I know it is very tempting to fuss over seedlings but providing they have the right compost, the right temperature (i.e not freezing or boiling but something in between that feels pleasant), and aren't stuck in bright sunlight on a south facing windowsill then they should be fine.
    I see that Garden Republic sells these things as potential bonsai.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I know it sometimes seems like nursing infants … 😱
    But the best thing you can do at the moment us to leave them alone … keep them the right temperature and damp but not wet and let them sort themselves out. 
    Most seeds have managed perfectly well for millennia without human assistance. 😊 

    When they’ve started growing proper leaves, and not just the first seed leaves, is when they’ll need a bit more attention. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • YnneadYnnead Posts: 250
    I was just searching flame tree but seems theres quite a few different species called that. Do you know the species name for the ones your growing?
    London
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