Sunday, November 15, 2009

Dragon's blood tree (dracaena draco), part 2


I managed to get the seed to germinate!
Here is what happened;
I ordered the Dragon's Blood Tree Seeds (dracaena draco) on-line in mid summer (July). I found mixed methods on how to get them to germinate; I ended up drowning the seeds with water and planting them in potting mix. I then sealed the entire pot in a gallon ziplock bag and put it outside in the shade. I left it closed for about a week, then opened the bag and let it dry over the . I left it in the same spot for about 3 months and never watered it again (too lazy to clean it up) assuming it to be dead.
Then this morning, November 15th, I saw a little green spike come up from the dried dirt! It had grown! I am not sure weather to water it again or not, and whether to drown it again or not. I will likely rehydrate the soil a little at a time till it is thoroughly soaked then ignore it for another 90 days.
As the plant is a monocot, I assume it to have a pretty wide root base. This makes me think I should transplant the dried pot mass into a larger pot as a whole clump when the time comes rather than trying to free the roots.
In conclusion:
placed seed (dracaena draco Dragon's Blood Tree) just below the surface of the potting mix.
Drenched the pot.
Placed pot in sealed ziplock bag for 1 week in shade.
opened ziplock bag and left to dry outside for several months.
I am pretty sure there was a frost during the germination period.
It grew a little blade-leaf.