Trees not only beautify your home, but they also add value as well. Studies have shown that mature trees can increase the value of a home by ten percent. Distinguish your home from the rest in the neighborhood by planting some unique seeds today.
Important Note: Most of the seeds on this page will benefit greatly from using the CAPE Smoke Seed Germination Primer that we use in our own greenhouses. We find we receive significantly better germination results when we use this primer on these types of seeds.
Photo and cultural info courtesy of Floridata.com D7878 SWEET BAY LAUREL. LAURUS NOBILIS. Bay laurel is a pyramid-shaped tree or large shrub with aromatic, evergreen leaves and shiny gray bark. It can reach 60' in height in its native range, but generally is much smaller (3-10' tall) in culture. Bay laurel sometimes produces suckers from the base. The leaves are elliptic, 3-4" long, rather thick and leathery, and shiny dark green. Clusters of small yellow flowers are produced in spring, followed, on the female plants, by shiny black or purple berries about 1/2" long.
Location: Bay laurel is native to the southern Mediterranean region. It is grown commercially for its aromatic leaves in Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, and Mexico. Culture: Light: Bay laurel grows best in partial shade. Moisture: Water when dry. Bay laurel thrives with frequent watering in rich, well-drained soil. Hardiness: USDA Zones 8 - 10. Usage: Where hardy, grow bay laurel in a woodland garden or as a specimen. Protect from cold winter winds. Bay laurel is an excellent shrub for hedges and a favorite for topiary sculpture because it responds very well to pruning. It can be trained as a standard or allowed to grow as a spreading shrub. In cooler regions, grow in a container and bring indoors in winter.
The popular culinary seasoning, bay leaf, is used extensively in French, Italian, Spanish and Creole cooking. It flavors soups, stews, shellfish boils, pickling brines, sauces, marinades, and poultry and fish dishes. Always remove the bay leaves before serving, because they are sharp and can cut the mouth and throat. French chefs place bay leaves, parsley and thyme in a little bundle called a bouquet garni that is removed after cooking. Pick bay leaves early in the day and dry quickly under weight so they won't curl. Store in an air-tight jar.
Features: Bay laurel is the true laurel of Greek and Roman mythology. A poet laureate is an accomplished poet, and the Roman poet, Ovid, retold the story of the Greek nymph, Daphne, who was transformed into a laurel tree by her father, Peneus, so that she could avoid the amorous pursuit of the god, Apollo. (Cupid had shot an arrow into the fair maiden's heart so that she would not love Apollo.) Thereafter, Apollo wore a wreath of laurel to show his love for Daphne. Laurel has always symbolized victory and merit, and a baccalaureate (baca lauri, Latin for "laurel berry") still is a symbol of accomplishment. Bay laurel has been credited with magical properties, like protecting from witches, the devil and lightning. The leaves and berries of bay laurel contain the essential oils eugenol, cineol and geraniol, which account for the distinctive spicy aroma. Infusions are reputed to soothe the stomach and relieve flatulence. An oil pressed from the berries was once a popular liniment for arthritis and sore muscles, and still is used in perfumes, candles and soaps. Package of 3 seeds $2.50
Photo and cultural info courtesy of Floridata.com D7880 ROCKY MOUNTAIN JUNIFER. JUNIPERUS SCOPULORUN. Rocky Mountain juniper is an evergreen large shrub or small tree to 50' tall, but usually much smaller. Specimens are variable in habit, sometimes squat and shrubby, but usually narrowly cone shaped. The trunk is short and stout, often dividing near the ground. The branches are rather thick and spreading to partly erect. Rocky Mountain juniper has reddish bark that is stringy in narrow strips but does not exfoliate. Most of the leaves are like overlapping scales, closely pressed to the twigs. Juvenile leaves, usually only found on young seedlings, are more like needles, and they spread away from the twigs. The foliage is dense and pleasantly aromatic.
Trees may have male or female cones, but not both. The fruits are fleshy berrylike spherical cones, about one-third inch in diameter. They are bright blue with a whitish bloom and sweet tasting, with thin skins. Rocky Mountain juniper is closely related and quite similar to eastern redcedar, and was once believed to be the same species. But eastern redcedar has fruits that mature in a single season, whereas those of Rocky Mountain juniper take two year to ripen. Also, eastern redcedar had exfoliating bark. The two species hybridize where their ranges overlap.
Location: Rocky Mountain juniper occurs in isolated and scattered localities within a wide band from British Columbia to North Dakota, and south to Arizona and New Mexico. It grows from near sea level in the northern part of its range to more than 8000' above sea level in the south. Rocky Mountain juniper grows in alkaline soils on ridges, cliffs and rocky slopes, sometimes in pure stands, but more often in association with other mountain loving evergreens such as ponderosa pine, pinyon pine and Douglas-fir.
Culture: Rocky Mountain juniper is a slow growing tree (6-12" per year), but one that can live more than 300 years. In cultivation it tolerates acidic to alkaline soils, and does best in those that are loose and well drained. It is best adapted to culture in western and northern North America. Light: Seedlings and saplings can tolerate rather dense shade, but Rocky Mountain junipers, even the smaller cultivars, need full sun to grow to their full potentials. Moisture: Rocky Mountain juniper is tolerant of drought, but perhaps less so than the other junipers. It should be watered before the soil becomes completely dry. This juniper does poorly in humid climates, but does fine in hot, dry climates. Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 - 7. Usage: Use any of the cultivars of Rocky Mountain juniper for attractive foliage effects in all seasons. This evergreen is useful as a screen, hedge or foundation plant. They make great anchors or focal points for the ends of hedges or mixed borders. Rocky Mountain juniper is a tidy, formal accent shrub alone or in small groups. Features: Although most cultivars are probably too formal for naturalistic gardens, Rocky Mountain juniper is ideal for neat, well-organized landscapes. Most cultivars require little or no pruning and are relatively free of cultural problems, insects and diseases. They tolerate heat and drought well. Package of 10 seeds $1.95
Photos and cultural info courtesy of Floridata.com D7882 BLACK HILLS SPRUCE. PICEA GLAUCA. This tall, straight conifer grows over 80' tall and reaches diameters of 1'-2'. It has very stiff green and blue-green evergreen needles. Cultivars have been developed which accentuate a powder blue cast to the needles for ornamental purposes.
Location: Now widely planted for landscaping, the blue spruce is native to a fairly narrow geographic range in the central Rocky Mountains in the United States. In nature, it generally occurs along stream bottoms and on moist sites at 6,000' to 11,000' elevation. Light: Tolerant of some shade. Moisture: Average. Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 to 5. Usage: Blue spruce is most commonly used as an individual specimen tree but would be an attractive grove or windbreak tree. Features: The striking blue colored foliage has made the blue spruce a popular landscape tree in the United States. Package of 20 seeds $1.95
D7884 COLORADO BLUE SPRUCE. PICEA PUNGENS. Native to southwestern United States and hardy to zone 3. It is an evergreen tree with horizontal, stiff branches that tend to go to the ground. Has a narrow, dense, conical shape and can grow to 60' tall and spread up to 20'. Young cones are a stricking viloet color when young, mature cones are cylindrical and pointed at each end, up to 5" long and about 1" wide turning to a medium brown at maturity. Bark is a gray brown color. Very similar to the Black Hills Spruce. One of the most famous spruces. Often used as a Christmas tree as well because of its shape and fragrance. You must see one in the wild to appreciate its full beauty. Package of 20 seeds $1.95
Photos and cultural info courtesy of Floridata.com D7886 WESTERN RED CEDAR. CEDRUS ATLANTICA Atlas cedar is a large and majestic evergreen conifer that can get as tall as 120' and have a spread of 100'. More commonly, and especially in the US, it is 40-60' tall and 20-40' wide. The tree is neatly cone shaped in youth, becoming more open and spreading with a flat top as it ages. The bark is silvery gray and fissured. The stiff, needlelike leaves are bluish green, less than an inch long, and clustered in tufts on short lateral spurs. The egg shaped cones are 3" long, green while developing and brown when mature. When ripe they shatter to release papery winged seeds.
Location: Atlas cedar is native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria in northern Africa. Atlas cedar does well in sandy to clayey, and acidic to alkaline soils. It grows fast and upward for the first 10-20 years, then as the central leader loses dominance, growth slows and the crown spreads. In young trees, lateral branches may have to be pruned back to keep them from breaking under their own weight. Never prune the central leader, though. Light: Full sun or partial shade. Moisture: Drought tolerant once established. Hardiness: USDA Zones 6 - 9. Atlas cedar is an imperial and picturesque specimen tree with massive, horizontal-spreading branches. It is long lived and needs lots of space and should never be used as anything but a specimen. (That is, except for the peculiar 'Glauca Pendula' which is not treelike and is grown as a curiosity.) Atlas cedar is tolerant of hot, humid weather and may be a better choice in the south than deodar cedar (C. deodara) which sometimes dies back from the top. Package of 15 seeds $1.95
Photo and cultural info courtesy of Floridata.com D2929 POINCIANA. CAESALPINIA. Peacock flower is an evergreen shrub or small tree in frost free climates, a deciduous shrub in zone 9, and a returning perennial in zone 8. In the tropics it gets 15-20' tall and its ungainly, wide spreading branches can cover about the same width. In cultivation peacock flower is usually 8-12' tall, growing that large even after freezing to the ground the previous winter. The stem, branches and petioles are armed with sharp spines and the leaves are fernlike and twice compound, with many small, oval leaflets. Peacock flower lives up to its name with incredibly showy blossoms of orange and red. The flowers are bowl shaped, 2-3" across, with five crinkled, unequal red and orange petals, and ten prominent bright red stamens that extend way beyond the corolla. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters 8-10" tall throughout most of the year in tropical climates and in late summer and fall where frosts occur. There also are forms with yellow and forms with dark red flowers. The fruits, typical legumes, are flat, 3-4" long, and when ripe they split open noisily to expose the little brown beans.
Location: Peacock flower is believed to be native to the West Indies and tropical America. It is widely cultivated and has escaped cultivation and become established in tropical regions throughout the world, including South Florida. We at Floridata got our seeds from a missionary friend in the African nation of Chad! She called them "lentils", perhaps translating from the local French dialect.
Culture: Peacock flower is very easy to grow in alkaline to acidic, well-drained soils. This is a fast growing, but short lived plant. It is moderately tolerant of salty conditions. Peaccock flower benefits from pruning, and can be shaped to tree form or shrubby bush form. Light: Full sun to partial shade. Peacock flower blooms best in full sun. Moisture: Peacock flower is drought tolerant. Hardiness: USDA Zones 8 - 11. Peacock flower dies to the ground following frost or freezing temperatures, but in zone 8B, at least, it comes back reliable, albeit late, in middle spring. Don't give up on it! Peacock flower has survived temperatures as low as 18 F. It can be grown as an annual in colder climates. Even under frost free conditions, peacock flower may lose its leaves when temperatures drop into the 40's. Propagation: Peacock flower is easy to start from seeds. Germination will be speeded up if the seeds are nicked with a file before planting. Under good growing conditions, peacock flower will self sow and may even become weedy.
The striking orange red flowers are an attention grabber! Use peacock flower as a specimen or in a mixed shrub border. It has an open, spreading habit and the branches sometimes get too long for their own good and break off. Still, a line of peacock flowers makes a showy fine-textured screen or informal hedge. You can cut peacock flower to the ground in late winter or early spring to get a bushier, more compact shrub. Package of 6 seeds $1.95
D7858 DOWNY HAWTHORN. CRATAEGUS MOLLIS. Brilliant colored leaves and red fruit. Ornamental shrub. An excellent background garden shrub. Zone 4-7. Package of 10 seeds $1.95
D7859 SPINDLE TREE. EUONYMUS. Also called the Burning Bush, it is one of the most valuable fall coloring shrubs. It has curious growths of cork on its branches. Zone 4-8. Package of 15 seeds $2.00
B1711 TREE OF HEAVEN ( AILANTHUS ALTISSIMA )Grown in Europe as a street tree, this specimen also makes a good bonsai. Has pinnate leaves and small panicles of tiny greenish flowers. Very elegant. Zone 4-8. Package of 20 seeds $1.75
D7863 PAPER MULBERRY, Broussonetia papyrifera. Also know as Tapa-Cloth Tree, its origin is China/Polynesia. It will quickly grow to 30 ft. in a frost free climate, or it size can be managed and grown inside in large containers. It has the most unusual shaped leaves I have ever seen on a tree. The bark of this tree was used to make cloth, shoes and helmets in Polynesia, as togas for the wealthy in Europe and as loin cloths for warriors on some islands. Its name also comes from the red fruits that closely resemble mulberries and according to Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, are quite edible. Zone 4-9. Package of 10 seeds $2.50
D7864 EUROPEAN HORNBEAM. CARPINUS BETULUS. A hardy tree resembling a beech that is prized for its very tough wood used to make piano key movements, axles and spokes. A very handsome tree. Zone 5-7. Package of 20 seeds $1.95
D7868 EUROPEAN HACKBERRY. CELTIS AUSTRALIS. From S Europe. Grows to 30m, has gray bark and is grown for its valuable timber. Zone 3-7. Package of 5 seeds $1.95
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