Germination of London Plane (platanus acerifolia)

25/6/2012

London Plane seedlings (platanus acerifolia)

London Plane seedlings at approx 4 weeks old

The London Plane is a tree that I have wanted to grow for over 25 years. The reason that I did not grow it before is that I have read so many time that the germination is very poor -below 1%.

Last autumn I collected some seed balls from some beautiful trees growing in a park on a spur of the moment decision. The result as you can see in the above photo is pretty good. The seeds were soaked in water for 24 hours, drained and mixed with a little dry sand to separate them from each other to make sowing them a little easier .

They must have light to enable germination so they were sown in a seed tray on the compost surface. I made 5 short metal hoops to support transparent pallet wrapping film although a clear plastic bag would work equally well. After a day or so the water vapour begins to condense on the inside if the film indicating 100% humidity inside and the correct conditions for surface sown seed to germinate.

After approximately a week kept at room temperature signs of germination were evident. After another week or so covered by the film the edges were lifted slightly to increase air circulation and start to prepare the seedlings for life under more normal conditions

A standard size seed tray with 5 metal hoops made from thin wire supporting a cover of thin pallet wrapping film. This is a system that works very well for any surface sown seed such as paulownia, catalpa etc.

121 Comments

Richard link

31/8/2013 16:28:55

I enjoyed reading your blog, thank you.

Robert

11/9/2013 17:52:03

Thanks for your post - I tried the same thing and sowed mine on the first day of Spring here in Australia. Almost 3 weeks later I have germination. When should I place them in full sun?

Will perry link

15/10/2014 10:46:25

Canker - disease from Sycamore- be careful

Philipp

15/1/2014 04:17:16

The picture with the seedling shows acer seedlings, not platanus seedlings ;)

Vipul Shukla

11/9/2014 15:41:14

I agree. The seedlings look like the sugar maple (Acer) seedlings to me, not Platanus at all.

Sally

25/10/2014 17:31:50

They look exactly like the plane tree seeds that I collected and tried to germinate. Other Acer seeds I have do not have the 'furry' tails like the platanus.

Michael

20/8/2016 18:05:16

They are definitely London Plane seedlings -I collected and pre-treated the seed myself!

Shaun

17/1/2014 23:02:10

Thank you for you blog, I have used this as starting point for my Platanus acerifolia grafting experiment. They are freshly planted and I will return with a new comment to let you know if I reached germination.

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1/9/2014 09:07:00

I have wanted plane trees for years; even though I have a large yard there are already a good number of mature trees and I know that these trees can get very large. (Over the years, some of the trees were removed because they had been damaged or died.) Even so, this spring I was in a park and saw some plane tree seed pods on the ground, so i picked a few up and brought them home. I had some pots that I wasn't going to use for flowers this year, so I took the seed pod, and crumbled it up as you would a cracker for soup. I spread the fuzzy mess over the top of the pots, and lightly sprinkled some damp peat moss over all. I reasoned if only a few came up, that would still be a few more London planes than I had before. Well, many of them came up and are growing like gangbusters. Some are over a foot tall. The leaves to not appear the same as the parents, the parent tree leaves resemble maple trees. These only have one point and rounded edges. One is interesting in that is has very broad leaves. broader than the others. Maybe as they get older that will change. Anyway, I don't know what I will do with them. There must be two dozen, I have thought of planting a row of them along the driveway , and eventually pollarding them but it seems a shame as their branches become so pretty and graceful as they mature.

Yvonne

21/12/2014 03:52:15

Excellent work, clear and concise, i have just returned from France with some seeds from a tree that i saw on the side of the road while i was sat at traffic lights, got them before the lights turned green!.
So i shall plant them and hope for the same sucsess as you have had.

Art

21/7/2015 16:26:12

Did you plant the seeds in the fall or spring?

20/8/2016 18:07:35

They were planted in the Spring after being stored in the fridge during the winter.

Bruno

18/11/2021 15:13:51

Hi Michael,
thank you for your very interesting contribution. I'd like to follow the same procedure, but I have some questions.
Are seeds to be soaked in water before or after storing them in the fridge?
And did you simply put the seed ball in the fridge or did you previously put the seeds in a pot with topsoil and afterwards store it in the fridge?
thank you so much!

Rosemarie Anderson

14/3/2017 19:25:23

Hello,
I picked up a few Plantanus pods in Arizona at a Taoist retreat center near Phoenix this winter. When I got back to my home in southern Oregon, I cracked one open and soaked the seeds in water overnight and planted them in a pot my greenhouse and outside in a sunny spot. Surprisingly, the outside pot seeds are growing faster--perhaps more sun. I just have to protect them with mesh so that the deer will not eat them. I know Plane Trees are considered sacred trees by many so I hope they mature. Rosemarie

Zak

1/4/2017 23:16:10

Thanks!!!!!!!

Tried planting in the soil and got nothing... Now I know that was wrong, I will follow your method.

Karl

12/5/2017 16:44:35

I have a belt of these around my property and for years I have tried getting the seeds to germinate with no luck. I want to make a London Plane bonsai tree to go with my horse chestnut and English Yew :) thanks for the advice, I'll try that!

Hector Vasquez link

24/6/2017 01:33:34

I work in a park in Bathurst, NSW, Australia and I have a project to name the trees. I found a tree that I thought was a American Sycamore but one of my friends said it was a London Plane, checking the internet I found that before the America's discovery there was not a London Plane tree. After the discovery of America the English mix the seeds from a American Sycamore and Oriental Plane from India that already they have in those times & created a Hybrid London Plane tree. I suppose way it is so difficult to germinates the seeds.
My sincere regards Hector.

John link

27/6/2017 22:41:23

Fascinating article, comments also. I'm hoping that someone has replicated your method, or that you have tried it again with success. An important detail you did not describe was how you stored the seed between collection in autumn and sowing in spring. Sheffield's Seeds calls for 3 months cold stratification, which I followed and got under 1% germination, so clearly I'm impressed by your results. Thanks for sharing!

Soumil Yarlagadda

9/4/2021 04:27:05

stratification rots the seeds. do not stratify for that long

Sara

6/11/2017 08:39:59

I picked up a seed pod in Switzerland and brought it back to the UK. I needed to identify the seed pod. Thanks to you - it comes from a Plane Tree. Your website/blog was very helpful. Thank you.

Adam Doyle

7/7/2019 15:17:07

Hi,
I live in Adelaide, South Australia. I have been trying to germinate London Plane seeds for 3 years I have not had one single seed grow.
Has any body got any advice that could help. Is there anything I can put on the seeds etc that would help them germinate?
Please help Im really keen on growing these seeds :)

Rob

23/9/2019 03:55:05

I have previously successfully grown these trees from seed a few years ago (Australia) and am doing so again this year as I need a few more trees.

Here is how I have gone about it

(1) Collect ripe seed balls (usually in early August when all the leaves have fallen off the specimen tree)

(2) Place seed ball in fridge

(3) Just yesterday I purchased sterile seedling mix from the hardware stone

(4) Filled a polystyrene box with 5 inches of the sterile seedling mix

(5) scattered all the seeds from 1 seed ball on the seed mix - made sure all seeds are spread out and not on top of each other

(6) Placed another 10mm of sterile seedling mix over the seeds and lightly watered to ensure seeds do not become displaced

Will let you know of progress

15/10/2019 01:48:28

I have germination!

I planted one entire seed ball that I picked up in the rear lane of the Melbourne Club

The garden of the Melbourne Club contains the largest plane tree in Victoria according to the National Trust's Register of Significant Trees.

I would say that about half the seeds have germinated at this stage, but will update this blog further in a few weeks with what transpires...

22/10/2019 00:46:13

All of my seeds have germinated!

Im not sure that the first post in this thread is correct stating a 1% germination rate for the plane tree...

Nevertheless, can anybody provide advise on when I should transplant the strongest of these seedlings to their individual pots as I have well over 100 plants now growing in a 30cm x 40cm polystyrene box?

Best regards
Rob

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Flora Hu

3/4/2020 00:55:56

The main post office in Providence, RI, USA has a row of beautiful London Plane trees bordering the parking lot. This March, I noticed drifts of "fuzz" against the curbing and realized it was seed. The drifts were very dry and I thought the seed might not be viable - or perhaps had been vernalized after being out all winter and might be ready to germinate. I scooped up a handful brought it home and soaked it in a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water for a couple of days and then planted it on sterile mix, covered lightly with mix and placed in a plastic bag in a bright window. They started popping after a week and I currently have 16 seedlings. When I got the first seedlings, I removed the plastic bag and was surprised when they kept coming. I had read that they need extremely high humidity to germinate. That made me a little uneasy - I wasn't sure that they weren't some weed seedlings that had gotten mixed into the drift - and did a Google search for London Plane Tree seedlings which landed me on this page - and a picture that confirmed my seedlings are indeed London Plane Trees! Thanks.

Bess Coleman link

21/10/2020 16:59:49

Thanks for this valuable info. I visited a giant plane tree in Croatia three years ago and brought home some seed balls. Now l am going to start them!!

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Hi thankss for posting this

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To trigger germination in plane tree seeds, I soak them in water for about 24-48 hours and then sow them in cold frames or indoor seed trays. Keep the soil moist, using a plastic cover for humidity, if necessary, and provide indirect light. In about two weeks, you should have seedlings, but some gardeners and growers report poor germination rates. Use a lot of seeds and thin the seedlings if necessary to have a better chance of getting enough to germinate. Once you have strong, healthy seedlings you can transplant them to pots or to an outdoor spot that can be protected.

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24/3/2021 17:50:27

Hello, i collected a few seed balls in spring, do i soak them or dry them? do they need to be stratified? i live in southern california.

9/4/2021 02:58:33

It’s been 3 weeks and germination is successful! They germinated without any humidity wrap but they need watering and shade. The seedlings started popping up over the last few days and I have around 20 seedlings.

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Thank you for mentioning that the seeds were separated from one another by being soaked in water for 24 hours, drained, and then mixed with some dry sand to facilitate seeding. My sister claims that her tree's leaves are dry. I'll advise her to hire a tree service professional so they can assist her in controlling the tree.

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Germination of London Plane (platanus acerifolia)

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