Japanese Zelkova, Japanese Elm (zelkova serrata)

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£1.15
1.15 24 £1.15 - £24.00
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Seed Prices


0.5 gram (approx 45 seeds) £1.15

1 gram (approx 90 seeds) £1.65

2 grams (approx 180 seeds) £2.15

5 grams (approx 450 seeds) £3.75

10 grams (approx 900 seeds) £6.10

25 grams (approx 2250 seeds) £13.25

50 grams (approx 4500 seeds) £24.00


Use the drop down button below to select the seed quantity

Photo Credits
Trunk -by I, Liné1, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2280783
Leaf -by KENPEI - KENPEI's photo, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2122962
Branchlet -CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128642
Tree -by Bruce Marlin - Own work http://www.cirrusimage.com/tree_Japanese_zelkova.htm, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2807311

Germination, Sowing and After Care Information for
​Japanese Zelkova (zelkova serrata)


Zelkova seeds have a medium dormancy within them, this requires a degree of patience to overcome and it is usually quite easy to get high levels of germination if the correct procedures are followed. 

First prepare a free draining substrate into which the seeds are to be mixed, this can be a 50/50 mixture of compost and sharp sand, or perlite, vermiculite or even just pure sharp sand has worked well for me. The chosen substrate needs to be moist (but not wet), if you can squeeze water out of it with your hand it is too wet and your seeds may drown and die. 

Mix the seeds into the substrate, making sure that their is enough volume of material to keep the seeds separated. Place the seed mixture into a clear plastic bag (freezer bags, especially zip-lock bags are very useful for this -provided a little gap is left in the seal for air exchange) If it is not a zip-lock type bag it needs to be loosely tied. 

Write the date on the bag so that you know when the pre-treatment was started and set yourself a calendar reminder so that they are sown at the correct time!

The seeds require a cold period to break the dormancy that is naturally found within them, this is easily achieved by placing the prepared bag of seeds and compost mix in the fridge (4 Celsius or 39F) for 8 weeks. Towards the end of the treatment period it is quite possible for the seeds to germinate in the bag at these temperatures, if they do, just remove them from the bag and carefully plant them up. 

Alternatively it has also been found that fluctuating pre-treatment temperatures can give the best germination results and I have myself had excellent results by keeping the mixed seeds in a cold shed through the winter for the pre-treatment and allowing the temperature to fluctuate naturally.

Once the pre-treatment period is over all of the seeds can be sown in a large pot, plug tray or seed tray filled with a good quality compost. Seedlings should begin to germinate within a few weeks. Keep them well watered and weed free and out of direct sunlight to begin with. 
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Growth in the first year is usually between 5 and 15cm and usually trouble free. Growth accelerates during the second year.  Allow them to grow for 2 or 3 years before planting them in a permanent position.