In the fall of the year after the magnolia tree’s flowers are gone, the seed pods, which are very exotic cones, open to reveal their bright red berries that squirrels, birds, and other animals love. Inside these berries, you can find magnolia seeds, which you can use to grow a new tree. Learn all about how to grow magnolia from seed in this guide.
How to Get Magnolia Seeds
Although you can repot and grow a magnolia through seedlings, you can also grow a magnolia from seed. Propagating Magnolia seeds will require a little more of your effort because they are not purchased in packets but from the tree itself. However, once collected you have to hurry to grow them because when they dry out, they are no longer useful.
Therefore, before collecting the magnolia seed pods determine if the tree you are going to grow is a hybrid, as hybrid magnolias although they propagate, do not resemble the original tree.
How to Grow Magnolia from Seed
Follow these steps and you will learn how to grow magnolia from seed:
When picking magnolia seed pods to remove the seeds, you should do so when the berries are red. Remove the seeds and soak them in warm water overnight. The next day, remove the outer coating from the seeds by rubbing them against a cloth or squeezing them and place them in a container with moist sand and place them in the refrigerator for three months. This process is called stratification.
Once the three months are up, you can grow magnolias from seeds in the spring, either in the ground or in pots. Once you have placed them in the ground, cover them with a little soil and keep them moist until their seedlings emerge.
Protect the seedlings from intense sunlight for the first 365 days.
