Propagate a silk tree is a tedious process. Propagating a silk acacia, as the tree is also called, is only worthwhile if you have enough patience. This is how to propagate a silk tree.
How do I propagate a silk tree?
To propagate a silk tree, you must harvest or purchase seeds, pre-soak them in warm water, sow them in nursery pots with substrate, cover thinly with soil, moisten, cover with a plastic cap and care for in warm, bright conditions.
Harvest or buy seeds for propagation
If you already have a silk tree in your garden, you can harvest seeds yourself for propagation. Long fruiting bodies with seeds develop from the flowers. Once ripe, these are dried until it is time to sow. Remember that the seed contains toxins.
However, a sleeping tree only blooms when it is a certain age and at least 1.50 meters high.
If you can't harvest your own seeds, you can get them from garden shops (€1.00 on Amazon).
Preparing seeds
The seed of the sleeping tree is quite large and thick-shelled. It must be placed in warm water for a day before sowing so that it can swell.
How to sow a dormant tree
- Pre-swell seeds
- Fill cultivation pots with substrate
- Put out seeds
- cover thinly with soil
- Moisten the soil
- cover with plastic cover
- set up warm and bright
Growing from seeds is only possible if the ambient temperature is very high. It has to be around 25 degrees. The location for the cultivation pots should be nice and bright, but it is better to avoid direct sun.
Air the cling film once a day to prevent mold from forming.
After sowing, keep it warm and bright
It sometimes takes several weeks or months for the silk acacia seeds to germinate. Make sure that the substrate does not dry out during this time.
As soon as the young sleeping tree is around 15 to 20 centimeters high, plant it in a small pot and continue to care for it like an adult plant.
The silk tree is only allowed outdoors when it is several years old, as it is not yet hardy at the beginning.
Tip
The growth of the silk acacia is quite rapid. The tree can grow up to eight meters high outdoors. If you want to limit the growth, cut it back a little and also shorten the roots when repotting.