I’m starting a thread to capture experiences anyone has had working with mesquite trees as bonsai. I was inspired by Hawaiian mesquite on the beaches on Maui, but was unable to obtain seeds due to agricultural restrictions. So, I decided to go with the next best thing and grabbed a bag of local seeds from a nursery in AZ.
My first pro tip is you absolutely need to soak the pods, scarify the seeds, and then soak the seeds again. Trying to break open the pods gracefully when they are dry is difficult and you end up with fibrous pod interior sticking to your seeds. After an overnight soak the pod splits easily and removing the seeds is a breeze.
The seeds themselves have a very tough outer layer that requires you need to puncture . I tried planting 20 seeds without scarification with a zero percent germination rate after 30 days. I then tried scarifying five seeds with a file and giving them a second 24 hour soak with a 100% germination rate within 3 days.
Do not skimp on the second soak. The inner seeds needs to be busting out of the outer covering completely before you plant. On subsequent trials I got impatient and gave them shorter soaking times and most of the sprouts were unable shed the outer layer.
In terms of planting medium, I found 100% perlite works best whereas 50/50 perlite coco coir seemed to be a death sentence. No idea on why though.
I hope someone trying mesquite for the first time finds this useful.
We have many native Tx mesquite, started from seed.
We needed to scar the seed thoroughly, using extremely sharp pruning sheers to nip perforations into the hard shell, then soaking thoroughly. Using fresh seeds, the germination rate was nearly 100%
They grow like weeds, and need constant pruning, or the leader will grow to over a meter even in a 4" starter. The good news is, they bifurcate easily, and I was able to get a single branch to fork multiple times in a single growing season without noticeable reduction of vigor.
They are sensitive to frost, and smaller/younger branches will die back significantly if left out in freezing temperatures.
hi guys someone talking mesquite, have you tried to grow mesquite cuttings, like firewood trunks i have 5 trunks that were going to be used for fire wood , trunks are 2 ft long 4, 8, and 10 inches wide no roots, the tree was 30 ft tall , 95 years old, the trunk had to come down,it was hitting the roof. stuck the stumps in the hot bakeing jeep 100 degrees. for 2 weeks , desided to take them out and stack them on fire wood pile,when i open the jeep door there bushes of growth growing off all the trunks , Ryan told me to put them in buckets of water ,changing water every2 days. ,when you see slim build up at the bottom don’twash it off ,the the formation of the callus ,where roots are developing. its 2 months and still growing . there in dirt 111 mix let them dry out between watering that key. any questions im a Mirai member im on Facebook . here are the trees.
