Boswellia sacra seeds/seedlings

[dvg]

I was able to purchase some Boswellia sacra seeds, commonly known as frankincense, a few months back from miniatree.com.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got around to sowing the seeds.

A few seeds were poured out and had their picture taken.



That night the seeds were sown and a few days later I had seedlings working their way up through a pumice top dressing.



This was the first seedling to come up, showing cotyledons looking like a set of antlers.



This pic from today shows a seedling with its first set of true leaves.



And this pot had the best germination rates among the 3 other 6 inch diameter pots that were sown.



Overall, the germination worked out to just under 10% for these seeds.

Jason Eslamieh, the founder of miniatree.com wrote a book about cultivating all 19 species of the Boswellia genus, and Jason also grows all 19 species at his nursery.

I found the book very helpful for putting together my seedling media, and for tips on humidity, temperature requirements and watering.

www.amazon.com/Cultivation-Boswellia-Jason-Eslamieh/dp/0982875118



dvg

[hackerberry]

So, mmmmmm... How much are you selling them for? hehe..

hb

[Avery]

That's so cool. I know nothing about cultivating these plants but keep us updated!

[lloyd]

You gotta love weird plants.

[31drew31]

Just googled this plant and wow it is pretty weird but cool too.

[dvg]

Thanks guys,

Of the 19 Boswellia species, this one B. sacra is considered the Hercules of the genus.

B. sacra, once it has become an established plant, is very tolerant of a wide range of environmental conditions, from drought to wide swings in humidity and temperature, and as long as temps are not below freezing, this species will thrive where others won't.

While reading the cultivation book on this genus, I was surprised at the differences in cultivation requirements for the different species - some are quite difficult to grow well depending where the grower is located.

And because these plants will have to be pruned back to keep them manageable, these plants will then ooze out a protective healing resin where the branches have been cut back, and this dried resin once collected, is commonly know as frankincense - which can be used for a number of beneficial purposes.

All in all, a great plant to have in any collection and one that should be tough enough to be around for many, many years.

Below is a link to my review of The Miniatree Garden.

ocps.proboards.com/thread/5624/good-exotic-plant-nurseries-vendors?page=1&scrollTo=54511


dvg