Katsura | 25+ seeds | Cercidiphyllum Japonicum | Toffee Apple Seeds

Katsura has fabulous colour-changing, heart shaped leaves. The copper-toned green foliage turns stunning shades of yellow, orange, pink, purple and red in autumn and releases a delicious, distinctive caramel scent. As new heart shaped leaves emerge in spring, they are supplemented by small, subtle flowers.Katsura will grow on most soils, buy as with Acers, acidic soil produces the most vibrant displays. It prefers sun or light shade in a slightly sheltered position to protect from late frosts.

Katsura seeds benefit from a short period of cold stratification. Stratification is a process of simulating natural conditions that the seeds must experience before germination can occur (if a seed germinates in the middle of winter it will die). In the wild, seed dormancy is usually overcome by the seed spending time in the ground through a winter period and having its hard seed coat softened up by frost and weathering action. This cold, moist period triggers the seed's embryo; its growth and subsequent expansion eventually break through the softened seed coat in its search for sun and nutrients.

Place the seeds in a water-filled bowl. 

Soak the seeds fin a bowl of water for a couple of hours. 

Mix the seeds with a small amount of damp compost

Place in a ziplock bag and put in fridge for 10 days

Remove from fridge and mix seeds with some coarse sand

Spread mixture on the surface of a tray of moist compost

PRess gently into the surface to ensure a good contact

Cover tray with clear lid or clinfilm with some air holes

Germination takes from 10-20 days depending on the conditions

After germonation slowly remove the lid over a few days

Pot on when large enough to handle