The Australian tea tree is one of the exotic species, but we can definitely keep it in a bucket. Patience is required for multiplication!
The Australian tea tree, whose tea tree oil is one of the most sought-after miracle cures when it comes to beauty and he alth, is also very popular in this country as an ornamental plant for the balcony or terrace. However, young plants or fully grown plants of this type are hardly available commercially here, so that the Australian tea tree for your own balcony is only available in the form of seeds. This in turn means that propagating the Australian tea tree - called Melaleuca Alternifolia - can only be done in two ways. Below we explain what these are and what needs to be considered.
Propagation of the Australian tea tree begins with the rearing
Since the Australian tea tree plant is hardly available as a fully grown plant or young plant, you can hardly avoid having to raise it yourself to propagate it for your own balcony. This means that the plant can only propagate in two ways:
- once by raising new seedlings from seeds
- or by propagating a young plant that you have already raised yourself.
Both processes require some patience, time, and of course a green thumb.
The good news: If the breeding and propagation of the plant proves to be successful, you can benefit from robust and fairly easy-care plants, which also have one or the other mistake in the everyday can give care. For this reason, the Australian tea trees are also a successful gift for plant lovers.
Growing Australian Tea Tree from Seed
If you don't yet own an Australian tea tree and would like to grow one or more from seeds, you have to consider a few things. For example, the seedlings are particularly sensitive to hygiene and excessive moisture. But you also want to be well informed about the substrate before planting.
In order to successfully grow several Australian tea trees, you first need enough space and many planters with water drainage.Possibility. A suitable substrate, such as rhododendron substrate, that contains as little phosphate and nitrogen as possible is also required for successful growth. Nutrient-rich potting soil is even better. Raising seedlings can be done indoors all year round as long as you have adequate ventilation and a sunny space. When raising for several plants, one should proceed as follows:
- clean all rearing pots well and let them dry in the sun to minimize germs
- Fill in the substrate and moisten it slightly
- Distribute the seeds evenly on the substrate and press down (scatter as far apart as possible to make later pricking easier)
- store at 18 to 20 degrees Celsius
- Fill a saucer with some water and place under the breeding pot, do not water from above
- ventilate frequently
- Grow in indirect sunlight
The ripening of the seedlings can take up to five weeks, only after the seedlings have formed a second pair of leaves can pricking out be considered.
Note the following when pricking out:
- carefully separate the seedlings
- Dig out the selected seedling together with the soil (e.g. with the help of a knife or cake server)
- expose the root carefully
- repot selected plants
Propagate Australian tea tree by cuttings
If you have already been able to successfully grow an Australian tea tree from seed and you now want to get several plants from it, this is possible with cuttings. This should be done in summer, a different substrate is also required.
What is required?
- at best very sandy soil without high peat content
- a sharp knife
- gardening shears
- Freezer bag or cling film
- a pot for planting
What is the procedure?
- Select slightly woody shoot tips and cut off a length of 15 centimeters
Cut off a third of the shoot tip at the front end - Pluck flowers and lower leaves
- Remove the bark from the bottom two centimeters, cutting diagonally or scraping off the bark layer
- Put the bark and leaf-free part in the moistened substrate
- Place cling film or freezer bag over the pot
- place the pot in indirect sunlight
- Air the film very frequently to avoid excess moistureprevent
- store at 20 to 25 degrees Celsius
Cuttings made using this procedure will take approximately four to five weeks to establish roots. You can usually tell that the plant has successfully propagated using this method by the fact that it develops completely new shoots or gets new leaves. Depending on the size of the chosen pot, it should be repotted as soon as possible.