Anyone who has always wanted to have an incense tree in their garden has the option of growing a new plant from seeds or cuttings. You can find out how this works in detail here.
Anyone who loves something special and is looking for a gardening challenge at the same time is well advised to use an incense tree (Boswellia). The bizarre plants are native to the arid regions of Africa, India or southern Arabia. There they grow under inhospitable conditions, on stony slopes, up to an altitude of about 1,200 meters.
Frankincense is a rarity in our latitudes and you will get many admiring looks if you manage to grow a small frankincense tree. Even those who already own a frankincense tree may want to think about propagating it, either to cultivate several plants themselves or to give away the exotic plant. You can now find out what to consider when propagating the frankincense tree and how you can successfully propagate this bizarre exotic species.
The propagation of the frankincense tree is possible in two ways:
- Cuttings
- Sowing
Propagation by cuttings
In order to start propagating cuttings, you should already have a frankincense tree or at least know someone who is already successfully cultivating the exotic. He will certainly be happy to give you cuttings. These occur when pruning the trees anyway and the acquaintance or neighbor saves themselves the disposal.
» Tip: The propagation of cuttings on the frankincense tree is very promising. Try it!
Relatively fresh shoots that have not yet become woody are used as cuttings. The cuttings should be four to six inches long and have a few pairs of leaves.
» Tip: The cuttings should have diagonal cut surfaces.
Leaves and buds are only left on the top of the cutting. All leaves must be removed from the part of the shoot that will later be under the ground so that it does not close under the ground laterrot is coming. The cutting is placed in soil and watered. The cuttings should be kept moist and placed in a light and warm place. Experience has shown that the first fresh shoots will appear after a few weeks. This is the best sign of successful propagation. At this point, the cuttings have already developed stable roots and are now being cultivated like fully-grown frankincense trees.
Coming soon:
- Cutting
- Remove Sheets at Bottom
- Put the cuttings in the planter
- Place the planter bright and warm
- Wait for rooting
» Tip: Pricking out the plants should not take place until after about two years. Young plants are particularly sensitive and do not tolerate any changes or interventions.
Propagation by seed
If you want to try to grow a frankincense tree from seeds, the first question is: Where can I get the seeds? It depends on whether you are already cultivating a frankincense tree yourself and have successfully produced fruit, or whether you know a similarly successful hobby gardener who will leave the seeds to you.
» How are the seeds extracted from the fruit?
The fruits are harvested first. Then remove the flesh and skin from the stone. If possible, the core should not have any remains of pulp, so that it does not start to mold or rot when planted.
» What should you watch out for with the seeds?
The seeds should be as fresh as possible. Before you start sowing, soak the seeds in warm water for a day.
» Tip: Don't be fussy when sowing seeds, because usually only one or two seeds out of 100 bought seeds will germinate.
Viable seeds must pass the “water test”. After the kernels have been soaked for 24 hours, many will be on the surface. Any seeds that float above can be discarded. These will not germinate. Only a few seeds will float on the bottom. You can sow these because the chances of germination are very high.
As already mentioned, the seeds can be harvested yourself or bought in stores. Fresh seeds have the best chance of germinating. Experience has shown that anyone who buys seeds (this is often possible at plant exchanges) only has about five percent germinable seeds in the bag. With freshly harvested seeds, the chances are far higher. Watering is important to seeds that are not already germinatingto be able to sort out.
Use a flat planter for sowing and cover the seed only thinly with substrate. Uniform soil can be used for cultivation. It is better to add sand and perlite (e.g. available here) to the substrate from the start.
Perlite is a rock that is very often mixed with normal potting soil. It serves to store water and improve soil aeration.The planter should be set up very warm. An ambient temperature of at least 27 degrees is necessary. To speed up germination, you should cover the planting tray with foil or glass. The microclimate thus improvised creates the necessary conditions for possible germination.
» Tip: If possible, ventilate the cover of the planting bowl daily so that the lack of air exchange does not lead to mold growth.
Watering should not be too intensive. If the planter is covered, the moisture will last longer.
» When does germination occur?
Patience is required here. The first shoots can appear after four weeks of germination. It can also take several months before successful propagation is indicated by shoot tips. So don't throw in the towel too quickly.
» What happens to the young plants?
After germination, the cuttings are initially kept very warm and watered accordingly. The location should not be changed, because young plants are particularly sensitive to the smallest changes. The shoots should have grown to a height of at least ten centimeters. Now the cuttings can be carefully placed in planters. Gradually less is poured and in the warm season the plants are allowed to move to the balcony or terrace.
Coming soon:
- Win or Buy Seeds
- Water seeds
- Prepare substrate
- Bring seeds
- Cover seeds lightly with soil
- Place the planting bowl bright and warm
- ensure high humidity
- water moderately
- Wait for germination
Advantages and disadvantages of both types of propagation
| Propagation method | Advantages | Disadvantages / heyday |
|---|---|---|
| Cuttings | ✔ quite promising ✔ rooting occurs quickly ✔ grows independent plants quite quickly | ✘ strong plant must be available, which is suitable for cutting cuttings |
| Sowing | ✔ itseveral plants can be grown ✔ relatively small space requirement due to small seed pot ✔ seeds can be obtained from existing incense trees | ✘ Seeds should be sown fresh ✘ Seeds are hard to come by and not cheap ✘ low germination rate ✘ tedious |