so this is what is happening at my house ......
the tulip tree is 90 years old. the reason that conservation is collecting the seeds verses another one down the road that is say 30 years old is that they want to find what they call a True Tree.. A Native Tree with no chance of cross pollination with something else or any grafting maybe ........so in the end true seed....... the same genes as the parents then will happen. Since the tree here is not to grow in this zone and they are not sure how this tree grew to be this old in this zone......... the only answer is that the tree has a micro climate going on around it and has some protection from 2 old maples here..
The plan is take the seeds off the tree in the fall and then they will get the seeds taken out and then they send them to a nursery to see if they will geminate again..........and grow in this zone..
part of the problem they say is the small window for the pollinators........ this tree at 90 had tons of bumble bees and tons of honey bees.......... just in flower right actually. the 20 year old and 30 year old tulip trees around here have very little pollination going on.... at night the tree is covered in moths.... The flowers do not open all at once either and the tree has had bees for about a week now...... Noticed today that there are very few bees around now and personally not seen many bees towards the bottom of tree. The tree is approx. 80 feet tall........
they are hoping the young ones can survive but like stated do not produce that many viable seeds and many tulips do not produce viable seed until they are 50 years old........ a lot of seeds before that but not viable..
if you cut open a pod and it is white inside......the seed is viable.........if it is brown inside......it is not........ that is what I was told..........
My tree has likely put tons of viable seeds for years now that get eaten by the animals in the winter time...
Viable seeds stay up on the tree in the pod.......... ones that are not fall to the ground...........
they will be coming to climb up the tree to get the pods here sometime this fall........not sure when but likely October or so.....
hope some of this helps.......
