How to propagate sycamore trees

Hello,

I'm interested in growing sycamore trees but I'm unsureof the best way. Should I use seeds? If so do theyneed any pretreatment and what kind? Or should Iuse cuttings? If so, when is the best time to takecuttings? What strength rooting hormone should I use,and about how long before roots start to develope.

Thanks for you help,

Jeff</p>

My limited knowledge of Sycamore propagation is that fresh seed must be used, not old seed. I have never tried to propagate Sycamore from cuttings. Good luck.</p>

Here is some info I have on hand re propagating California sycamore Platanus racemosa, as I just happened to be looking at it the other day:

Be careful NOT TO GET SEED FROM the exotic London plane tree or THE HYBRIDS with the native California sycamore: the native has deeply lobed leaves while London plane has shallowly-lobed, sometimes coarsely serrated leaves; native has 3+ seed clusters per stem 0.5-0.75' diameter while London plane hybrids generally have 1-3 seed clusters per stem >1' diameter.

Seeds collected Oct-Jan and into early spring, and germinated within 3 months have best success. Make sure seeds are ripe. If not, dry in a cool, dry place until seed heads break apart easily. Remove stems and break apart fruit clusters. Air-dry for a few days. Place seeds in air-tight jars for storage if desired store @ 35-41F for up to a year.

My two sources diverge on whether or not to stratify cold treat the seeds:version 1-- Combine several T of seeds with 1C moist vermiculite. Place in a plastic sandwich bag. Loosely close to allow some air. Place bag in the refrigerator. Keep seeds moist in the bag by occasionally adding small amounts of water. Don't allow free water to collect in the bottom of the bag. Cold stratify for 2-3 months at 35-41F. Prep germination tray with drainage, with 1' moist potting soil. Spread thin layer of seed/vermiculite. Place in a warm greenhouse environment for germination. Transplant 1/2-1' seedlings with 2-4 foliage leaves, as they germinate. Keep seeds and seedlings moist and warm. Fungus can develop if too moist. Germination over several weeks, @ 30-90%.

version 2-- No cold stratification. Germinate at peak daytime temperatures of 24-31 deg C 75-88 deg F, but not as low as 13 deg C 55 deg For as high as 38 deg C 100 deg F.

Credit to:The Nature Conservancy, Sac River Project, Riparian Forest Restoration Manual, 1998 Copyrighted material. also,Laurie Archambault, who did sycamore research as a grad student at CSU Chico.</p>

Whoops, Let me clarify that last post: the 'no-cold stratification' method was done with seed collected late winter-early spring ?natural stratification.</p>