I misplaced one of the baby smoke trees that I wrote about in my last post, so I returned to where I found them growing. I didn’t find it there — I found it later in a random tray — but now there were more. Two little trees sprouted just like the others, out of branches that I had pruned and scattered a few months earlier.
Then I found a true seedling. I didn’t think a hybrid plant could grow true from seed, without reverting to one of its parents, but maybe it’s too early too tell. The leaves, however, look the same as the others. If a hybrid isn’t grafted, do the seeds come true? Depends?
All of this occurred in bare soil within 2–3 feet of the main smoke tree. The area was once grass that I covered in 4–6 inches of wood chips, a few years ago. Adding mulch, from trees felled in the neighborhood, is one of the only things I’ve ever done to augment the soil in my yard. And it clearly helps with propagation.
