Bunya - germinating

Phil@Tyalgum says...
They kind of look more like potatoes to me, and bunya nuts are really only around in Feb/March, they tend to rot fairly quickly if left on the ground. If you do find the real thing, they do, in fact, intially grow into a little tuber from the seed (looks a lot like an oca tuber) in their first year, then in the second year they send up the little conifer shoot above ground. No other special treatment but you have to be patient.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
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Jason says...
haha I don't know what they are if they aren't potatoes then you have me beat. But for sure they aren't Bunya seed. Bunyas take foreverrrrr to germinate, well.... don't take long to germinate but take loooooong to do there old time germination thing where they grow a root then a bulb then some other fancy stuff for a year then finally grow when you are about to empty the pot :p. I swear the first time I grew them I did empty the pot then I thought...... what in the.... is that??? and why do I have it? in this pot and why is there five of them?! lol. but one of them was sending up a tiny tiny little Bunya trunk and I figured it out, then re-potted them.

As for being too old to grow a bunya, they are a beautiful tree right from the age of 1 day old :) so it doesn't matter. I have one about 10 years old and 8? feet tall and it's probably the best looking tree I have already so I can't care less about the fruit. I've actually never been mean enough to eat a seed of such a tree when I could be growing them (that's what I've done with all of them every time I've had them :) ). They live for hundreds and hundreds of years too, so that's one you plant for someone else. Finding a home for the monsters is the hard part, I think I forgot to tell Jantina she's getting one :P but she is

amanda says...
Probably on the money trikus: husband reports "they came from the middle of a female buyna palm on the side of the road" ...bless him.
He has tried microwaving them to eat them..eek. Advised maybe not a good idea!?
Nice philosophy guys - if I come across the real deal I will be sure to push under the soil :)

John Mc says...
Yep, I'll back John up on that one. The seeds are contained in huge cones that can dent a car's duco if it happened to be under the tree when it(the cone) falls. They usually fall Feb,/March around here. Very popular bush tucker, must be cooked well.

Phil@Tyalgum says...
The confusion may be because some species are known as "Burrawang", although that particular name really only applies to Macrozamia communis from coastal NSW. The three WA species it may be are M. dyeri, M. fraseri or M. riedlei. Great specimen plants, they'll look great in a few years' time.

Sandra says...
Hi Jason, I read on your forum that you have planted and grown Bunya Nut Pines from seed. I have about 10 seeds from my fathers tree in Kingaroy QLD. My father loved this tree and after he passed 2 years ago I decided to get the seeds from his tree and grow one for myself. I have them in a bag and now the weather is starting to warm up I thought it would be a great time to plant them. I understand they take about 1 year to germinate but that's about all I know. Can you please tell me all you know about getting this cherished little seeds up and growing? We live in Redhead, Newcastle so I believe they would be fine here. Can you advise on soil, size of pot, sun exposure, watering etc? Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Sandra

giveaway bunya nuts says...
I have 25 cones which have fallen in the last week if anyone's interested. Email me. You can have them for free.

Peter O says...
I have been growing Bunyas for about 15 years when I can get seed.
I put a good 150mm of concrete sand in a polystyrene box, place the seeds on them at about 100 - 150 mm centres, cover them with about 25mm sand. before watering put them in a warm place ( underneith a bench in a shade house is good but off the ground or the worms will get in)
Water and forget them.
Keep moist and after 4 - 10 months they will send up a single straight shoot like something out of science fiction.
The root will already be well established and as soon as the shoot starts to open transplant them

Jim says...
how many years before the tree fruits (or nuts)

BJ says...
yep, around 10 years is a good indication of the time to get fruit. We have a tree at the farm which is estimated at 30 years which produces around 5 stacked wheelbarrow loads in the 'off' years, and many more during the quadrennial bumber crop. I love them in stir fry dishes and the like.

Yes, dont plant near a drive way. You'll never worry about hail damage again! And dont plant delicate things under or within 5m of them, as we found out in the case of the exploding frangipanni.

BJ says...
Plant whenever you like. Just try to put somewhere that rats cant get at them. They take a long time to emerge from the ground as they put their energy into growing a tuber, then shoot out up to a year after planting. I throw bad nuts into the yard and usually have a few score wee plants shooting 16 months later.

Jason says...
On the other hand you are much more likely to be killed by a random falling mana gum branch. At least with bunyas you can eat the offender and you know roughy when its going to fall.

I don't walk under trees that drop branches so I can do the same with bunyas.

sternus1 says...
The difference being Jason that you are able to identify a bunya nut tree and assess the risk whereas a lot (probably most) couldn't. A cracking branch will make a lot more sound at the moment of breaking and on the way down than a falling bunya nut.

I don't rate them highly as a food, but then again I've only ever had them roasted in coals without any condiments or anything accompanying them.

Are you still after an opuntia? I scored a burbank's a few weeks back and it has started to grow a new paddle, can post when it is ready.

s

sternus1 says...
See BJ I'm too gastronomically inept and barbarous to make anything even remotely that sophisticated from them. I tried to make vegan Jelly ( with agar) for my GF recently, and you could have used the result to re-sole a high end sports shoe. Bloody woeful.

This is me all over:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q66NuZrB2E

sternus1 says...
Yeah I can spot one well enough, but the average punter who has no interest in trees probably wouldn't be able to.

sternus1 says...
would that tree be in Mitchelton?

Jason says...
I was wondering what size do Bunya's start producing?. I only ask because my largest tree is growing fairly quickly these days

BJ says...
They are said to be fairly consistent in producing female cones from about 14 years near Toowoomba. Its probably a bit quicker on the coast here and probably a bit longer down south.

brad16 says...
Daleys has just listed 20 Bunyas in 50 mm forestry tubes for $4.90 each.