My 8yr old seed grown Texas Mountain Laurel is finally blooming.

That is a pretty shrub. Will it grow to tree size and is it fragrant?

pod said: That is a pretty shrub. Will it grow to tree size and is it fragrant?

It'll get about 10-15 feet tall I've read and has a sweet scent almost like a lilac bush..

Very nice. I hope the blooms are long lasting.

pod said: Very nice. I hope the blooms are long lasting.

Unfortunately they only last a few weeks

I lost one of my Tx Mt. Laurel's after the 'Snowpocalypse/freeze' 2 years ago, but the remaining one, that struggled to survive, on the opposite side of my front sidewalk, finally bloomed again this year. Love the blooms, the scent, and only wish they bloomed for a longer period.

I have never grown one from seed, so my hat's off to you on that success. Yours is lovely! Tried several times but those darn seeds are just so hard I can never prick then too well without splitting the seed in half. Guess I never pricked one deep enough to germinate or thought it was a fail and tired of waiting for anything to happen. @chris1948 Can you please share on how you went about scarifying those pretty red "rocks" to get successful germination?

Sure @Peggy8b, very simply I held the seed with a pair of pliers and took a rasp to score the seed. It took me a few tries to get one to germinate.

Thanks, @chris1948. I'll try it again this year, as I tried that method as well. I probably just didn't score them it deep enough and need to do a lot more than just 2-3 next time. Did you then plant them direct in seedling mix? Or did you soak them in water overnight to soften a bit?

You know @Peggy8b I really don't recall what I did. That was 8 years ago. I think I may have soaked them.

Well, I'm going to give it a try again this year @chris1948. Got nothing to lose. Seeds are free, after all. Will try to scarify, soak and put in dirt see what happens. Thanks, Chris.

You're welcome @Peggy8b, hope it works out.

@Peggy8b Peggy,
If you know someone with an emery wheel/grinder for sharpening tools (or grinding other things), they work great for abrading off a hard seed coat. I've used one on iris seeds, morning glory seeds, canna seeds, and magnolia tree seeds to good effect. The round seeds are hard to grip, but it can be done with a good pair of needle nosed pliers and bit of determination. A LOT faster than a file or sandpaper and better job of doing it quickly. All you need is to grind through a small area of the hard coat so moisture can enter the seed coat to initiate the germination process.

Thanks for the tip, Donald! I actually have one in the garage but never thought to use if for that purpose. Will give it a shot.