Chinese Toona/Red Toon/Fragrant Spring/Garlic and Onions Trees

Not sure whether this belongs in the trees forum or perennial vegetables.  Being a perennial green from a tree.  Please feel free to relocate.  

Striking out at the regional nurseries when looking for the Toona sinensis trees I'd heard so much about, we bought a packet of seeds in February.  Had heard they were a little difficult to germinate, but we got around a 90% success rate in peat pellets in a rather warm room beside a furnace.  

A couple months down the line they're doing great.  Have high hopes they will thrive here in zone 6b.  Will be re-potting to some 1-gallons shortly. Currently trucking them in and out to avoid frosts. Can't wait to try the stir-fry!  

I have some and think they're really neat. Apparently some cultivars are tastier than others. Mine have a sort of bitter taste but I like them

James Landreth wrote:I have some and think they're really neat. Apparently some cultivars are tastier than others. Mine have a sort of bitter taste but I like them

Fingers crossed one of the trees we keep will be palatable.  I've no idea how true to type these are from seed.  I understand lots of folks get new trees from root runners -so clones of presumably tasty trees.  

i'm a fan of the flavor and i have a few trees, but they seem to get some kind of canker and die back by the time they're 3 or 4 years old here. i've a got another round of seedlings to plant, but not feeling real hopeful about it.

Hi John, did you have a chance to taste any of the seedling leaves before the season ended to compare flavor qualities?  I currently have two different Toona sinensis trees and find that although the flavor is similar between the two, the palatability is vastly different.  The one I purchased at a high price from an edible plant nursery I consider to be inedible due to an "off" flavor that reminds me of mold.  The second tree which I purchased from an ornamental plant nursery at a very reasonable price doesn't seem to have any of the "off" flavor, but all of the good flavor that people claim this species has (umami & oniony).  I'd love to know more about your seedling batch.  

Sorry for the late reply.  

A quick update:

Toon trees I planted outdoors and also the ones I overwintered in pots have come awake with a near 100% survival rate.  Evidently some hardy trees.  

I have only tasted a few emerging leaves on two trees.  There seems to be a some difference when the genetic dice are rolled.  Some tree's leaves have emerged entirely green.  Others tinged in red.  Some entirely red.  Of those I have tasted, one was fairly bland.  Another very garlicky and umami.  Should sample and tag them all while the tender leaves are present.  

so, while i mentioned earlier that they seem to die back to the ground here, my two trees from several years ago keep sending up new trunks from the roots. most of last year’s new trunks are sending out new shoots now...i really would prefer to be able to pollard them, but i guess i’ll take what i can get.

for what it’s worth, i haven’t noticed any flavor difference between my two plants. i don’t know if my newer seedlings survived the winter yet.

John,

Thanks for the update!  It'll be fascinated to find out if there's any credibility to the belief that the green leaved types are bland and the red ones best flavored.  The only way that would make sense being as both types can emerge from the same batch of seed would be if the chemical compounds responsible for the color itself were directly related to the desirable flavors.  

After having tasted the named clone 'Flamingo' and finding it far superior to the specimen I had bought from an edible plant nursery I decided to start propagating 'Flamingo' for my own small specialty nursery in Washington.  Since I'll have a lot available later this year I was thinking maybe I could send you one to add into your tasting line up for comparison with your other seedlings.  I already know 'Flamingo' tastes good, but it would be really cool to see how similar or different it tastes compared to other good tasting seedlings.  

Thank you for the offer, Johann!  Would be awesome to compare a Flamingo clone.  Let me know.  

Johann Kuntz wrote:John,

Thanks for the update!  It'll be fascinated to find out if there's any credibility to the belief that the green leaved types are bland and the red ones best flavored.  The only way that would make sense being as both types can emerge from the same batch of seed would be if the chemical compounds responsible for the color itself were directly related to the desirable flavors.  

After having tasted the named clone 'Flamingo' and finding it far superior to the specimen I had bought from an edible plant nursery I decided to start propagating 'Flamingo' for my own small specialty nursery in Washington.  Since I'll have a lot available later this year I was thinking maybe I could send you one to add into your tasting line up for comparison with your other seedlings.  I already know 'Flamingo' tastes good, but it would be really cool to see how similar or different it tastes compared to other good tasting seedlings.  

John Skaggs wrote:
Thank you for the offer, Johann!  Would be awesome to compare a Flamingo clone.  Let me know.  

Hey John,
 It's a good time for shipping now that the Toona here is about done entering dormancy.  Send me a "purple mooseage" with the shipping address you want the T. sinensis 'Flamingo' sent to.

Thanks,
Johann