Growing Native Plants from Seed
Most native plants produce a lot of seed. Some of it is eaten, supporting a variety of native fauna. Some of it lands on infertile soil, or gets washed away. Some of it rots. Only a small minority if seeds end up in fertile soil and able to getminate into a seedling. Even then, the seedling can be attacked by mold, or eaten by bugs or mice. Too much rain may flood it or wash it away, too little rain and and it will wither and die. Some seedlings will not survive in deep shade, others will wilt and die in strong sun. A careful and responsible seed collector can increase the number of healthy native plants by collecting a small percentage of the seed, storing it safely, then planting it in ideal conditions at the appropriate time, protecting the seedling from predators, and ensuring it gets the right amount of water and sunlight.
How to Grow Native Plants from Seed
Growing native plants from seeds is the cheapest and most satisfying way to create a beautiful native plant garden.
Few things are more satisfying than watching butterflies flit from plant to plant when you grew those plants yourself from miniscule seeds. Without your efforts, there would not have been native plants there to support the butterflies and other natural native fauna.
It takes time and patience to grow plants from seeds, but once they are established, most native plants are perennial, which means that they will come back every year, often bigger and better than the year before. If they are planted in suitable conditions, they will flower and create more seed. These seeds will give rise to even more native plants, which you can move to other parts of your garden or give to friends.
It is important to keep the seeds dry until you are ready to use them. They should not be allowed to get hot.
The cheapest and easiest thing to do is to find a suitable spot in your garden, remove all the plants which would compete with the seedlings, then simply scatter the seeds in the fall. Rub them into the soil so they are just lightly covered. Mark the spot and look carefully for seedlings in the spring. Water them in times of drought and thin them out so they are not growing too close together. However, the seeds may be eaten, they may rot, they may get washed away, or the seedlings may be eaten by mice or other pests. Only a few (or maybe none!) will grow up to be mature plants.
Seeds can be planted indoors in special potting soil designed for growing seeds. They can be started in early spring on a windowsill, or under lights in a garage or basement, or in a greenhouse. This way they are protected from pests. You can ensure they are kept warm and not allowed to get too wet or two dry. As the seedlings grow, you can thin them out, and carefully transplant them into larger pots. Move the pots into a sheltered outdoor location until they are big enough to plant outside.
Some seeds are a bit more complicated to grow indoors. They need “cold moist stratification” which is a fancy way of saying that they need to be fooled into thinking that they have been through winter and are waking up now, ready to grow in the good spring weather. Planting the seeds outside in the fall, as discussed above, is a natural way to do this. Another way to do this is to plant them in slightly moist soil in pots in the fall, and leave the pots in a cool, safe place over winter. Alternatively, the seeds can be mixed with some slightly damp sand or sphagnum moss, and stored in plastic bags in a refrigerator for several months. It is important that they do not get too wet, or they will rot.
Other seeds, such as Kentucky coffee tree require “scarification”. This means that they have a hard outer coating which needs to be broken down. In nature, this often means that the seed should be eaten by something, have the coat digested by the creature’s stomach acid, then the seed is planted in a pile of fertilizer when the animal does its business. The same effect can be achieved by gently scratching the seed with sandpaper, or sometimes just by soaking it in water for 24 hours.
Good luck! Remember that even if only a few of sees grow into healthy plants, you have been successful!
Seed Collecting
Begin by finding some suitable healthy native plants, and asking the owner's permission to collect seeds unless they are growing by the roadside). Wait untilt he seeds are ripe and ready to be collected. This may be shown by a change from green and moist to brown and dry. The rest of theplant may begin to wither and die, as it has done its work for the season by producing seeds. The most reliable sign is that some of the seeds are already falling off the plant. look for the seeds which seem as if they will be next to fall, and collect those.
DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN 10% OF THE SEEDS. Leave the rest for natural regeneration, and to allow creatures which feed on the seeds a food supply.
Keep the seeds dry, so that they do not rot,until you are ready to start to use them. It is often easier to collect a whole stem or seed head at first, to clean and process later.If you leave the material in a sealed plastic bag it will rot. Ideally, collect bone dry material in paper bags, or leave the top of the plastic bag open to allow air to circulate. If the material is at all damp, lay it out on newspapers in a thin layer to dry off.
Once the material is dry, separate the seeds from the casing and other plant material. A range of seives can help. Often the chaff can be gently blown away, leaving the denser seeds behind. Once the seeds are dry, they should be labelled with the species, the location of collection, and the date of collection. They can now be put into sealed plastic bags and stored in a dark cool location. A fridge is ideal,if available, but any other dry dark and cool place is OK.