Saving & Sowing

Native Seeds

Saving Seeds

Blown Open Swamp Milkweed Seed Pods

White Snakeroot Seeds (some shattered, some ready to harvest)

How to Begin

TIMING & WHAT TO LOOK FOR

The time to harvest seeds depends on the plant itself. Plants that blooms in May will have seeds ready to harvest earlier than those that bloom in June, etc. In general, seeds are generally ready for collection 2-5 weeks after peak bloom.

It is beneficial to wait for your plants to establish before harvesting seeds (2-3 years).

You want to look for seed heads that have matured. These will be dry, firm, and are often brown, black or tan in color. Ripe seeds / seed pods will come off the plant easily. Once seeds are ripe, they will disperse so there is a short window to harvest.

HARVESTING

Use your fingers to shake or pry seeds from their seed heads. When collecting seed, it may be easy to seperate the actual seed from the chaff (fluffy bits) as you go. For other varieties, you may want to clip the seed heads to separate the seed later. Store your harvest seeds in brown bags or envelopes. If you notice aphids or pests, you may put your collection into the freezer for 24-48 hours.

CLEANING

To clean seeds, you want to separate the seed from other parts of the plant. This can be a challenge and isn't always necessary for the home gardener. For the seed library, we do run seed through a screen to seperate out larger plant pieces. Another way to do this is to shake the seeds stored in brown bags. This allows the seeds to clean themselves.

STORAGE

Store your seeds in a cool, dry place until it's time to sow. Storage in the freezer is also an option.

ADDITIONAL READING

Partridge Pea being pollinated

pods ready to be harvested

cleaning seeds

Have seeds you'd like to donate to our efforts?

e-mail morris@npsnj.org

Starting Seeds: Winter Sowing

How to Begin

WHEN TO START

The ideal window to winter sow seeds is in the months of December and January. This will allow for seeds to meet their cold stratification time requirements.

When in doubt, count back from your last frost date, which you can find here.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Seeds
Pots - one per variety
Sterile Potting Soil
Painter's Tape or Plant Tags
Permanent Marker
Some sort of critter cover: chicken wire, mesh cloche, a crate, etc.

If instructions say to SCARIFY a seed, use a file or sandpaper to lightly rough up the outer coating. This aids germination.

STEPS

Fill pots with soil - one pot per variety.
Label the pots with a tag or painter's tape with the name of the plant.
Shake out corresponding seed packet on top of the soil.
Gently press down so that the seeds make contact with the soil. Do not cover with dirt unless instructions indicate darkness is needed for germination. Many natives need light to germinate.
Place your pots in a partial shade location.
Protect from critters with a crate or chicken wire.
Wait. Many seeds won't germinate until soil temperatures are warmer
If a hot and dry spell comes in spring, be sure to water your pots so they don't dry out.

Pots with Seeds Sown - Covered with Crate - Covered with Chicken Wire

Why Winter Sow?

COLD-STRATIFICATION

Planting in winter gives Mother Nature time to stratify seeds through natural freeze-thaw cycles. This stratification process is needed for most wildflower seed to break dormancy and germinate in the spring.

EASE

After sowing your seeds, you don't have to think about them until spring because it's in Mother Nature's hands now.

TIME TO PLANT

You can approach this in different ways. One option is to separate the seedlings, plant them up in individual pots, and let them grow before planting out. Another option to to plant a "hunk of chunk" seedlings together. If they need more time, you can leave the seedlings in the pot the whole season and plant them in the fall or next spring. Just be sure to water the pots in times of drought.

KEEP IN MIND

Many native perennials do not bloom the first year.

First Year: Sleep

Second Year: Creep

Third Year: Leap

For blooms year 1, try: Partridge Pea, Black Eyed Susan, Plains Coreopsis, Blue Vervain and False Sunflower.

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