Planting from seed

mattwisconsin

mattwisconsin

Location
Milwaukee, WI
This week at school, I acquired 7 seeds from a European x Japanese larch hybrid and really want all 7 to grow, but I have never planted from seed so far. My teacher told me to keep them in a baggie full of soil in the refrigerator until spring, but I was hoping I could pick up some tips from the Buzz to increase my chances of the seeds growing into awesome trees, some of which I'd like to give away.

Am I best off growing them in a pot, come spring, then transplanting them? And how deep should I plant the seeds?

Thanks a lot
Matt
 
I have done this with norway spruce before. They required cold shocking so I stuck them in the fridge for a month or so and then planted them in small starter pots just like you would garden plants. Needless to say I forgot about them over the weekend on time and they died because of lack of water, but most of them germinated...
I would look into if they need to be cold shocked or not. I'm guessing they do since they are a northern species, but...??

As far as when to take outside... I would treat it like a greenhouse/house plant for a while until it had some size to make it outside.

Sounds cool, I'd buy one from you if you get them to grow! Love them Tamarack...
 
There are different time/temp needs for seed scarification. If you spend some google-time you'll find what you need to know specifically for your seeds.

In fall of '09 I scooped up a about two gallons worth of acorns from under an iconic tree on campus. The legend is that Br. Sorin stood under the tree on top of the hill and said that he wanted the Main building of the college built right next to this tree. The tree has lost two major limbs and is hollow from old fire damage. My goal is to have young Sorins growing for years to come. The bucket of acorns, Crop '09 were tossed into a bucket. The sinkers were kept. I soaked them for a couple of days then let them sprout. A hundred sprouted acorns were potted, ten to the pot. Out of the 100 we now have 38 seedlings. The seedlings just went into their very own 1 gallon pot.

I hope to have at least one nice tree grown to give to the class of '13 to plant on campus as their gift back to the school and Br. Sorin. In time, I want to involve each incoming class in this project. The trees will be grown and a few of them planted each year on campus. Others will be dispersed some how. There are lots of plans in my head about how to make this project grow.

I call this the Sorin Oak Acorn Project...SOAP

FWIW, Br. Sorin started Notre Dame University in Indiana as well as St. Edward's University here in Austin.
 
Cool deal, Tom. As for the larch, I believe they would have to be scarified. Small potting plants once they germinate, and upgrade the pots as the roots grow until the seedlings come to a decent size, 2-5 cm dbh...30-40 cm tall. Then find a good place to stick em in the ground. You'll be able to provide trees without nasty sgr's, sweet!

As far as taking it outside...the sooner the better. I have some cotyledon Gleditsia growing in some small pots outside as we speak. Germinated from seed on site and then I've dug em up and potted them since. Hopefully they make it through the winter. The shock of spending their first winter outside after spending 1 or 2 inside might be enough to do em in.

Cool projects.
 
one and one half the diameter of the seed in depth is the rule of thumb for planting seed ..you can scarify the seed or soak it in h2o to get the same result then plant as stated then cover the seed with soil to the depth, cover with cheese cloth to distribute the h2o evenly. once a true leaf comes out transplant into a small pack or jiffy 7 let the roots grow as spring comes in allow the plant to grow outside I would consider using a cold frame if growth occurs to soon before warm weather to stop leggy growth,,keep soil moist but allow to dry 85% before rewatering... good luck
 
I worked at a nursery in northern MN that grew 4-6.2 (expanded last summer i worked there) million trees seedlings a year until i went to college and then worked summers. Itasca Greenhouse Inc

Disclaimer: I am not an expert nor went to school for greenhouse management. this is all experience based knowledge as a son of the owner who did go to school for all of this.


We would store it in freezers until needed and then move it to a refrigerator to stratify 1-2 months before sowing it. I think we soaked the seed in water for a few days prior to refrigeration. Next we would do a germination test to determine how many seeds per cell. We used mechanical seeders which could accurately plant ~200 cells with exact number of seeds (based on germination rates) in less than a minute. The seed was placed in a cell containing ~4 cu. in. of peat-moss and then would be covered in single layer of quartz grit (3mm sizes rocks). This would help to hold the seed in place during watering. watering may wash the seed out if it is heavy and/or direct.

Surfarmer1 idea to use cheese cloth is a good way to achieve the same goal. Also good advice on watering. I would add water lightly as not to wash the seed out and until water drains out the bottom of the container.

Best of luck to you. There is something fun about growing trees from seed.

Edit: here is a few good resources for some of the info you are looking for;
Silvics Manual

Fire Effects Information Tree list The title is deceiving, this is a great resource on more characteristics about tree than you need to know.
 
If you have the "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants" by Dirr, he gives info on how to propogate alot of the species in the book.
 
[ QUOTE ]

Am I best off growing them in a pot, come spring, then transplanting them? And how deep should I plant the seeds?


[/ QUOTE ]Sounds about right. seeds go near surface; some growers cover them with compost. Dirr says they need no pretreatment so refrigerator until frost is past sounds right.
 
I appreciate all the help. They are now in the refrigerator in moist soil until they can be planted.

Aspen, I'll let you know if I can get enough growing, and if so, I can get you one.
 
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