Stratification Tips

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Has anyone got any tips on stratification when growing native tree's? i'm a bit of a novice when it comes to stuff like this

[Alan]

Put simply, as some seeds may take a couple of years to germinate, you can encourage them to speed up this process by freezing them. This simulates winter conditions, which some species need before they'll germinate. Just put them in a bag with something like moistened vermiculite and leave them in the freezer for a couple of weeks prior to sowing.

Do your homework on the species first, as some, like Oak for example, seem to 'shoot-up' without this!

[eeyore]

lots more info here http://www.growingnative.org.uk/tree_prop_3a.htm. - nice little site for everything related to growing native plants

[nightshade]

Growing native species should be something we all do it costs very little and the benefit to local planting schemes is enormous

[Airehead]

Whatever else I do with a batch of seeds, I usually sow some of them in a pot, label it, put it in a shady corner of the garden and forget it for a couple of years. Sometimes I get welcome surprises.

[Paul mabbott]

Techniques like stratification, scarification and saturation are all used to mimic natural processes. It's easiest to understand what you're doing with seeds when (if!) you know how they germinate in real life.
Some seeds need to pass through the intestines of a vertebrate so I don't know how you'd deal with that! Some seeds from arid areas need to be subjected to fire and then soaking - shouldn't apply to any native European species ...
To your point, if stratification has the same meaning for you as it has for me, it involves exposing the seeds to frost in a well-draining medium (sand, vermiculite, leaf-mould). The seed might well germinate in any soil or compost. The critical thing is that they "know" that they have past the winter and when it is safe to germinate. You can fool them by popping them into a freezer and then re-setting in a warmer environment but it's far easier to pop several into a pot of sand over winter and then put them into better compost when spring really arrives.

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

Has anyone got any tips on stratification when growing native tree's? i'm a bit of a novice when it comes to stuff like this

[arvensis]

With Oak, I collected the acrons in the Autumn after they fell from the trees, put them in a pot with compost in and forgot about them. The following spring, seedlings appeared. I imagine you can do the same with Beech, in fact, I may try it.

Mark

[nightshade]

Growing beneficial native trees is such a good idea when I have enough I will approach wildlife trusts etc. to see if they can use them
or plant them locally myself (with permission of course)