Raising Trees & Shrubs From Seed

At a glance..

This Practice Guide is aimed principally at people interested in raising small numbers of trees – to plant in the garden, raise for bonsai, or perhaps just for the fun of finding out what it’s like to grow a few trees from seed. Nevertheless, in describing some of the basic properties of tree seeds, principles of seed handling, plus explaining how to avoid or overcome common problems, this Guide will be a useful reference for all. It covers approximately 120 woody species which are either native to, or commonly grown in, the British Isles.

The details..

Raising trees and shrubs from seed is an easy yet rewarding hobby. This guide is aimed at people interested in growing a few trees for their garden, bonsai or just for fun. It covers basic properties of tree seeds, principles of handling them and how to avoid common problems. The book also includes details on collecting, processing and storing seeds as well as pretreatment methods.

The author explains that tree seeds are living organisms with unique characteristics compared to flower, vegetable and agricultural seeds. One such characteristic is erratic seeding where some years produce large quantities while others almost none due to annual variations in weather conditions. Another peculiarity is the habitually production of empty or dead seeds alongside live ones.

The guide offers advice on collection techniques depending on fruit type: legume pods; large dry' single fruits; medium-sized dry' fruit clusters; medium-sized dry' fruits containing tiny seeds; fleshy fruits containing one or more seeds. Seed storage varies according to three categories: orthodox (long-lived), recalcitrant (short-lived) and intermediate (varying longevity). Hard-seededness refers to tough outer coats that prevent germination until they have been broken down by natural processes like fire or digestion by animals.

Pretreatment involves breaking dormancy which can be achieved through various means including mechanical scarification using sandpaper or hot water treatment followed by cold stratification - exposing moistened seed packets wrapped in paper towels inside plastic bags stored at low temperatures between four weeks up to several months before sowing outdoors.