catscratch
Well-Known Member
Lots of different stuff on the internet. Anyone have a proven and effective method to prep eastern red cedar seed?
Scarification of Red Cedar (juniper) seed?
- Thread starter catscratch
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Turkey Creek
Well-Known Member
I have wondered about this myself? Maybe its a another good classroom experiment for you this winter?!
I have wanted to just take a 5 gallon bucket of seed and toss it over an area and see what the success rate is. Seed is easy enough to collect and even if you only had 10% germination you would be set. Part of me thinks that it is crazy to think every red cedar is the result of some critter eating it and then taking a poop. I bet if a guy called their state nursery they would tell you their process.
I have wanted to just take a 5 gallon bucket of seed and toss it over an area and see what the success rate is. Seed is easy enough to collect and even if you only had 10% germination you would be set. Part of me thinks that it is crazy to think every red cedar is the result of some critter eating it and then taking a poop. I bet if a guy called their state nursery they would tell you their process.
I checked on this last year and there was a guy that had done it on the old forum.I swept up some that was left from birds on our tower and I don't know if they sprouted or not.You can also buy from a place that I got larger quanities of sandhill plum from and they might tell you how is the best way.i will try to find name
catscratch
Well-Known Member
I've already had a class collect smooth sumac seed, research it, process it, and currently have it in cold stratification. At the end of stratification they will rag test it to get it's germination rate. They could do that for Cedar also. Might do them good to understand that different species require different processes. I read that germination rates for Eastern Red Cedar is very low the first yr, that most of the time it will set for two yrs before germinating (if it hasn't been through a digestive system first). Maybe birds just speed up the process.
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catscratch
Well-Known Member
Didn't you buy a bunch of sandplum seed last yr? Was that from Sheffields?
catscratch
Well-Known Member
Did it save you money? I just checked on their Eastern Red Cedar and it was $129/lb!
Definitely similar sounding words with different meanings!
Definitely similar sounding words with different meanings!
Fish
Well-Known Member
A lb of cedar seeds is a lot of seed!
I collected a ziplock full a couple years ago. Planted into a prepped garden bed, and ive not seen that first cedar germinate from the effort.
I took a handful of those seeds and put in the fridge over winter. I had something like 4 germinate. Which was about 2%.
Somewhere i read to soak the seed in hot water, then plant. I just decided buying seedlings and digging volunteers was easier. But, id certainly follow your progress with it.
I collected a ziplock full a couple years ago. Planted into a prepped garden bed, and ive not seen that first cedar germinate from the effort.
I took a handful of those seeds and put in the fridge over winter. I had something like 4 germinate. Which was about 2%.
Somewhere i read to soak the seed in hot water, then plant. I just decided buying seedlings and digging volunteers was easier. But, id certainly follow your progress with it.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info. Sometimes it's just as good to know what doesn't work as to what does.
I found an article tonight. It said they have an underdeveloped embryo and need something like 6 weeks of warmth to develop. Also said you can scarification with acids (ranging from citric to sulfuric). AND they need cold stratification... Kind of a complex system.
I had an idea on the way home. Going to encourage nature to do her thing... where I want. Two t-posts, a wire ran between the two, weed wacker to soil under the wire, a gallon of cracked corn under the wire. Birds will spend all winter planting natives for me. (discaimer - I think I've heard of this before as it sounds familiar, so I can't take credit for the idea)
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catscratch
Well-Known Member
Wish they hadn't deleted everything!
I might add blender to my next Google search...
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Turkey Creek
Well-Known Member
I could be wrong but I think there are male and female cedar trees.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
They are male/female. From reading I think it takes about 10yrs before they produce seed. The male trees get cones (I think they look like berries) that are reddish colored. These are only for pollen. I've probably mistaken them for seed, would hate to spend a lot of time processing and planting pollen
The blue one's are the female seed. For as invasive as these things are in places it sure seems like a specific and difficult process to get them to germinate.
Fish
Well-Known Member
Ha. Ive thought that same thing. I guess birds are good at finding them and they will germinate and grow on a rock.They are male/female. From reading I think it takes about 10yrs before they produce seed. The male trees get cones (I think they look like berries) that are reddish colored. These are only for pollen. I've probably mistaken them for seed, would hate to spend a lot of time processing and planting pollen
For as invasive as these things are in places it sure seems like a specific and difficult process to get them to germinate.
catscratch
Well-Known Member
Galls.
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