match the needs of the plants to the conditions that exist in your yard, fields, or woods.

To help you decide on suitable plants, study your place at different times of the day. When you start to look around your property for likely places to plant wildflowers, youll notice that there are different degrees of shade - from the high, light dappling or birches to the heavier shadow cast by maples and oaks to the deep, year -round shade under evergreens. No one wildflower will thrive in all of those spots, but for each form of shade there is a choice of wildflowers. Check after rain to be sure your proposed site is not waterlogged. Plants that thrive in full sun when grown in the north may do better in part shade in the south. In the far north, plants will bloom up to a month later than indicated here. When you start wildflowers from seed, you can settle them into their permanent niches while theyre still small so they wont suffer setbacks from transplanting. Plants raised from a single packet or collection of seeds may vary considerably in side, germination time, even in color and hardiness - unlike garden flowers and particularly unlike hybrids, which are especially uniform in size and growth habit. These variations are a characteristic of many wild plants that helps ensure that at least some members of the new generation will be able to thrive there they find themselves. When you raise wildflowers from seed, youll often have enough seedlings so that you can try them in several locations to determine the best site.

Collecting Seeds
Once you start looking, youll find a surprising amount of wildflower seeds available. In addition to the companies that specialize in wildflower seeds, several garden seed companies offer seeds of some of the easy-to-grow varieties, and a couple of seed exchanges offer varieties for the true enthusiast. You can also collect your own wildflower seeds. To do so, youll need (in addition to the permission of the landowner) to know when the seeds are likely to ripen in your area. In general, seed are ready to collect about a month after flowering. Youll find it helpful to study the plant and its habit, though. Some, like jack-in-the-pulpit, retain their seeds until fall. Others, like bloodroot, shed seeds very early or, in the case of wild geraniums, disperse them suddenly once theyre ripe. Seed with arils (fleshy appendages) like those of trillium and bloodroot are often carried off by ants and animals. The plant as a whole often changed in appearance as the season progresses. Foliage may yellow and disappear, stalks droop, and seeds trail on the ground. You want the seeds to be mature, because if they havent developed sufficiently on the plant, they may not germinate. When you collect pods and bare seeds, they should be as dry as possible. Berries should be fully formed and ripe. On the other hand, you dont want to get there too late, when seeds have fallen and blown away. If this does occur, try again the following year. Learning how to collect seeds is a process of patient observation or gradually growing understanding. Watch the plant. Return often to observe the seed formation process. Its a good idea to mark the plant from which you want to save seeds with a small stake or red yarn. When the seeds are ready, collect a small amount - never all the seeds from any one colony with respect and appreciation. It goes without saying, of course, that you wouldnt take the seeds from a single isolated stand of plants, but only from a flourishing group in a place where you can see more of the plants growing nearby. To help catch some seeds when youre not around, you can tie small cheesecloth bags or pieces of stocking over the ripening seeds, or, with a large plant, clip an envelope onto the plant with a clothespin.

Keep a record of the location of marked plants to which you hope to return to collect seeds, and also record the date, site, and soil characteristics for each numbered sample. This will help you to choose an appropriate site for the resulting plants, especially if youre collecting and planting different species form different locations. You will want to observe, too, what sort of site your chosen flower seems to favor: rocky slopes or boggy meadows; filtered sun, afternoon shade, or a site that is sunny is spring and shaded in summer; oak woods, pine woods, or roadside conditions.

Cleaning and Storing Seeds

Serious wildflower seed collectors screen and sift seeds to remove all debris. You should at least pick out green leaves and stems, which could heat and mold and thus spoil the seeds in storage. Next, air-dry the cleaned seeds for a week or two before storage. There are some exceptions to this rule. Seeds containing beards or tufts should be planted as soon as they are dry and ready to be shed by the plant because they often fail to germinate at all if allowed to air-dry. Some seeds, like hepatica, have such low viability that they should be sown immediately after collecting, and of course seeds of wild aquatic plants should be either sown immediately or kept moist, because dampness is their natural condition. Dry seeds should be kept cool and dry until you are ready to plant them. You can either seal labeled envelopes in plastic bags or enclose small plastic bags of seeds in jars and keep them in the refrigerator (see chapter 31 on seed storage). Moist seeds such as those found in fleshy fruits should usually be kept moist until planting. If allowed to dry out, they enter an extended period of dormancy or, in some cases, lose their viability entirely. Cover them with dampened sphagnum moss, put the mossy clump in a plastic bag, and keep it in the refrigerator.

Dormancy
Unlike cultivated garden flowers, many wild plants require a period of dormancy before they will germinate. The depth and extent of dormancy varies greatly in different species of wildflowers. Generally, one to four months exposure to temperatures below 400F (40C), usually in the presence of moisture, will be enough to break dormancy in most wildflowers. Even to botanists, many aspects of wildflower dormancy are still a mystery. Inconvenient as it is to the gardener (who suddenly, after a wild plant has been growing on its own for all these centuries, decides to adopt and cultivate it), the process is really a vital protective mechanism for the plant. In cold climates, if seeds were to germinate in the fall, the seedlings would be killed by frost before they had a chance to develop strong roots or to reproduce themselves. Seeds retain dormancy in numerous ways, among them by developing tough seed coats, by producing chemicals that inhibit germination, or by requiring a period of afterripening to complete their maturity. Some seeds that possess hard seed coats, like those of certain wild legumes, will germinate promptly if the seed coats are scarified and the seeds soaked in hot water. To scarify a seed, cut a notch in its outer covering with a file, knife, or wire cutters, or rub the seed between two sheets of sandpaper. Avoid cutting deeply into the seed; just nick its coat.

For most other wildflower seeds, youll have better results if you duplicate natural conditions as closely as possible. Unless otherwise indicated in the specific wildflower directions in the encyclopedia section at the back of the book, wait until after November 15 (a month earlier in the far north) to sow the seeds outdoors so that they will have a good long period of exposure to natural cold and moisture before the warmth of spring encourages germination. The cold repeated soaking by rain helps to inactivate and dissolve inhibiting chemicals and soften hard seed coats. This exposure to cold, moist conditions as a necessary preliminary germination is called stratification. Stratification. You can stratify seeds in several ways: as mentioned above, surround them with damp moss or vermiculite and keep them in the refrigerator during winter. Plant them in flats kept in the lightly shaded cold frame. Sow the seeds directly in a well-prepared bed of finely screened and raked humusrich soil. Seeds of plants that suffer from transplanting may be sown in individual pots.

Sowing Seeds
Scattering seeds on unprepared ground is usually a waste of effort and good seeds, especially if you do as an acquaintance of mine once did and simply broadcast wildflower seeds collected in a distant state. Its one thing to idly toss pinches of seeds of aster or black-eyed susan by the wayside while hiking country roads, as Ive more than once delighted in doing. But when you want to enrich your woods with a patch of bloodroot or foamflower, then its well worth taking the time to give the seeds a sporting chance to germinate. For especially rate or tricky seeds, wildflower expert Bebe Miles, whose books Ive found extremely helpful, suggests dividing the seeds into two portions and sowing half outdoors in beds in the fall and the other half in flats planted in February or March (after wintering in the refrigerators). Cover the seeds with soil to a depth of twice their thickness. Keep the flats on a cold porch until spring. Miles also plants seeds of biennial wildflowers in May so they wont be killed by frost just as theyre starting to bloom, as they might if planted earlier. In addition, biennials that are planted later go into winter as strong plants and then have time to bloom and set seed the following spring. If youre working with seeds that youve collected or that for any other reason youd have difficulty replacing, take a hint from the Seed Savers Exchange: always reserve at least a pinch of your seeds in case the first sowing doesnt take. Dont discard planted flats that show no sign of life. Its not unusual for wildflower seeds to germinate a year after planting, and two to three years is not rate. Seeds will only germinate, though, if the growing medium is kept moist. For purchased wildflower seeds , which have been in storage, allow an extra year for germination because storage might have sent them into deep dormancy. For shade-loving wildflowers, be sure to shade the bed or cold frame with evergreen boughs or laths, and when the seeds do sprout, ventilate to cold frame as necessary to prevent overheating. Good air circulation is important, too, to prevent fungus diseases. At Bowmans Hill Wildflower Preserve near Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, staff horticulturists raise many wildflowers from seed each year. With the help of volunteers, they

plant seeds outdoors between November and late February. They cover the seeds with hardware cloth to keep out pilfering wildlife and with burlap o retain moisture. These are left in place until seeds sprout or for four winter seasons. When sowing seeds in a cold frame, the folks at Bowmans Hill like to bank the sides of the frame with soil to retain more heat. Its also a good idea, they say, to sink the frame four to six inches in the ground for more cold protection. The sides of the cold frame can be insulated, too, by sandwiching one-inch Styrofoam between board walls. Painting the inside white boosts light levels.

Caring for Seedlings

When seedlings have their first true leaves, transplant them individual pots or to larger flats. Then let them grow some before you set them out in either a nursery bed or in their permanent locations. Many wildflowers grow very slowly. Thats their natural pace. Harry Phillips, former curator of native plants at North Carolinas Botanical Garden, and the author of the splendid book Growing and Propagating Wildflowers, suggests fertilizing wildflower seedlings to promote rapid growth. Once the plant is growing in place, though, it should seldom, if ever, need fertilizer if it is an appropriate place. Overfertilization often encourages weedy competition and cause long, weak stems in many meadow plants. Wildflowers have evolved without our help or interference, and they can make it on their own if the soil type meets their needs. For details on growing specific species of wildflowers, see the encyclopedia section at the back of this book. Wildflower Conservation A good reason grow wildflowers from seed is that, unfortunately, some nurseries that sell wildflowers have obtained their plants, either directly or indirectly, from the wild. Such depredations reduce even further the sometimes precarious populations of our native plants. Careful wildflower businesses like Native Gardens in Greenback, Tennessee, Yerba Buena Nursery in Woodside, California, and Boehlkes Woodland Gardens in Germantown, Wisconsin, are leading the way by selling native plants that they have propagated themselves. Until the rest of the industry follows that honorable example, gardeners who care about wildflower conservation will want to know the sources of plants they are buying and, better yet, learn how to grow their own.

26 Starting Trees and Shrubs from Seed

Great oaks do indeed grow from small acorns, and participating in that marvelous process can be a great gardening adventure. You might try starting some trees from seed just to see what happens, but there are other practical reasons, too, for planting tree seeds. Perhaps you need many trees and shrubs for a windbreak or hedge, or you might want more trees of a species, like hickory, that develops a taproot and consequently transplants most successfully when young. Possibly youve collected tree seeds during your travels or from an ancestral homestead, and youve decided to grow some living souvenirs. You could raise seedling trees for grafting rootstocks, too, or you might plant to sell trees youve grown from seed. In any case, youll want to know about the important ways that tree seed starting differs from garden plant seed starting.

Seed Production
Trees and shrubs live for many years, so they have plenty of time to produce the seeds that will grow their replacements. Trees may start to bear seeds as early as the American maple, 5 years, or as late as the sessile oak, 40 years. Although many woody plants, especially the smaller ones, produce regular seed crops, a good many trees produce abundant seed crops only intermittently - some as seldom as every 7 years. Tree researchers theorize that in these cases, the great effort put into seed bearing depletes the trees supply of stored carbohydrates, which must gradually be replenished before the tree is able to fruit generously again. Sometimes, seeds produced in off years, when carbohydrate reserves are low, are low in viability, and the seedlings may be less vigorous. So if do have a choice, plant the nuts, fruits, or pods from a season of good production.

Dormancy
Tree seeds are more likely than garden seeds to exhibit a deep and sometimes persistent dormancy. In a fair number of wood plants, germination is naturally delayed until the second spring. (Isolated trees, which out of necessity have self-pollinated, will sometimes bear a higher percentage of aborted or malformed seeds). This failure to germinate when conditions are otherwise right is one of the most baffling dilemmas in the seed-starting process. Seed scientists still have few explanations for many of the hows and whys of seed dormancy. If we empathize with the tree for a moment, though, we can see that dormancy is a survival mechanism that enables the seeds to wait patiently for a favorable time to sprout. Germination of dormant seeds is sometimes spread over several years, increasing the possibility that the new young tree will meet with good growing conditions in at least one year. What makes a seed dormant? Its seed coat might be hard or impermeable to the oxygen thats so vital in the germination process, or it might have an immature embryo that needs a period of afterripening. Still another possibility is that chemical germination inhibitors are produced by the seed, or, often, by the flesh of a berry surrounding the seed. A great many species of trees produce seeds with combined dormancy inhibitors - impervious seed coats and underdeveloped embryos, for example. Some seeds, like those of the apple and service tree, become more dormant if allowed to dry after planting. Breaking Dormancy. Under natural conditions, when a tree seed drops to the ground, the forces of nature gradually help to break its dormancy. Bacteria and acids in the soil penetrate the