How To Store Tree Seeds During Winter.

L

Lex Foutish

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I've collected a lot of horse chestnuts and sycamore seeds that I'm going to plant in the spring. I do it regularly but I never seem to get the storage during the winter bit right. Once, for example, I stored them in a plastic container and the became covered in mildew and didn't germinate. I've put them in a pile, in a sheltered place, behind my garden shed. Will storing them there work?

Ideas anyone?
 
I stored some in my garage before. Just anywhere cool and try. You can plant them in early spring - I planted mine in february in a plant pot and left it on a window sill. They took off like rockets and were a foot tall by June! Then we had some really warm sunshine and they got badly sun burnt.

I then left them outdoors and by year end they were back up to about 1 foot tall.

So plant, leave on window cill until may and then put them ooutdoors.
 
Thanks, Mac. It's just the storage of the seds bit I'm wondering about. I grow them every year in flower pots. Yeah, they grow very quickly. The trick is to make sure that they're watered very regularly, especially if the pots are small. If they dry out, which can happen in a few days, they can die quickly.
 
Why store them?
I would expect that the trees have evolved to shed their nuts/seeds just about the right time for planting them or am I missing something?
 
No, they shed/disperse/scatter their fruit/seeds in autumn and the seeds germinate in spring, wherever they end up. The seeds germinate in spring as the sun starts to shine again and the weather is getting warmer.
 
Lex Foutish said:
They do so in spring as the sun starts to shine again and the weather is getting warmer.
Click to expand...

This is in Ireland right?

We stored seeds in a black plastic bag as compared to a plastic box seemed to work for ourselves.
 
S.L.F said:
This is in Ireland right?

We stored seeds in a black plastic bag as compared to a plastic box seemed to work for ourselves.
Click to expand...

No, this is in Cork!!

I stored them in a plastic bag once but they sort of rotted. Should I have made a few small holes in the bag to allow them to "breathe?"
 
S.L.F said:
We stored seeds in a black plastic bag as compared to a plastic box seemed to work for ourselves.
Click to expand...

I found leaving them sit on a shelf in the garage worked perfectly. Storing in a container that is not well aired can lead to mildew/fungus and rot.

I see gardeners store onions in onion bags for the same reason - the onion bag lets air flow freely though the onions, airing them and avoiding mildew.
 
As Crugers says, plant in autumn, they begin to grow in spring. Some, like the acorn, need a blast of frost to aid the process.
 
Thanks. What would you do with seeds from a mountain ash? I've got the berries. Do I plant the berries or just the seeds inside the berries?
 
It might be more beneficial to take the flesh of the fruit off the seed. This is what would happen if a bird ate the berry and expelled the seed.

Some seeds, often bigger ones like Horse Chestnut and Oak, can sometimes take a year or more to germinate. You can plant quite a few of them in a biscuit tin full of sand, with some wire mesh over the top, to discourage hungry critters. You should also think about protecting seeds in storage.
 
Lex - with some seeds you can force them on by putting them in the fridge for a week to simulate the cold of winter and then planting in a pot in your house in say january/february. Effectively you "con" the plant into thinking Spring has arrived really early.
 
Hi Lex

Try www.irishseedsavers.ie for information

I also came across this on www.halfaloaf.ie . It's a bit late now, but if you contact the organizer you might get some further information.

I find blogs difficult to follow, but I think that this is the writer's contact details:

http://growyourownfood.blogspot.com
annabrowne@gmail.com




*Parent & Child Seed Saving Workshop. *
>
> Family fun with nature! Bring a grown-up helper, learn how to spot and save
> seeds, and bring some home with you to plant next Spring!
>
> Location: Belvedere House Gardens & Park, Mullingar.
>
> Date/Time: 27th October, 2.00pm to 4.30pm. Cost €30.00 per child/adult pair.
 
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