Diario de scarletskylight

Some backstory: how I came to be growing native plants from seed

After falling in love with the flora associated with our Blackland Prairie habitat two summers ago, and as a fairly recent first-time homeowner, I've finally had the chance I've wanted for a long time - the ability to plant and nurture a garden. Last year, while planning my landscape, I made a decision to limit my flower beds to species that have been documented in prairie remnants within a four mile radius of my home. (There was something about the 20 Mile House in Where'd You Go, Bernadette that appealed to me; I thought I'd try something similar with my garden.)

My initial experience was not quite what I'd have liked. I worked with a horticulturalist who specialized in native plants. While I like the placement of the beds and general layout, the purist in me struggled with the species list. Although I'd provided a list of species I wanted to consider, what I received in return was a bit more practical, at least from a consumer standpoint. Hesperaloe parviflora instead of Yucca arkansana, for example; a species that's not native to my eco-region but nonetheless winds up labelled as 'native' and is widely available due to its high drought tolerance. (If you ever want a hearty debate about native plants, I will likely be more than happy to engage!)

Impatient to have my hands in the soil, I went with it - even though it wasn't what I'd really wanted.

This year affords another opportunity.

More confident in my abilities to design a landscape, I've returned to my original four-mile goal. Having gone through the gamut of shopping native plant sales, I have a good idea of what I can find to transplant and what I'll need to grow on my own. Many of the species I want to grow aren't available through our local native plant sales - but I was able to find a number of seeds on my wish list through small sellers. In a few cases, I collected seeds from imperiled remnants, but in general wish not to take from local remnant land. (We can debate genetics and habitat suitability too!)

The rest of this journal post is about my experience growing native seeds. I'm a novice, and I struggled to find information about how to grow some of these species. Admittedly, I don't know what I'm doing - but my success, or lack of it, being documented here might help somebody in the future.

So, here we go.

Seed starting mix

I created a peat-free mix from this blend:

• 1 part vermicullite
• 1 part perlite
• 1 part coco coir
• .5 to .75 part organic compost
• .5 to .75 part organic worm castings

Stratification methods

I've used two methods.

Indoor stratification: refrigeration method

I quartered a set of paper towels, sprayed them with rainwater, and dampened the seeds. I folded the paper towels over, placed the seeds in plastic bags with a small opening for air flow, and placed these in the refrigerator on January 17. I'll remove them, probably on February 19, and plant them unless they molded. Fingers crossed.

I did not scarify any seeds, but I did soak larger seeds for a few hours ahead of stratifying them.

Right now I have no data on how these seeds will perform!

Outdoor stratification

I planted a companion set of seeds directly in a standard plant seeding tray. I probably pressed some of the seeds too far in the soil - but the first sprouts are popping up in some trays, so I guess I did okay.

The seeds went outside on January 17 ahead of a hard freeze. Most of the were also shipped during a hard freeze, so had some unintentional dry stratification from sitting in my mailbox before going in the soil.

The outdoor seed starts have been watered by hand with rainwater. They received a brief period of natural outdoor cold moist stratification and are protected from high wind / temperatures below ~45F. Otherwise, the tray sits open in an area of the yard that receives about four hours of sun each day.

This week the first sprouts begin to come up. So far, all are annuals. The perennials have yet to sprout up, and based on the data I found, they may need a longer stratification period. Time will tell on my success.

Data forthcoming.

Germination record

Once I have more data I may take the time to format this as a table, but given the difficulty of coding it and updating it without a GUI, I'll stick to a quick list.

This list reflects only things that have sprouted. I'll update - or make a new post - in the future that is more complete and shows my failures as well as my success.

Here's to data!

Outdoor Seed Starts

• Lindheimera texana, outdoor seed start; 16 days to germinate. Soaked seeds for four hours before planting. Seed source: Native American Seed Company
• Gaillardia pulchella, outdoor seed start; 21 days to germinate. Seed source: Native American Seed Company
• Brickellia eupatoriodes, outdoor seed start, 21 days to germinate. Seed source: personal seed collection from imperiled habitat undergoing demolition.
• Scuterllaria drummondii, outdoor seed start, 21 days to germinate. Seed source: McDermott Seed.
• Marshallia caespitosa, outdoor seed start, 22 days to germinate. Seed source: McDermott Seed.
• Silene antihhrina, outdoor seed start, 22 days to germinate. Cotyledons are as tiny as the seeds. Seed source: McDermott Seed.
• Echinacea angustifolia, outdoor seed start, 23 days to germinate. Seed source: hand collection from garden, original transplant from Randy Johnson Organics. This is faster than I'd expect won't be confident it's not a weed seed for a few more weeks.
• Ipomopsis rubra, outdoor seed start, 23 days to germinate. Source: Native American Seed Company
• Monarda citriodora, outdoor seed start, 23 days to germinate. Cotyledons are purple! Source: Native American Seed Company
• Verbena halei, outdoor seed start, 30 days to germinate. Cotyledons are small. Source: McDermott Seed, Elkhart, Texas
• Agalinis heterophylla, outdoor seed start, 30 days to germinate. Cotyledons are tiny. Source: Personal seed collection from imperiled land, zip code 75231 (within a mile of home)
• Eryngium leavenworthii, outdoor seed start; 31 days to germinate. Seed source: personal seed collection from imperiled habitat undergoing demolition.
• Palafoxia Callosa, outdoor seed start; 36 days to germinate. Cotyledons are square! Seed source: McDermott Seeds from Elkhart, Texas

Indoor Seed Starts + 30 days cold moist stratification in refrigerator

• Lindheimera texana, 30% of seeds germinated in the fridge. I planted these outside directly.
• Palafoxia callosa, < 6 days to germinate, much better viability from the indoor seed start and stratification method. Seed source: McDermott Seed.
• Gaillardia pulchella, < 6 days to germinate, very good viability both indoor and outdoor seed start, but must faster germination with indoor method. Seed source: Native American Seed Company
• Brickellia eupatoriodes, < 6 days to germinate, very good viability both indoor and outdoor seed start, but must faster germination with indoor method. Seed source: personal seed collection from imperiled habitat undergoing demolition.
• Scuterllaria drummondii, < 6 days to germinate, very good viability both indoor and outdoor seed start, but must faster germination from indoor starts. I have about two dozen seedlings. Seed source: McDermott Seed.
• Marshallia caespitosa, < 6 days to germinate, very good viability both indoor and outdoor seed start, but must faster germination with indoor method. Seed source: Native American Seed Company
• Ipomopsis rubra, < 6 days to germinate, very good viability both indoor and outdoor seed start, but must faster germination with indoor method. Seed source: Native American Seed Company
• Indigofera miniata, < 6 days to germinate. Low viability so far. No viability yet for outdoor starts; only one sprouting from indoor starts. Source: McDermott Seeds, Elkhart Texas
• Eryngium leavenworthii, < 6 days to germinate. Seed source: personal seed collection from imperiled habitat undergoing demolition.
• Monarda citriodora, 6 days to germinate. Low viability so far. Source: Native American Seed Company
• Asclepias asperula, 6 days to germinate. Low viability so far. No viability yet for outdoor starts; only one sprouting from indoor starts. Source: McDermott Seeds, Elkhart Texas

Quick note on Buffalo grass

I'm also watching the first sprouts from my buffalo grass shoot up - though these are not forbs, I'll add the details here while it's on my mind.

I soaked the seeds in rainwater for 2 days, changing out water every 24 hours. Then I planted at a depth no more than a quarter inch in my seed trays, same seed starting mix. The trays are indoors and covered. I'm using full-spectrum LED lights. I do not have a heating mat, but the temperature of my house + slight heat from the lights keeps the soil around 70 - 75 F if not warmer.

Germination time: four days!

Species wishlist

I'm in want of Stenaria nigricans and Euphorbia bicolor seeds.