Giant Sequoia Seeds
Before I can sow the Giant Sequoia seeds I need to put them through a period of cold stratification to trigger germination. Essentially I am simulating the cold weather that the seeds would experience during Winter in a natural environment. What I will do is put the seeds in a ziplock bag with a paper towel, then put this into the refrigerator for about a month. The first thing I did was separate the seeds into two equal groups, this is one of those “don’t keep all your eggs in one basket” type of project. There is always a risk of mold growing with any type of stratification, so splitting the seeds up into smaller groups to put into separate bags is a good idea.
Giant Sequoia seeds separated into two groups
Next I prepared the paper towels for the seeds by soaking them and then squeezing the excess water out. You want the paper towels to be damp, but not soaking wet. Most nurseries or seed stores will recommend vermeculate or perlite in place of the paper towel, however in my research I have found that most people who are not trying to make a sale find most success using paper towels. There are a couple other reasons I prefer the paper towel method. The paper towels make it much easier to check for mold and to change out if mold does happen to develop. Even if everything goes correctly having there is an advantage to paper towels because they make it much easier to find your seeds at the end of the month, than searching through the vermeculate.
So once the paper towels were damped, I folded them half and spread my seeds out on the top quarters of the paper towels. Again this is a percaution to avoid mold destroying too many seeds, keeping them spread out will provide a little bit of a barrier.
Giant Sequoia seeds in damp paper towel
Next I folded the bottom quarter of the paper towel over the seeds, and prepared the ziplock bags. With a permanent marker I labeled each bag with the tree species and the date that I need to remove them from the refrigerator. Working with a couple different types of seeds this makes it much easier for me to keep track of which bag contains which seeds and when they need attention.
Giant Sequoia seeds in ziplock bag
Once the seeds and paper towels have been placed within their ziplock bags and sealed up, I placed them with in the refrigerator. Try to find a place within your fridge where the seeds won’t be crushed or accidentally thrown away, the sandwich drawer is a fairly safe bet. Now all I have to do is wait 28 days and I can sow them in soil.
MadMadMargo Says:
March 29th, 2009 at 2:21 amVisit MadMadMargo
I love the Giant Sequoias. I would like nothing more than to have them growing on my ranch. However, I don’t think they’d fair too well in the Sonoran Desert. Or, would they?
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Ken Says:
March 29th, 2009 at 11:44 amVisit Ken
I think that they might have a difficult time with the desert environment, I would imagine that a full size Giant Sequoia needs A LOT of water. But, on the other hand as a bonsai that is well cared for, you might have more luck than I will have up here in Maine. The USDA Growing Zone for Giant Sequioas is between zones 6 and 9 (most of the Sonoran Desert is in zone 9). I’m in zone 5 right now, so I’ll have to be very careful when winter rolls around again.
Lucero Says:
March 30th, 2009 at 10:57 amVisit Lucero
I have some white pine and blue spruce seeds that my father harvested from his property last year. They have been in a plastic bag in the fridge for several months. Do you think this will qualify as stratification? Or will I have to put them in the moist paper towel and wait an additional 28 days before planting?
MadMadMargo Says:
March 30th, 2009 at 2:01 pmVisit MadMadMargo
Thanks for the tip. A bonsai it’ll be.
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Mharms Says:
March 31st, 2009 at 1:20 pmVisit Mharms
My husband loves to plant. he has trees in our backyard. but some do not grow fast because of the dry soil in summer. I do not think he can grow Giant Sequoia here.
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Ken Says:
April 1st, 2009 at 12:24 amVisit Ken
Thanks everyone for stopping by.
@Lucero: There is good news and bad news. The good news is the blue spruce seeds don’t need any stratification, you can go ahead and plant them immediately.
The bad news is that without a moist medium, it only counts as storage and not stratification. Your white pine seeds are going to need 60 days of cold stratification.
Hope this helps!
Lucero Says:
April 9th, 2009 at 12:55 pmVisit Lucero
Ken - thank you very much for the tip. I never would have guessed there was a difference! I may wait until next fall to plant the white pine since by the time stratification is finished it will be too warm and they may fry :(.
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