While in the Berberidaceae realm, here’s a post where I outlined as best as possible, the process of growing Podophyllums from seeds from A to Z.

The Chinese Podophyllums (syn. Dysosma), share similar seeds and germination requirements as our native Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple). In all cases, the seeds are enclosed inside fleshy fruits. After the fruits are collected, it is important to extract and clean the seeds right away. This can be a bit unpleasant because the inside containing the seeds is gelatinous (use a sieve and lightly rub the seeds out and rinse, rinse and rinse again).

The sowing must be done right away (Sept./October) or the seeds must be placed in moist vermiculite in Ziploc bags until sowing. The seeds are easy to keep in moist vermiculite as long as were well cleaned; you only have to check the moisture level once in a while (one exception noted for Dysosma aurantiocaule, when the seeds got soft fast, but I had a small lot of seeds and cannot really generalize).

I must emphasize that these seeds are hydrophilic, and using dry seeds to sow, in my opinion, is a complete waste of time.

Dysosma seeds in moist storage

The required cycles for germination are: Light WARM (late fall temperatures)/COLD.

  1. Sowing outside: the time would be early to late fall. Sow as usual in pots/large containers, water and keep them over the winter in a cold frame. Easy done, no worries!

Podophyllum peltatum, Mayapple, seedlings germinated outdoors showing the cotyledon leaves; they will remain at this stage in the first year and do not need pricking out. Later in the season, they become dormant (do not throw away the pots!)

  1. Sowing indoors: usually done in the winter/early spring with seeds that have been kept moist and allowed a light warm/cold period. The cold period can be provided in a cold garage/fridge. It is not advisable to use this method unless enough light can be provided for the growing seedlings (light stand, conservatory).

If someone wants to speed up the process, the Ziploc bags with seeds can be taken out of the fridge around late January/February and kept at room temperature; gradually the seeds will start to germinate and can be potted up one by one and placed under the lights.

Dysosma hybrids (pleiantha x versipellis, syn. Podophyllum pleianthum x versipelle) seedlings

Or, leave the Ziploc in the fridge until all seeds start to germinate towards spring (approx. March/April) – as well, pot them up and provide adequate conditions until they can go outside.

Dysosma hybrid, seeds germinated in the fridge, April 21

In most cases, only cotyledon leaves will be formed, in other cases the true leaves will appear as well. Usually, Podophyllum peltatum will form only cotyledon leaves in the first season, grow for a while and then go dormant; the Chinese ones are variable, most will form a true leaf. When growing from seeds there is always great variability.
Keep the seedlings in a part shaded place, water and feed lightly. At some point in the summer they may go dormant, especially if very hot weather.

All the seedlings which didn’t form a true leaf in the first year, will do it in the second year. Be patient, like with all other species that form a rhizome. In general, 3-4 years are necessary to obtain a good young plant; they will grow really fast after the root system has bulked up.

Podophyllum hexandrum (syn. Synopodophyllum hexandrum)

The difference in this case is that the seeds are not hydrophilic, so they can be kept dry in the fridge for quite a few years. Of course, when sown fresh (fall), they will germinate in the spring.

For dry seeds, a GA3 treatment followed by sowing at room temperature usually will result in rapid germination, and sometimes most seedlings will present the true leaf. 

Podophyllum hexandrum seedling with true leaf

Important for all species: in the first 1-2 years they put lots of energy into forming their radicular system; this translates in the fact that the seedlings need enough space to develop. So, either sow fewer seeds per pot or transplant them in the early stage in individual pots.
I think my pictures show very well what I mean; learn from my mistakes ;) If you sowed to dense and didn’t prick them early, don’t panic; when still dormant (very early spring), shake the soil, untangle the roots gently and repot in a fresh mix in large size pots.

Podophyllum hexandrum crowded seedlings after one season growth  in the same pot

Podophyllum hexandrum one-year seedlings prepared for repotting, notice the variation in size

Again, there is always variation when growing from seeds; we cannot expect all the seeds, even from the same batch, to grow the same: the collection site, mother-plant, ambient factors, all have an influence in germination & growth of the seedlings. This picture with one year old Dysosma plants shows it very well:

Dysosma hybrid one year old plants, prepared to be repotted

I hope this will be helpful for all wanting to grow any Podophyllum/Dysosma species from seeds – Happy Podos growing!

This Friday I indulge in one of my favourite plant families; say it out loud – Berberidaceae!

It is a large family and here I emphasize of course, the ornamental side of it. Many known and beloved garden perennials (usually for the woodland gardens) belong to this family: Epimediums, Vancouveria, Achlys, Podophyllums, Jeffersonia, Ranzania, Diphylleia and so on. From the woody species, Berberis and Mahonia are widely cultivated.

What else they have in common, seeds speaking and referring to the perennials, is the fact that in most cases, these are hydrophilic (i.e. do not tolerate desiccation) and so for optimum results they need to be sown fresh or kept in moist storage.
The pattern required for germination in most cases is WARM/COLD, sometimes with multiple cycles (see Caulophyllum).
Hover over pictures for names

Two genera, Caulophyllum and Gymnospermium, present another rarely seen feature in Angiosperms, namely that the ovary walls burst open and the seeds develop and ripen in a ‘naked’ state (they look like fruits, but nonetheless are just seeds). Fascinating.

For more please see the newly published Berberidaceae page, the 10th in line!

I know seeds are boring (but how else can we obtain plants?), so here are few plant pictures, mostly to show species I don’t have seeds yet: Vancouveria hexandra, Achlys triphylla,   a nice, fat Dysosma and a hybrid Epimedium raised from ‘Amber Queen’ seeds (hybrid). For others like Caulophyllum, Jeffersonia, Podophyllum…I already showed pictures many times and they are also featured in the Seeds shop.

Vancouveria hexandra, garden cultivated; the fruits and seeds are very close with those of Epimedium.

Achlys triphylla, Vanilla leaf (Deer foot) in wild habitat, Victoria Island, BC.

Dysosma versipellis (syn. Podophyllum versipelle) at Butchart Gardens, BC

Epimedium ex. ‘Amber Queen’, a 3-years old plant flowering in my garden (for Epimedium only hybrids will be obtained when growing from seeds)

Only one more picture, more for the purpose to emphasize the name that should be used for Jeffersonia dubia – guilty of charge myself; I’ll try to go the right way from now on.

Plagiorhegma dubium (syn. Jeffersonia dubia)

Additional pictures will be posted later on FB in order to save space here on the website.

 

 

I don’t remember if I’ve already done a Friday’s seeds about Pulsatilla; in any case this is more to draw attention to the Pulsatilla species from the shop.

There are not many, but all are fresh of this year and this is the best time to sow!
See them here in the
Pulsatilla category.

I don’t have many pictures of these gorgeous species, reason why I have to show the seeds. I know they are not as attractive as the flowers but what can I do, and in any case, they can be used for ID purpose.

Pulsatilla albana ssp. armena – the Pulsatilla ‘seeds’ are actually fruits – achenes with “fluffy tails”.

Pulsatilla vernalis


A good idea is to admire pictures while also reading advice on their germination at the same time – all on the Scottish Rock Garden forum! This is the link to Pulsatilla 2013 thread, but there are more topics on Pulsatilla:
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9988.0

Note: I’ve already sown my batch (I have to practice on this genus) and there are few leftover seeds of Pulsatilla alpina var. alpina, which will come attached as a gift to the first order containing other Pulsatillas.

Pulsatilla alpina ssp. alpina (large, white flowers)

 While talking Ranunculaceae seeds that need to be sown asap, I recommend to also have a look at  Adonis vernalis.

Adonis vernalis

Continuing the Dobrogea I with other species which call this particular and beautiful region home.
I hope you already got a taste of it; this should make it easier when growing some of these species from seeds and also help selecting the garden location.

First a mention for two endemic species:

Campanula romanica:

Campanula romanica growing on a lichen covered rock outcrop, North Dobrogea, Romania

Centaurea jankae: a species with few populations known only to exist in Romania and Bulgaria. Good luck (and broken stems by wind/animals) made it to find a few late flowers to photograph.

Centaurea jankae

Remembering the sunny days of past summer, the flowers, the rocks and wildlife:

Stachys atherocalyx, very similar with Stachys recta that I offered seeds from Carpathian Mts.

Stachys atherocalyx

Hedysarum grandiflorum, as well just one late flowering stem was waiting to be immortalized :)

Hedysarum grandiflorum

Hedysarum grandiflorum habitat

Convolvulus cantabrica, perfect in a rockery and probably hardy in our area (Ontario) with reliable snow covered. I have a two-year old Convolvulus tragacanthodes growing in the rockery, we’ll see how it comes out from this winter.

Convolvulus cantabrica in wild habitat

Cephalaria uralensis

Cephalaria uralensis

The Dobrogean tortuga for a variation

Dobrogean tortuga, Testudo graeca

Thymus zygioides, found growing in the company of Paronychia cephalotes

Thymus zygioides

One more view from Macin Mts.

And a little lizard (Lacerta) basking in the sun

There were many other species of course; maybe more to follow when the next wave of arctic air hits us!

 

I wanted something special for this arctic day and the woolly seeds of Strophostyles helvola are just perfect; I will stress again the woolly :)

Strophostyles helvola coiled pods and seeds

Strophostyles helvola, trailing wild bean (or amberique bean)  is an annual vine native to eastern Canada and the US; the pea-like flowers are light pink/lilac and they form pods very similar with those of Phaseolus vulgaris; the pod coils when it dries up to release 4-8 woolly  seeds.
The stems will trail on other plants, or if not, will inter-twine with each other on the ground, just like Amphicarpaea bracteata does (google images).

This species has had various medicinal uses for the Native Peoples, and there are also indications that the seeds were used as a food source; they were found in a few archeological sites in NA.

Those interested can read more about this in the curriculum of the Advanced Paleoethnobotany Seminar from Washington University: https://pages.wustl.edu/fritz/strophostyles-helvola-l.-elliot

And, while talking wild foods, it’s winter so new ideas are always welcomed – have a look at this article which recommends other edible species found on the coastal habitat (same where Strophostyles can also be found):

https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-issues/2011-2/summer-2011/coastal-wild-edibles-stalking-the-wild-sea-lettuce/

What about: amberique-bean humus with cattails au gratin?
Go foraging this year! :))