When the first shoot of a plant breaks the ground, waving its tiny embryonic leaves, the event makes me smile.
A tiny seed I planted and in days or weeks, has germinated, sprouted and is on its way to becoming an entity that has a vascular system, creates its own food and, will one day bloom, grow its own fruit and seeds, and perhaps provide food for myself, my family, birds and other wildlife, enrich the soil and, eventually be turned into compost, making the nutrients in its leaves, stems and flowers available for the next generation of plants.
Despite their dramatic entrances, embryonic seeds are not the only way of creating new plants. Division, vegetative, layering, cuttings, grafting, and budding are also tried and true methods.
My dad knew about grafting and budding long ago. He loved citrus and was rather obsessed on the processes. He and a volunteer from Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (that’s before master gardeners appeared on the horizon) would assiduously graft and bud different citrus species onto trifoliata stock. Poncirus trifoliata – a close relative of the Citrus genus – is one of the root stocks that growers use to create stronger and more productive plants.
Seeds are the result of sexual reproduction of flowering plants and conifers. As I’m sure most of you reading this are familiar in one way or another with sexual reproduction, I’m not going to bore you with the obvious.
Seeds from different plants have different characteristics. Some need to be sown deeply into soil or growing medium. Some need to be sown shallow, and some need to be exposed to light before they can germinate.
Some seeds have pulp around them which needs to be removed before planting. Other seeds have extremely hard shells and require scarification (nicking the seed with a knife or rubbing it with sandpaper) to assist the embryo in emerging. For scarification, I use a jar with coarse sand and shaking it for a few minutes each time I get to my potting bench. After a few days of shaking, you can plant the seeds, Other seeds need to be stratified – soaked or placed in a cold place for a period before they can be planted.
If you’re looking for a gardening hobby to keep you occupied on cold winter weekends, or scorching hot ones, this might be something you would want to try.
