growing snowberry from seeds

15 years ago

I have a number of seed pods from snowberry. I am drying them now and wondered if there are any special things I should know about planting them. Thanks

Penny

Comments (3)

georgia-rose
15 years ago
Penny__ Here's some information extracted from a study of the western snowberry species, regarding seed viability and germination.
Western snowberry nutlets have a complex double-dormancy mechanism that prevents the seed from germinating in the wrong place or at the wrong time of year. Germination of the seed cannot occur until after the seed coat has been broken down. The intact fruit and dried pulp are impervious to water and protect the seed coat while the fruit is attached to the stem. After the fruit drops and lands in warm, moist soil, the outer layers of the fruit decay in about one or two weeks. A physical restraint to embryo development, the seed coat is impervious to both water and gases, and requires about one to two months to break down in response to fungal action in the soil. The afterripening process, the slow deterioration of the dormancy mechanism in the nutlet, can start after the seed coat has been broken down and usually requires one winter, sometimes two winters, to complete. Toward the final stages of the afterripening process, the embryo enlarges and expands to the full length of the nutlet (Pelton 1953).
Mortality of seedlings is high because they have few defenses against insects, diseases, water stress, and competition from other plants.

Sexual reproduction in western snowberry has a low success rate and establishment by seed is rare because the nutlets have low viability and seedlings have high mortality.

Hope you find this useful.

In my area of the country, (SE), the Symphoricarpos species are called: Coralberry and don't know of many gardeners that cultivate them, because they form such dense thickets.
If you have the space, which I don't, unfortunately, they can be useful for wildlife cover and food source.
Good luck!
bigred
15 years ago
I have snowberry bushes. I haven't tried to grow them from the seeds I collect but I have winter sewn coralberry with very good sucess.

Peggy
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barbararose21101
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I just popped the capsules and put seeds in vermicompost bin.
Everything else germinates in there . . .

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growing snowberry from seeds

Comments (3)

georgia-rose

bigred

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