Yellow faced bumble bee queen foraging on Hound’s tongue (Cynoglossum grande)
Ahhh….spring! After a long, very wet winter in the Klamath-Siskiyou, sunshine and warmer weather have finally arrived. Spring weather has brought with it a bounty of beautiful spring wildflowers, bejeweled with overwintering queen bumble bees and butterflies, hungry and eager for the food these wildflowers offer. Another exciting thing that spring brings with it is seed germination! Yay!!!
There are little germinates all over the place where I seeded in the fall and winter — in the garden; in the nursery; in the forest; on rocky slopes; in oak woodland; in pots in the greenhouse; in pots outside — and where it thrills me most: in the gardens, greenhouses, and on the land of my clients and customers! The wet winter has benefitted habitat restoration projects by triggering a high degree of seed germination this year. Successful projects make those of us who work hard to collect, clean and process native plant seeds happy!
Many people wonder how native plants are propagated from seed. Despite the fact that many native seeds need pretreatment, propagation can still be relatively simple. In order to help you visualize native seed germination and propagation, we offer this slideshow. Sit back and enjoy the slideshow!
