Hi all,
A relative of mine is in the UK and has sent me some photos of some really nice hawthornes near her, with flower shapes and colours I’ve never seen before. She offered to send me some of the seeds in the fall when the fruit come out, but neither of us are sure of a) the process to collect the seeds (do they need cold stratification? Or do we just get them from the fruit and dry them out?) and b) whether they’ll survive the trip through the mail system without drying out.
Also, what is the best thing for me to do when I get them in October or November?
Thanks.
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Apple, and hawthorn seeds can dry out
They are orthodox seeds
not Recalcitrant (or intermediate)
Are these 3 leaf hawthorn
it may actually be apple (Malus trilobata ) but maybe not just keep in mind.
(seeds are nothing alike , but leaf shape may throw some people off.
You could have her pick a fruit to check to see if seeds are ripe (or dark)
not sure the climate of UK or species so cannot answer weather Oct. or Sep.
as for seeds
I would either dry in fruit
or pre clean
then store 2 to 3 months in fridge in ziplock dry
you could make tea with hot water with many things and not kill seeds
but not sure on hawthorn (trying to see myself around this time with my Mexican hawthorn seeds)
I didn’t cold stratify all my seeds so I might try gibberellic acid (A plant growth hormone )
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also keep in mind if you are afraid of storing dry
if the seeds had a little damp peat moss it would not kill them
you do not want wet soil
(I do not like paper towels people do they always get funky smelling)
Even some recalcitrant seeds I store in soil like crushed up Oreo cookies
not even damp it does not seem wet at all
just a tad with a water spray bottle
Keep in mind if you do store any seeds , and when you squeeze the soil
if it is soggy they may very well most likely rot …
(but apple ,and hawthorn can be stored dry there orthodox (but just saying )
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Do everything francis suggested. But also simply put some of the seeds in a flower pot in peatmoss and soil in the fall. Sometimes the best way to start seeds it to just plant them.
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You know what? Looking at the photos again, I think they might be malus trilobata (none of that characteristic hawthorn bark/spikes), I just assumed hawthorn because I knew it was in the rose family/adjacent to it, there are plenty of hawthornes in the area, and because of the leaves. I’ll try to get better photos to confirm though. Thanks for the ID tip! It’d actually be really cool if they were apples, as you can tell by my username I like apples quite a bit haha.
On the topic of seeds though: So, I should, in the fall, have her pick the fruit, dry the seeds out in the fruit, then mail them to me, and then I cold stratify them? Or should she cold stratify them and then mail them?
Thanks again!
Looking again, I’m going to have to go back on that. If you google 'common hawthorn pink," the frilly pink flowers look exactly right. Like I said, hard to get a positive ID through the few photos taken from a distance I got. Take that into account in the reply to the above question if need be, and thanks again!
From “seeds of woody plants in the United States” …
Crataegus = hawthorn.
.
Hawthorn can be very difficult to ID to species.
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This may be the best plan
