Juneberry from seed

[TheDerek]

Smoky juneberry.

blended berries and rinsed out pulp until just seeds remain

Planted in promix bx potting soil.

Dampened well, covered and put in mini fridge.

Made another one thats larger, also in mini fridge

Keeping some seeds in water also to watch for germination, will rinse and change occasionally.

Some more info I found about growing JB from seed:

“Propagation of Juneberry: Seed - it is best harvested “green”, when the seed is fully formed but before the seed coat has hardened, and then sown immediately in pots outdoors or in a cold frame. If stored seed is obtained early enough in the autumn, it can be given 4 weeks warm stratification before being left out in the winter and it should then germinate in the spring. Otherwise seed can be very slow to germinate, perhaps taking 18 months or more. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a sheltered outdoor position, planting them out once they are 20cm or more tall. If there is sufficient seed it is best to sow it thinly in an outdoor seedbed. Grow the seedlings on for two years in the seedbed before planting them out into their permanent positions during the winter. Layering in spring - takes 18 months. Division of suckers in late winter. The suckers need to have been growing for 2 years before you dig them up, otherwise they will not have formed roots. They can be planted out straight into their permanent positions if required.”

Anyone else done this before? If so any input, tips or tricks?

[TheDerek]

Germination, Sowing and After Care Information for
Canadian Serviceberry (amelanchier canadensis)
Seeds of Amelanchier species have a deep dormancy within them, this requires a degree of patience to overcome and it is usually quite easy to get high levels of germination if the correct procedures are followed.

To begin with soak the seeds for 24 hours in water at room temperature.

Prepare a free draining substrate into which the seeds are to be mixed, this can be a 50/50 mixture of compost and sharp sand, or perlite, vermiculite. The chosen substrate needs to be moist (but not wet), if you can squeeze water out of it with your hand it is too wet and your seeds may drown and die. Mix the seeds into the substrate, making sure that their is enough volume of material to keep the seeds separated.

Place the seed mixture into a clear plastic bag (freezer bags, especially zip-lock bags are very useful for this -provided a little gap is left in the seal for air exchange) If it is not a zip-lock type bag it needs to be loosely tied. Then write the date on the bag so that you know when the pretreatment was started.

The seeds first require a period of warm pretreatment and need to be kept in temperatures of 20 Celsius (68F) for a period of around 4 weeks . During this time make sure that the pretreatment medium does not dry out at any stage or it will be ineffective!

Next the seeds require a long cold period to break the final part of the dormancy, this is achieved by placing the bag in the fridge at (4 Celsius or 39F) for 16 weeks. It is quite possible for the seeds to germinate in the bag at these temperatures when they are ready to do so, if they do, just remove them from the bag and carefully plant them up.

When the period of pre treatment has finished the seed should be ready to be planted. Small quantities can be sown in pots or seed trays filled with a good quality compost and cover them with a thin layer of compost no more than 1cm deep. For larger quantities it is easiest to sow the seeds in a well prepared seedbed outdoors once the warm and cold pretreatments have finished and wait for the seedlings to appear.

It has also been found that fluctuating pretreatment temperatures can give the best germination results and I have myself had excellent results by keeping the mixed seeds in a cold shed through the winter for the cold stage of their pretreatment and allowing the temperature to fluctuate naturally. Ungerminated seeds can have the whole warm and cold process repeated again to enable more seeds to germinate. Fresh seedlings can keep germinating for several years after the original sowing date.

Do not expose newly sown seeds to high temperatures (above 25 Celsius). Keep the seedlings well watered and weed free. Growth in the first year is usually between 10 and 30cm depending on the time of germination and cultural techniques and developing seedlings are usually trouble free. Allow them to grow for 2 or 3 years before planting them in a permanent position.

[tonyOmahaz5]

Derek,

You grow everything in mass. What do you do with all the seedlings.

Tony

[TheDerek]

For now Im just planting most of them in non permanent locations in my yard. Been watching for land near here as I would like to eventually move out of town onto some acres, but the market is kind of crazy right now and theres not much available… Also theres a stream near my house that is public land and Im planing to do some wildlife plantings there for birds or people who want to forage, whatever.

[TheDerek]

Just an update, the seeds kept in my fridge in water have started to sprout. I took the 3 that had growth showing and 2 that looked healthy but hadnt germinated yet and put them all into a small pot. Earlier than I expected but hopefully they grow ok. Ill post updates as things progress…

I also had 2 containers with seeds in potting soil in the fridge. One I put outside in a shaded area for the winter and another I put in my freezer to halt growth until I see what happens with these seedlings. Dont really need 100 plants to care for right now, mid-winter.

[Chestnut]

I have had good success germinating amelanchier seeds by sowing them in a pot immediately after harvesting berries in the summer. I clean the seeds before planting. I leave the pots out all winter with a piece of screen on top to keep out cats. In the spring, lots of seedlings emerge.

[TheDerek]

Yeah, I didnt figure it would be too hard. Will be interesting to see how big I can get these before the snow is off the ground tho. Maybe get 2 seasons of growth in its first…

[TheDerek]

Seeds coming up in soil…

[Barkslip]

Love that sight.

Dax

[TheDerek]

Updated pic of juneberry in soil.

Juneberry in coir…

[TheDerek]

Another update, seem to be doing well, coir are winning but they are in a warmer, more humid environment also…

[TheDerek]

[haldog]

I had some Juneberry seedlings 2 years ago. I put them outside in a protected area to harden them off when they got about 6 inches tall. Killed even though there was no freeze. Keep babying them.

[TheDerek]

Been a couple weeks. Seedlings growing well…

[TheDerek]

Seedlings in coir doing great, some over a foot tall now and seem very heathy.

[TheDerek]

Broke up my 2 gallon (about 1.6 gallons actual volume) pot of seedlings this weekend and transplanted them into individual grow bags. Its amazing they all fit and grew so well in the small pot they have been in!

Before

After

[TheDerek]

About a month till my seeds start growing Im guessing… I also buried some outside in my garden to see if thats a good way to delay germination a while longer. These are smoky but I also got some from my small Lee 8 plant this year.

[Katie_didnt_Z4b]

Is that toothache plant you have growing there around the baby juneberries?

[TheDerek]

yeah, i usually have one around…

[TheDerek]

Got a few dried flowers saved up!