Category: Seeds

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02/10/2024 maybe also Lomatium??

This seed cover looks a lot like the carrot leaf Lomatium and it does seem to be their sprouting time. And I’m pretty sure I seeded some here in backyard concrete blocks. the fuzzy seedlings nearby are Heterotheca subaxillaris (pretty sure) and the little succulents are Sedum pulchellum.
A second suspect, sans seed cover, with two long skinny seed leaves. That wrinkly thing is my gloved finger tip.
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02/10/2024 rain forecast tomorrow

That means plant moving time! (Because if it rains then I don’t have to water them.). This is one of two C. altissimum Thistles that have survived (a third seedling is up too we noticed). I’m not sure if the cold was too much in a pot, or it’s been too wet. All the undulatum seem to have died and a big chunk of texanum did too, because of those two holding too much water in pot trays. The texanum in the ground seem fine.
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02/09/2024 Lomatium rooting

A small flat seed, with darker stripes in the middle and paler papery edges, sits on my palm with a single tiny root extending up about half the length of the seed.
I was looking at the seedlings and soil in the caliche planters when I saw one of the carrot-leaf lomatium seeds we planted last spring. I picked it up and was surprised and delighted to see it has a single thin root emerging! I set it back carefully with the root facing into the soil and gave it a bit more water.
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01/31/2024 red seed processing

A single scarlet legume seed sits in a clear glass beaker of just-boiled water.
Paula picked up this coral-bean from the Texas coast somewhere. Nokes’ guide to native plant growing says hot water allowed to cool can break the thick seed coat. I also scratched at it somewhat ineffectually with a razor and barely made any noticeable damage to the hard shell.
Ten smooth seeds lay on a folded envelope along with scattered bits of twig and dried bright red-orange berry flesh.
The fruits of American Bittersweet have been sitting drying in this envelope for several months and slid right out of the dried fleshy bits. Nokes says they succumb easily to damping off, in addition to needing cold stratification, so we’ll just put them outside in a pot.
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01/29/2024 prairie larkspur leaves up

A single leaf is circled with a white marker. There is a black metal sign with messy porcelain marker writing saying “prairie larkspur”. Lots of the sandy loam soil is visible and other small winter annuals and some dry tan buffalograss are around nearby.
I checked both prairie larkspurs in the front side year and each one has a leaf! I have circled this one with white lines. I was actually worried about this one because I accidentally broke off the dried stem pretty low, but it seems the root was fine. I had two plants in the back yard too but I haven’t looked for them yet.
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Scarlet pea process

Scarification of some kind is needed for quick germination of Indigofera miniata. I decided to nick each seed manually.
01/08/2024. The seeds swelled up ready to go within 24 hours! if you look very carefully you can see a few little roots emerging on a few seeds.
01/11/2024. More roots come out after a few days of light!
01/15/2024. These cotelydons (seed leaves) are opening in the container that had a clear lid! Two seed cases had fuzzy gray mold so I picked that off with tweezers the day before.
01/15/2024. This baby is emerging from the six-pack cells. It’s sort of yellow even though we have the grow lights right on them. For the open cells (no cover), I’ve been watering them by flooding the tray so the water soaks up.

I still have more of this species nicked. I think what I’ll do with the rest is plant them directly; they seem to imbibe water very fast which means they’ll probably sprout in spring rains. I forgot to inoculate them with any of the inoculum I bought from prairie moon nursery but I believe you can add it later if you disturb the roots a bit. If this species even needs it. Mysteries.