Sowing Seeds in Winter for Plants in Spring

Ten participants gathered at the Gatehouse in Morven Park on  December 8 for Loudoun Wildlife’s winter seed-sowing event. The class began inside where we saw the beauty and diverse shapes and sizes of seeds still residing in the spent flowers. We discussed eight steps to success, and the patience needed to grow your own free plants. We also discussed seed germination. Most seeds have a coating/inhibitor that has to go through a specific process in order for the seeds to germinate. Some seeds are not that particular, but others need variations of stratification or scarification.

We moved outside to enjoy the warm sunshine and fellowship on the porch while we worked on our mini greenhouse containers.  We pressed pre-moistened Promix soil into our containers and then carefully placed the seeds. Most seeds need a thin layer of soil on top while other seeds are so tiny, no soil is needed to cover the seeds. The last step, an important one, was to label the containers so we know what’s growing in the spring. Everyone took their containers home to place outside in a shady outdoor area until January, and then to a partly shady area open to precipitation for the rest of the winter.

We thank Watermark Woods for providing containers, free plant booklets and Promix soil. Seeds were provided by leaders BJ Lecrone, Brian Magurn and Juan Gonzalez.