Bluebells

[Cassie]

Hi I am pleased to say my bluebells (native) have done well this year in my woodland, advice please on how to propagate them, they are throwing up seed pods after they have flowered should I remove these & dry them out then try to grow them from seed?
Thank you

[SimonFisher]

I am pleased to say my bluebells (native) have done well this year in my woodland, advice please on how to propagate them, they are throwing up seed pods after they have flowered should I remove these & dry them out then try to grow them from seed?

Cassie, I see you didn't get any replies offering suggestions or advice, but wondered if you decided to have a go anyway and if you did, what did you do?

Simon

[splodger]

thanks for bumping this topic Simon - must be one of the few threads i've missed for some reason.

i've collected plenty of bluebell seeds in the past - so that i can spread the flowers to other areas in the woods - i let them dry on the plant then collect on a dry day - i then just scatter in other areas. bluebells are tenacious little things - and they will propogate well, with the right soil conditions etc. but you do need patience - as it can take up to 4 years for the seed to germinate/grow.

[Stephen1]

Hi Splodger

Just reading your method of spreading bluebells - with a little change to your approach you could massively increase your success. Bluebell seed that are fully dried out for any length of time have problems breaking dormancy - although in nature they do 'dry out' above ground in the old flower stems - it is never complete - periodic rain/dew - nor does it last long before they end up on the ground and are subject to a natural level of moisture. The best way to store them is slightly moist using something like vermiculite. The Most important thing though is, after they are fully ripe (absolutely critical that they have sufficient time at good summer temperatures to fully ripen/mature), to store them for at least ten weeks in the fridge at about 4 degrees C. - This breaks their natural dormancy. (This evolved pattern of dormancy prevents them from germinating in the autumn and then being damaged by frosts in the winter - however if they are collected in summer and stored full dry they will not germinate the following spring, but sit in the ground until they have their dormancy broken by low temperatures in the following winter allowing them to germinate the next spring - of course sat in the ground all this extra time some seed will be lost to predation/fungal attack etc.)

Just found a reference to back up my thoughts! Okay I appreciate it's an old one (and bluebell now has a new scientific name) but of course the basic biology of the species remains the same

G. E. Blackman and A. J. Rutter, Journal of Ecology Vol. 42, No. 2, Jul., 1954
"Viability of seeds; germination. Seeds lose almost. all germination capacity if allowed to dry in a laboratory, but retain it at least until the following spring if stored in a nearly saturated atmosphere. Even if the seeds are stored in a moist condition, percentage germination is very small unless the imbibed seeds are first chilled. After holding seeds for 10 weeks at an initial temperature fluctuating rather widely about 4 C, the germination was subsequently 83 %, while for unchilled seeds it was 1%. "

[oldclaypaws]

I'll give the collect and chill technique a go next spring, but think I'll be selective and try to go for a large patch of white bluebells as a nice contrast.

I was amused to read a snippet in the telegraph that "2 extremely rare white bluebells had been found in a park". Never counted ours, but it must be in the hundreds, some are in little clumplets of half a dozen or more.

If its not a daft question, am I the only one to think bluebells aren't really blue? They should perhaps be called lilac bells, or bluey-purple bells.

Apparently an effective way to distribute seed is to send a highly untrained rampaging puppy thrashing through them to disperse the seed, that's surely why ours are rapidly recolonising where we've hacked back the brambles.

[splodger]

hey stephen1 - great info

i don't actually store my seeds - i just collect from one place and scatter in another - within mins - just to spread the flowers at the bottom of our wood

will certainly consider your info if i do collect to store seeds

[Meadowcopse]

I store various seeds in small paper envelopes in a seal top food container in the fridge, then before sowing put them in the freezer for a week, then back in the fridge for a day or so and then sow - either in early spring in-situ raked into disturbed ground, or any other time in controlled artificial conditions in a propagator or pots.
As mentioned by others, the light freeze cycle disrupts the dormancy, although some seeds like pre-soaking, minor scarification, or passing through an animal or bird gut to aid germination.

[smojo]

I was given some seeds in a packet. They suggest they need a cold period to break dormancy - I think the term is stratifying them. Mine are in compost in a margerine tub in the fridge at the moment.