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what to do w/newly collected Joe Pye seeds

17 years ago

I walked a couple miles to access the only place near me where Joe Pyes are growing wild. It took me an hour to get there (on a bike trail...through some woods, to access a few JPs near a highway offramp!!) and I am determined to have these in my garden.

So I have a good stash of seeds . I directly sowed a few of them outdoors already (just to experiement) and have a good bunch left. WHat should I really be doing with these?

One site I saw said that they don't store well and to sow immediately. Others have said to store them in the fridge until March and then start them in soil.

What should I do w/these seeds?

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Comments (6)

ladyslppr
17 years ago
I would sow some outdoors in the spot where you want them to grow, as you have already done. Next, I might sow a few more outdoors in a garden row or in a pot or some other place where you can watch them carefully as insurance against something happening to the first set of seeds. Any other seeds I would store in a plastic bag in the fridge until maybe Jan, then I would sprinkle them onto a damp paper towel and return to the fridge for a couple months of 'could/moist stratification.' After this, perhaps in April or May I would sow them in potting soil and attempt to grow them like any other seed. i don't like starting native plants too early indoors because they tend to grow better in warmer weather with longer days, such as you start to have in May. Growing wildflowers indoors in Feb and March is tricky and unnecessary, I think. I'd just as soon wait until later in the year, with the understanding that seeds started later probably won't bloom the first year.
joepyeweed
17 years ago
I would press some into the soil and cover with mulch; OR I would put them in a ziploc bag with a bit of moist sand and store in the fridge; OR I would wintersow them in a gallon milk jug.... refer to wintersown.org for more info. Tell Trudi I said hi.

Joepye is easy to grow. People often complain that its too large and too aggressive, so its not difficult to cultivate.
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I planted a 12 ft hedge of Gateway JPW (a supposedly shorter variety!) in a fairly dry area near my house, hoping to keep them in check. Much to my surprise, although they did not outgrow their space width-wise, they soon became tall enough to grow into the eaves of the house. After about 3 more years in which I cut them down by half each year in June (that kept them down to 6-8 feet) I gave up and decided to remove them. Not being able to stand the thought of digging out a 12 by 6 foot area, I used Roundup. One application did the trick. A few years later, when renovating a part of the same bed, I did have three JPW stems sprout up. Although these are also quite tall, they don't take up much space in this large bed (and are not near the house) so I haven't quite decided what to do with them yet. I'm not sure if these are a gift from the birds, or seeds from the orignal planting that came to the surface during the bed renovation. I had no seeding, whatsoever, during the 6 years that the original Gateways were in my garden. Sorry, I have no idea about the roots of plain JPW, but my Gateways, despite their huge size, did not have runners or hard to kill (by Roundup) roots, unlike the roots of the much smaller Chameleon plant (Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon') which required (and still requires) reapplication of Roundup periodically and which I doubt I will ever be completely rid of.
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I did winter sow mine and it did very well. Just like the others said, the plants have remained relatively small for me and haven't increased in size much over the 2 or 3 years since I've planted them. It's planted against a south facing wall, which in my dry Mediterranean climate means quite hot in Summer, but it has some shade from a nearby tree. It does get watered via the automatic watering system. It wouldn't survive otherwise in my climate, I believe. I have saved seeds and this year I tried some direct sowing around the base of the existing two clumps. I don't think anything is coming out, though. The seeds are very aerodynamic and are easily blown by the wind, so I think the winter sowing method does better. The only negative I have for this plant in my climate is that it is very late to emerge in Spring and then dies back to the ground in Fall, leaving me with an empty spot for months on end. In a climate without snow cover, such as mine, this is a minus. Of course, in a climate with snow cover it's perfect. Other than that, it's a carefree and interesting (rather than beautiful) plant. Good at the back of a border. Eduarda
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easy as pye ; )
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My Joe pye is covered with dried flowerheads, but I am wondering if the seeds might have "dispursed" and flown the coop already! I am on Long Island, zone 7.Anyone have any clues as to what to look for if I want to collect them? I've cut off a bunch of bunches into a paper bag, but I am not sure what to do next. Are seeds very tiny? I am mostly seeing "fluff" but maybe some tiny hard parts that look like seed. I am an experienced gardner but new to seed collecting. Any hints? (maybe the big hint is a should have gotten there 3 weeks ago??? smile)Thanks for any help you can offer.
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Collecting about every Japanese morning glory I can get my paws on. Kelli introduced me to this plant and I can't get enough. They are incredibly showy and easy to grow. There is also a chance that the seeds you're getting have been crossed, which can result in some really fun surprises. Always beautiful, I have never been disappointed with an unexpected outcome. Also love zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers, cosmos, basils, coleus, and nasturtium (thought I didn't do so well growing that last one!).
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trudi_d
17 years ago
Hi JPW, I was thinking of you today. I also think of you whenever I see eagles--something I'll never forget ;-)

T
Lynda Waldrep
17 years ago
I agree with all of the above but want to mention something that I just read: putting powdered milk in some tissue/wax paper and including it in the plastic bag of seeds. This is a desicant, they said. I had never heard of this so I checked in the search function of GW, and sure enough, someone had posted that along with the alternative of using a few grains of rice. I have seeds in the frig right now, waiting for winter sowing or outdoors next spring. Should I have included some rice or powdered milk? Trudi, if you are still out there, please comment.
terrene
17 years ago
Winter-sowing is a great way to start seeds, especially those that require cold stratification. Nature does the work for you!

I have stored many types of seeds in plastic baggies in a produce drawer in the refrigerator for years. I usually save those dessicants that come in vitamins and throw them in the drawer and put one in each baggie.

This seems to be a good way to store a majority of seeds. This Seed longevity chart indicates that Parsley and Peppers have a storage life of 3-5 years, but I had very good germination on seeds that were 10 years old for both of these!
joepyeweed
17 years ago
Hi Trudi, I was looking at my old pictures and saw the pic of us at the airport!

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cold stratification?

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