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Mountain ash from seeds: reproduction at home
A tree with bright berries will decorate your summer cottage and become a source of vitamins. It is quite simple to grow rowan from seeds, but with this method of cultivation, some features must be taken into account. What can you do to get a viable tree and why your efforts sometimes fail? Try breeder-developed and field-proven techniques to get a strong plant out of a small seed.
If everything is done correctly, the mountain ash from the seeds grows large and beautiful.
How to extract seeds from mountain ash and prepare them for planting
In nature, new trees grow from berries that have fallen into the ground, but the percentage of seedlings is not very high. In order not to waste time and increase the likelihood of obtaining new plants, it is better to use not berries, but carefully selected and prepared seeds:
- The berries for sowing must ripen, so they should be picked in the fall, when they turn bright red and the leaves begin to fall off.
- Rowan fruits are gently kneaded, filled with plenty of cool water, saturated with moisture for an hour and washed. At the same time, high-quality seeds sink to the bottom.
- Successful reproduction of mountain ash by seeds will ensure their stratification. For this, peat, sawdust or any loose substrate are used. Well washed wet seeds are mixed with it. The mixture is laid in an even layer in an open container, moistened, kept for no more than a month at room temperature. After that, the container is removed until spring in a cool place.
Such preparation increases seed germination and accelerates their growth in spring. Some seeds turn out to be unviable, therefore it is advisable to take their quantity with a margin.
How to grow mountain ash from seeds
For planting, neutral soil is better, although there are no special requirements for acidity. It is important that the planting site is well moistened and sufficiently lit. In early spring, the seeds along with the substrate are planted on a prepared and fertilized bed. It is not necessary to deepen them much; it is enough to cover them with a 5 mm layer of soil.
The distance between the rows is chosen at least 25 cm, and the sowing density is a few seeds per 1 centimeter, taking into account the low germination rate. After emergence, excess plants break through. Seedlings grow rapidly and by autumn they reach half a meter in height. The growth rate is different for different soils.
Now the strongest plants are selected and transplanted to a permanent place. The mountain ash is unpretentious and, with a neat transplant, takes root and takes root well.
It is impossible to grow varietal plants from seeds. This method is suitable for obtaining forest rowan seedlings, which are used for grafting cultivated species.
Mountain ash from seeds at home grows quickly. The tree turns out to be strong, easily adapts when transplanting, it does not need to get used to a new place.