Re: How can I germinate staghorn sumac seed?
- To: <perennials@mallorn.com>
- Subject: Re: How can I germinate staghorn sumac seed?
- From: "* T* <m*@clark.net>
- Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 02:07:15 -0500
I have no personal experience here, but I do have this handy-dandy book,
"Seeds of Woody Plants in North America" by James A. young and Cheryl G.
Young and it says the following (quoted without permission):
" The fruit is a small, smooth to hairy drupe with a single bony nutlet
lacking endosperm."
"Collection, Extraction, and Storage of Seed: The fruit clusters may be
picked by hand as soon as ripe, and often are available until late in the
year. Fruits of smooth sumac (R. glabra) and staghorn sumac (R. typhina),
which occur in very dense clusters, may require drying by spreading in
shallow layers. If collected late in the fall such drying is not
required."
"The fruits can be run through a macerator and the seeds recovered by
flotation. Such complete cleaning is seldom practiced except for fruits of
skunkbush (R. trilobata). The seeds of other species are sown with the
fruits more or less intact. "
"Seeds of Rhus species store over winter without special treatment. For
long-term storage, seeds should be dried and stored in sealed containers at
low temperatures."
"Pregermination Treatment: Rhus seeds germinate poorly without
pretreatment. Dormancy of most species is caused by hard, impervious
seedcoats. Seeds of fragrant sumac (R. aromatica) and skunkbush also have
embryo dormancy that requires prechilling. Acid scarification or hot water
treatments are necessary to break the hard seedcoats."
"Germination: Using scarified seeds, and prechilled seeds in the case of
species with dormant embryos, germination can be tested with a variety of
substrata ranging from sand to paper in petri dishes. Incubation
temperatures that have been used are 20/30C or a constant 20C. Heit (1967a)
recommended that light be supplied during incubation.. Germination is
epigeal."
(I am not sure what "epigeal" means, perhaps someone can give a definition
here)
"Nursery and Field Practice: Sumac seeds can be sown in the fall after
scarification. They should be planted 1.25 cm deep in rows, at a rate of
260 viable seeds per sq. m."
They also reference recent literature on the subject by author, date and
subject. The two dealing specifically with R. typhina are:
Marks 1979 - R. typhina, fire stimulation of seed germination and
Norton 1985 - R. typhina, influence of gibberellin and prechilling on
germination.
This is probably more and less than you wanted to know, but I thought it
might clear the air a bit on your problems with this species. Looks like
you need to explore acid scarification! Hot water treatments might be
easier, but I don't know what those entail. Does anyone else know how you
give "hot water" treatments? Does this mean soaking in boiling water?
Hand hot water? What??
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
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