Winter
Musings:
Seed
Stratification
Christine Maccabee
Through
the many
days and
nights of
this long,
cold
winter,
trillions
of seeds
lay
sleeping.
They rest
in their
icy
cradles of
soil and
stone
awaiting
the warmth
of spring.
Offspring
of
grasses,
flowers
and trees,
+hese
seeds,
though
inactive,
are
changing
nonetheless,
are being
prepared
by
moisture
and
essential
freezes
which we
humans
must
endure by
piling on
layers of
clothing.
Naked,
these
small
seeds lay
exposed to
all the
elements,
without
one word
of
complaint.
They are
in a state
of
dormancy,
yet being
prepared
for
germination
by a
process we
humans
call
stratification.
Many seeds
would not
sprout a
root
without
such
preparation.
Stratification,
though a
perfectly
natural
process,
is often
used by
botanists
under
controlled
conditions
in order
to
germinate
the
toughest
of seeds.
Some large
nurseries
start
their
fruit and
nut trees,
and shrubs
such as
dogwood
and holly,
from seed
by use of
this
method. It
is a bit
more
trouble
than you
and I
would go
to,
requiring
these hard
seeds to
be layered
in damp
sphagnum
moss,
peat, or
vermiculite
and
chilled
for 1 to 4
months.
Many
wildflower
seeds also
need this
freeze
period. I
have
learned
through
trial and
error that
germination
rate of
wildflower
seed mixes
is much
higher if
the seeds
are sown
in the
fall or
winter.
With seed
mixtures
you might
order
through
the mail,
frequently
you will
see
instructions
to place
your seeds
in the
freezer
for a
period of
time,
prior to
sowing
them in
the
spring. As
for
vegetable
seeds,
simply
keeping
them in a
cool
place, not
freezing,
is usually
sufficient.
All seeds
will
suffer if
too warm
and too
dry.
As human
beings, we
experience
many cold,
even
difficult
times in
our lives,
perhaps as
a form of
"human
stratification".
Surely out
of
struggle
and depth
of feeling
have come
some of
our
greatest
symphonies,
art
master-pieces,
writings
and other
human
accomplishments
too
innumerable
to list
here.
Against
all odds,
such as
Beethoven's
deafness
or Van
Gough's
madness,
even out
of the
depths of
depression,
and
frequently
through
sheer
determination,
creative
potential
and genius
are
released
through
the
cracking
of a sort
of
protective
epidermis.
One of my
very
favorite
songs to
perform is
by Dottie
Rambo
whose pain
nearly
drove her
to
suicide.
"Beside
Still
Waters" is
a powerful
song
expressive
of her
pain, and
yet the
faith and
hope she
had in
order to
overcome
it. Humm
...
As I sit
by my
window,
gazing out
onto
frozen
gardens,
fields and
mountains
painted in
shades of
grays and
browns, I
acknowledge
my own
need for
this
"down"
time. For
many of us
January
and
February
can be too
cold: too
solitudinal,
even
depressing.
No one is
exempt
from those
feelings
at this
time of
the year.
To comfort
myself, I
reflect on
all those
seeds I
scattered
on a large
prepared
area in
front of
my home,
an area
that was
once
wasted
space,
unused
lawn. If
all goes
well,
those
seeds will
stratify
and
manifest
into a
beautiful,
as well as
useful,
community
of mostly
native
plants
such as
black-eyed
susan,
ox-eye
daisy,
pinks,
coneflower,
corn-flower,
lupine,
cinquefoil
evening
primrose,
vervain,
moth
mullein
and
larkspur.
Each
perfect
bloom
which I
will
witness
throughout
the warm
months
ahead will
have come
forth as a
result of
successfully
prepared
seeds,
some of
which are
even
tinier
than a
grain of
mustard
seed.
Time
passes,
all too
swiftly
some say.
Even
lonely,
frozen
days in
January
will pass
more
pleasantly
if we
contemplate
the
flowers to
come, the
potential
within the
soil, and
the
potential
within
ourselves.
All we
need, like
the seeds,
is to
weather
the
elements
of our
lives with
patience
and hope.
'Christine
is
president
of the
Friends of
Nature
Garden
Club,
which is
actively
seeking
new
members
for
community
projects
involving
wildflower
meadows,
as well as
formation
of nature
programs
in the
area. Call
her at
301-271-2307
if
interested
Read other
articles
by
Christine
Maccabee
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