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nz Friday, January 22, 2010 TARANAKI DAILY NEWS 11

GARDENING www.taranakidailynews.co.nz

Gathering seed: a step-by-step

guide with Abbie and Mark Jury

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There are two main types of seed: wet and dry seed. Wet seed comes encased in fleshy coating and To be an organised seed collector, keen Some plants, like this cyclamen, have a fleshy seed
Most of the perennials and grasses are dry seed, and needs to be kept moist. Allowing wet seed to dry observation is helpful to get the timing right. That pod that holds on for a long time, so timing of
not surprisingly, these seeds need to be kept dry. out totally is disastrous. Shown are clivia and is especially true for dry seed heads like poppies, collection is not critical. The fleshy coating needs
Shown here is meconopsis and aquilegia. scadoxus seed, but most of the broad-leafed plants and verbascum and even vegetables, which will split open to be dried so that it flakes away, allowing the seeds to
native plants are wet seed. and spill out their seeds. You want the seed to be be separated. But these are wet seeds, so they need to
mature and ripe, but to catch them before the seed head be sown as soon as possible for best germination. The
disperses. Collect the seed by cutting the pod straight longer they are stored dry, the lower the germination
into a bucket, paper bag or similar. rate will be.

5
Some plants, like
magnolias and many
conifers, wrap their seeds in
tight, woody cones and only
open up when the seed is ripe.
Fruiting pines are like this,
which is why pine nuts are so
expensive to buy and home
harvests are tedious at best for
little crop yield. The magnolia
seed shown here has a fleshy
coating that needs to be
rotted off to find the viable
seed beneath. It is another
wet seed that does not want
to be stored dry for very
long, though most conifers
are a dry seed and more
easily stored.

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Clean the seed carefully. We store dry seed in used
paper envelopes with the name and date written on
it. Wet seed can be kept in plastic bags to slow
dehydration.
Photos: ROBERT CHARLES
As a general rule, follow nature’s lead and sow
seed as soon as possible after collection. If you are
storing the seed for some months, find a position
completely protected from autumn mice, which can
wreak havoc. Here we use an old fridge that is not
plugged in but provides a rodent-proof cupboard in the
shed. Home gardeners can put their seed envelopes in
an ice-cream container in the fridge. To find our
previous Outdoor Classroom on how to sow seed
successfully, go to our website, www.jury.co.nz and
click on the Outdoor Classroom link, or see
www.dailynews.co.nz.

Feature Trusses
and very open conditions are
still recommended.
Modern breeding has led to
the commercial release of a

Made to Order range of jewel-like colour

combinations going well
beyond the common red and
yellow toughies – more into the

Anigozanthos, rosella parrot colourings. We

probably a flavidus hybrid
I have never been up close and
personal with Kanga and
certainly not so near that I can
examine her feet, so the reason
why members of the
anigozanthos family are
widely referred to as
kanagaroo paws eludes me.
While the flowers are slightly
furry, that doesn’t seem
sufficient reason to liken the
two. But these interesting
if for no other reason than they
flower most of the year.
The critical issue with
anigozanthos is perfect
drainage. Apparently, flavidus
is more tolerant of damper
conditions than the other
species (which may be why
this yellow one thrives where
we have lost others over time),
but we are only talking
have tried a number of these
over the years and gradually
lost the lot – you should have
more success if you garden in
sandy, coastal conditions. But
the reliable yellows and reds
give consistent and curious
flowers in our rockery and are
also good as a cut flower. This
yellow plant puts up flower
spikes to around 150cm and,
bless, they hold themselves up
without staking. Many others
are a great deal more compact
and have flower spikes closer

e
Better vaqluuality
clumping, evergreen tolerance of Australian damp, to 20 or 30cm.
Ref: 2432170
perennials from southwest which is not at all the same Anigozanthos are frequently
Australia are worthwhile thing as Taranaki damp. available in garden centres.

and better
additions to the sunny garden, Perfect drainage, a raised bed – Abbie Jury

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