Very interesting! Every year I wait for the happiness I feel when the ironweed blooms. And then I just love watching the brown tufts waving in the fall winds, wondering where I might see a new plant or 2 next year. Yes to reading Braiding Sweetgrass, then reading it again. There’s too much in that book to gather it all in the first time. 💜
10/9/23 Here is my report on the seed germination. I counted out 24 seeds of each group and kept them separate. I gave them the same damp-cold stratification and the same conditions. To my immense surprise, the ones I picked early almost all germinated. Only 4 of the ones that I picked later germinated. So my theory seems not to have been correct. This fall I picked them (a few days ago) when they were formed but not flying away.
Thanks for your detailed post and photos. I've been debating about harvesting seeds from a different ironweed species, and your post definitely encouraged me to wait a while longer.
Did you get the expected results from your germination experiment?
Very interesting! Every year I wait for the happiness I feel when the ironweed blooms. And then I just love watching the brown tufts waving in the fall winds, wondering where I might see a new plant or 2 next year. Yes to reading Braiding Sweetgrass, then reading it again. There’s too much in that book to gather it all in the first time. 💜
10/9/23 Here is my report on the seed germination. I counted out 24 seeds of each group and kept them separate. I gave them the same damp-cold stratification and the same conditions. To my immense surprise, the ones I picked early almost all germinated. Only 4 of the ones that I picked later germinated. So my theory seems not to have been correct. This fall I picked them (a few days ago) when they were formed but not flying away.
Thanks for your detailed post and photos. I've been debating about harvesting seeds from a different ironweed species, and your post definitely encouraged me to wait a while longer.
Did you get the expected results from your germination experiment?