Jack in the Pulpit ... collecting seed

We have a lot of Jack in the Pulpit growing on our property. Anyone have any experience collecting seed ?

Do you just squeeze the seeds out of the berry, and dry them? Do they need to go through a cold period to germinate?

Any help will be appreciated.

I'd soak them in water for a couple of days like when saving tomato seed. Yes, they do need a cold period, in fact I'm thinking maybe two, but I'll have to check that out. I'll get back to you on that.

Yep, 3 months of chill, 3 months of warm to start the root system and then 3 months of chill again to help the shoot break dormancy. Like peonies, it's a two year process.

This message was edited Sep 6, 2005 7:36 AM

Thanks Kathleen

Correct me if I'm misunderstanding.

If I chill them for 3 months in the fridge, and then plant them, they should germinate and grow. Then in another year, after they have gone through a winter, they should bloom.

I wonder if they would do better if I planted the seeds outside ..... do you know how deep the seeds should be planted?

If you chill them for 3 months and plant them, they will produce roots. Then they will need a second chilling period to produce a shoot above ground. They usually need several years (I'm thinking 3 to 5) before they bloom. I think you would probably be ahead to plant them outdoors now, but mark the spot because next year there will not be a plant. The second year, after you've given up all hope (ahem, speaking from experience), you will find a little 3 leaved shoot. If you plant several in one area, you will be able to move them to where you want them the 3rd year. They are worth the wait.

Thanks Kathleen,

I'm trying to bring some of the things in the woods up closer to the house so I can enjoy them there as well as when I walk in the woods.

Thanks for the help.

Kathy

Hello all.
What about planting them outside now? I have seeds from the Botanical Garden in Chicago & am nuts about these things! I had them in my yard at a home I sold. Should have brought them with me but.........
Thanks,

Kathleen hit it right on the head, the seeds should be soaked overnight and then the fleshy part removed by hand before being sown. She also hit it on the head regarding what frustrates people the most about starting these plants from seed. It's that darn double dormancy. This means you winter sow them and get nothing the next spring just like she said. You have to cold stratify them twice in other words. Most people have difficulty keeping up with their trays over the long hot dry months of summer while others who attempt to germiante toss out viable seed that would have germinated 2 or 3 years later.

For this reason, I follow Lawnfairy's train of thought which would be to plant them directly outside in the area in which I want them growing. I collect the seeds when they are ripe then soak them for 24 hours and remove the fleshy parts then direct sow. I've got a few fruiting right now and if anyone is interested, I could take a photo and post it.

I'd love to see your photo.

Thanks for the help.

Here ya go, hot off the press! The seed is not ripe and won't be for a while.

Aren't they red when ripe?

Bright red when ripe. They are truly beautiful.

My woods is full of jack-in-the-pulpits. There are so many you have to watch each step you take or you will end up trampling them. I've had great success digging them up and transplanting them in one of my shady beds. I try to take a good portion of soil when I move them.

Before we owned this farm, we rented it for 22 years. There was a patch back in the front of the woods (sorry, that's where it was) of about 20 square feet of Jack in Pulpit. One spring, I decided that it was far too concentrated and so spread some around. That summer, the gas well company that held the lease drilled a well and at one point one of their holding ponds "let loose." Had I not moved the jacks, all would have perished in the brine dump. Since then, I have been diligent about keeping things spread out a bit.

Good Move, Kathleen!

Way to go Kathleen!

Hello every one! I love Jack-in-the Pulpit's. I've seen them growing about 6 miles from my house on top of the mountain, but have none here. About what time of year do the seeds come into play? I would like to retrieve some, as I think they would grow great here. This picture came from the top of Peters Mountain, along the Appallachian Trail.

Although germination rate is high when all the i's are dotted and all the t's are crossed, most people truly don't fair all that well propagating this species from seed for reasons mentioned above. The plant doesn't transplant all that well comparatively speaking so field collection probably isn't a good idea unless you own the land or have permission from the owner to remove plant material such as the entire plant or seeds. Most of the people I know who try to transplant them on to private property lose the plants and then the ecosystem from which they were taken is compromised.

Although there aren't a lot of online sources for seed, there are a few even though this is the wrong time of year. If you go on line this winter, you should be able to find online sources for the whole plant. Look for Arisaema triphyllum. These will most likely be container grown and should transplant quite well. This is not a species you would want to purchase bare root in my opinion.

Here's an online source for seed that I found that might be of interest to you-
http://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=jonqhqk8

What fun! This is one of my favorite shade plants. I think you will love them too.

Thanx Equilibrium! I will certainly go shopping this winter. I like getting an early start for the next season. It gives me a lot to look forward to & get excited about! This will be lots of fun!

Can't remember where I read this, but Wild Turkeys are the natural way for JACK IN THE PULPITS to get spread around. They eat the seeds, and then deposit them elsewhere. (probably other birds do as well)

I'd be glad to try and collect seed this Fall for a few people if anyone is interested.

Mine were a suprise. I had dug ferns from a friends house. They were there a long time. A year later I had a Jack pop up. I don't do anything and they have spread here and there. I never moved the original till quite a few years later.

Right now my seeds are green with the bottom row just starting to color.

Just purchased 2 this year. One looks like Equil's with the seeds still green. I lnow next to nothing about them and am sure glad I checked the Forum. Don't want to lose my lil darlins.

Do they not go well with lilies? When I manage to get some I want to put them in the right place. MY neighbor planted some trillium and couldn't figure out why they never came up. I am assuming that they(JIP) are just as particular. But, then I thought that deer had eaten them.

I had some Trilliums that came up every year for about 6 years,,,never bloomed until this year. Then, they were red,,,,supposed to be yellow. Still lovely though,,they're keepers as ling as they keep bloming. I was determioned to get rid of them if they didn't bloom this year.

As far as JIP, I'm preparing myself that they will be like the Trillium,,,LOL

Both JIP and Trilliums are open shade lovers with average moisture requirements. Both can tolerate virtually full shade. Most of the Lilies with which I have familiarity tend to require considerably more sun. If JIP and Trilliums are planted in full sun or even close, my bet would be that you would lose them. They are woodland species. Deer will chow down on Trillium (they particularly like T. grandiflorum for some reason) but they generally leave JIP alone.

Yup Kelly, they're often verrrrrrrrrrry slow to take off. If you have Trilliums that are flowering and JIPs, you might want to consider some Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)for that area also. What I like best about spring ephemerals is that you can plant other species in and amongst them and competition won't be an issue. Foam Flower (Tiarella spp.) and for some height and very attractive flowers you might like Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), or maybe even Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) for its graceful arches.

Equil,

There are a few of those that I'd like to get. Sanguinaria as in Heuchera? Have that one. As well as a lot of others. I'm going to wait until the next bed is in,,,,maybe 2, before I start getting into too many more of the companion plants. Right now, it's pretty basic stuff, with the exception of the Jacks. First time I have ever tried them.

Definitely want a variegated Solomon's Seal.

The variegated is nice but it doesn't attain heights that are all that impressive and the variegation is often not all that well defined. The flowers are rather tiny and don't really stand out all that well as a focal point. Consider Polygonatum commutatum. That particular Solomon's Seal is this short of magnificent and it attains heights of 4-5' with impressive sized flowers.

Sanguinaria as in Sanguinaria which is Bloodroot. Heuchera is Heuchera and that's a very nice plant with many attractive cultivars available not so dissimilar to Tiarella however it prefers sun where Tiarella prefers shade.

Bloodroot-
http://www.wiseacre-gardens.com/plants/wildflower/bloodroot.jpg
I don't know which Heuchera this is but it is representative of the growth characteristics of most of them-
http://www.kernsnursery.com/images/Heuchera%20x%20'Petite%20Pearl%20Fairy'.jpg
Tiarella cordifolia-
http://www.todays-gardener.com/images/Perennials-P/tiarella-cordifolia.jpg
Black Cohosh (great height)
http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/boga/html/Cimicifuga.racemosa.cordifolia.ho2.JPG
Giant Solomon's Seal (great height here too as well as decent sized flowers)
http://www.avantgardensne.com/images/products/polcom.jpg

Of all the plants I have here at my home, the Polygonatum commutatum is a definite show stopper. The flowers dangle like sparkling silver charms on a charm bracelet because of morning dew. The P. biflorum growing all together over on the south side of my property in the woods is a close second but that only attains heights of 18" to 2' for me.

Oops, forgot to mention that the variegated Solomon's Seal is Polygonatum odoratum thunbergii 'Variegatum' and is not indigenous to North America. It's native to Japan. There are a few others that aren't native to the US but the ones I mentioned above are natives. For what it's worth, I've not known the variegated Solomon's Seal to get out of control like Lily of the Valley where I have seen it growing. I also have not run across it in natural areas so I doubt it's invasive. The plants I have seen were about the same height as the native P. biflorum.

Nice photo of variegated Solomon's Seal-http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/7566-41.html

Equil,

Thanks for the info and the links. Will be looing through them. Love that Bloodroot. Also, would rather have the more impressive SS than the variegated if it doesn't show up much. Just liked it at the Arboretum that day.

Come to my house the next time you come to visit your Mom and see the Giant Solomon's Seal baby! I just planted them two years ago and holy moly great balls of fire! Even my husband is impressed and they are only at about 2.5'-3' right now. Here's hoping mine grow like they are on steroids and peak out above 5'.

Yes, I just began planting a few Bloodroots here and there and everywhere in the woods. I love them too. Here's hoping they take off in the years to come. I've lost all to browse save one that I planted in subsequent years so cross your fingers and your toes for me.

Will definitely do that. Would Love to see them. Wow, 5' would be extremely impressive.

Aw, hope the little Bloodroot makes it.

Ya me too. Fortunately, I have it covered in chicken wire. It looked absolutely great this year and it didn't get eaten! Yay! Did I mention it is a Double Bloodroot? Out of all the plants, that was the only Double I had.

Whoa, at least it was covered and the double made it. That would have really been a let down.

I was in a "cover everything in chicken wire" phase. I had literally one scrap left and I figured I'd protect the double. Took me a while to find it but I found it. Good choice given everything else got browsed.

Darn good choice. Wonder why that one didn't get it and everything else was covered also?

No, none of the other bloodroots were covered. I was covering up other plants and had a little bit left over. I thought the Bloodroots would be safe given the time of year it was and was focusing on plants that would be stripped of bark by Thumpers and defoliated by Bambis. I goofed. I should have bought more chicken wire. Covering that particular double was more of an afterthought to use up the last scrap of chicken wire. Hence, it was the only one that survived. I won't make that mistake again.

Ah, I see. Bambie's and Thumpers can really tick a person right off. Put all that work in and they have a feast.

I have hawks. Very big hawks. They help out with the rabbits. There are days when I dream of having mutant hawks that could lift off with a deer.

We need hippogriffs!!!

Oh, now there's a nice dream!

We have the fence, as you know (and envy), that keeps out the bunnies as well as deer, but I haven't seen a rabbit outside the fence in forever. We have a family of 4 Cooper Hawks here that must keep them cleaned out. Those things are hunting machines. The juveniles are always squawking away, even on our windowsill at 4AM! One of them landed on our front porch--it's a bit startling to see them looking inside your house through the window next to your front door. Or maybe it's the Great Horned Owls, which woke me up last night as they tore up a squirrel on top of my metal chimney cap, clanging away at 2AM. Lots of activity here, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.