OakLeaf Hydrangea

I had gathered some seed of this OH that didn't have all it's seed pods open. They been sitting a baggy. Some of the little pod heads have come off and also I noticed that in the bottom of the baggy is all like this brownish/black dust. Is that the seeds? If so, any recomendations on how to plant them and is there any easy way other than broadcasting to plant dust seeds? Thank you!

Sounds like the seed of Hydrangea quercifolia to me. You might want to consider winter sowing them.

Definitely Oakleaf Hydrangea, but I was tipped off by the thread's title.

For "dusty" seed such as H. quercifolia, Clethra, any Ericaceae genera, Gentians, Campanulas, Hypericums, what have you, I always use a high-peat ratio soil less medium, such as Pro-Mix. Mixes high in peat form a smoother surface which keeps the seeds on top better (although high peat mixes are harder to water, are more prone to dry out, and have other issues as well). Tiny seeds invariably require light to germinate anyway, so it is perfectly fine to fill your trays or pots with mix, bottom water, allow them to become moist, and then sow lightly on the surface.

I have not grown Hydrangea quercifolia from seed, so I've gone to my Dirr/Heusser manual. It states: "No pretreatment necessary, fresh seed germinated profusely in two weeks." Therefore, I would expect no cold period stratification is necessary. So you could save your seed and sow in the spring, or you could sow it now and leave the pots out of doors. Or, you do a little of both. Either way, it sounds like you should see some little plants.

The problem with tiny seeds is that you get tiny seedlings, so you'll need to excercise great care while tending them to a larger size. They have no food reserves from mom and a very small radicle to obtain moisture with in their infancy. So always bottom water and never allow the medium to completely dry out. You might want to "push" the little guys with plenty of nutrients to get to a greater size faster. I do this with a 50% or less below label ration of fish emulsion fertilizer used with every watering, and spritzing the foliage with this solution as well. The weaker solution will prevent burning the tiny little plants, and in the fish emulsion chemistry there is already a bit of a buffer to prevent this anyway, but using the solution with every watering ensures a constant supply of macro and micro nutrients in an absorbably state constantly available. It works well.

If using fluorescent lights, keep them on at least 18 hours a day (or all the time, if you want), and keep them very close to the seedlings. Have a small fan running near your pots but not blowing directly over them to create airflow and minimize issues of damping off. If you leave your trays or pots outside, make sure the plants have lots of exposure to indirect bright light. Don't leave them out in full sun. Try to protect them from wind. A coldframe with a white opaque plastic covering is ideal.

As your seedlings become strong enough to prick out, and this happens rapidly--even before true leaves emerge, really--carefully divide them apart from each other with an Exacto knife or something similar, and drop them into individual 4" pots with a more porous medium. You could mix some Turface or some gravel in with your Pro-Mix, or buy a coarser medium composed mostly of ground up bark. Keep up the fertilizer routine, gradually switching to time release dry fertilizer if you wish. Get a fertilizer with micronutrients if you do, or continue to use Fish Emulsion on a regular basis to provide micros if you do not.

Eventually, your plants will be large enough to go into 1 gallons and from there on out it gets pretty easy. Easier still once they find homes in the ground.

By growing from seed, you'll find some variation in the quality of your plants. You might also find yourself with the next great Oakleaf Hydrangea cultivar, patented by you and named after your mother, and leaving you without a care in the world. Or you could just find yourself with several dozen Oakleaf Hydrangeas.

Scott

Thank you very much for the helping hands!!! I am excited. : ) This is the first time I have been able to collect some seed since I first saw these shrubs a few years ago. I've always been either to early or to late. These seed came off of what looked like a young shrub. Maybe because it was deeper in the understory it hadn't shed all of it's seeds when I found it. Have no idea what the flower color is, but do know it is a single flower bloomer.

I will go get some fish emulsion. That the one thing I don't have here.

There is enough of these dust seeds if you all would like to try some. Be glad to send ya pinch. Ya just definately don't wanna breath too hard or sneeze around them. It's amazing sometimes how something so big and beautiful can produce such eye straining seeds.

Thank you again. Greatly appreciate it!