Boiling my Redbuds

Spectacular fall colors are not something you think of when you think of California Native Gardening.  I think that I am not alone in thinking that browns in the summer take over from the brilliant greens of the spring and then... well that things kind of rest for a while while waiting for the winter rains to start the growing cycle again.  That is, however, not always the case.

When Caspar and I have been working on our grand plan for our native garden experiment, one of the many criteria for plant combinations that we have thought about is fall color.  We are both suckers for the red, oranges and yellows of October and November and have been making sure that our plant pallet includes some that will put on a show late in the season.  One of our "must haves" for color is Western Redbud.

Pink/Purple Flowers, not red like the
name implies.

Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis) is a drought tolerant small tree/large shrub that gives quite a show all year round.  It starts with pink/purple flowers that bud out when the branches are still naked to give a prolific display of spectacular bright color.  It doesn't stop there- as after the flower phase passes, it leafs out with lush green rounded heart shaped leaves that give way to red and yellow displays in the fall.  In fact, "This Old House" lists Redbud in the list of top 10 most spectacular trees for fall color... although they didn't specifically list C. occidentalis... but still.  In addition to the fall colors- the Redbuds produce distinctive seed pods that change from green, to deep purple and then to brown as the season progresses.  Such a showstopper must find a place in our yard!

I am not 100% sure yet how many Redbuds our grand plan will have, nor where they will be planted.  The Redbuds are tolerant of some partial shade but give the best shows when they have full sun.  I don't anticipate putting them in the front yard, as that is a garden of "oak woodland" and "meadow" and the Redbuds are found in dry canyons and slopes along the base of the Sierras- not our local oak woodland community.  More to the point, I am not sure we have a good place for one in the front yard.  I know that I want to try at least one on the back hillside where the colors can play off our Japanese Maple that is in a pot on our patio (our yard will never be 100% native as I still love my ornamentals and foodie plants).  I am not sure if the spot I hope will work will get enough sun for it to really thrive.  I hope so.  Even though I do not have plans for it in the front yard, with it being so spectacular, it might be hard to say no to it!

Western Redbud with spring flowers

I bought a packet of Redbud seeds from a supplier online.  Being on a tight budget for plants makes germinating things much more exciting since it can get spendy really quickly when you get as excited about plants as I do!  Thankfully- seeds are usually cheap.  In this case- I actually piggybacked it along with my order for Bush Lupine seeds since the nursery had a minimum order.  I only needed one packed of Lupine, so I bought the Redbud and some Nevin's Barberry (more on that later) to fill in the minimums.  I had read that I needed to boil the Lupine seeds before planting and did.  The Barberry's are in the fridge for the next couple months... but the Redbud I had just put in the egg cartons and watered.  I had not seen any special planting instructions for those and just went for it.

Seed pods changing color

It is really good to have friends who know what they are doing to help you out.  My best friend's father is a native plant expert and has been growing natives for decades.  He is a former scientist for the Park service (just retired!  Congratulations David!) and knows more about CA natural history than just about anyone I know.  Plants, animals, insects... he is the person you want to go out on a hike with.  He knows it all.  And, he really knows his natives.

Dr. David Graber is a good person to have in your email list when you are embarking on an adventure such as ours and I just got my first tidbit from him the other day- boil the Redbud seeds.

It sounds so odd- but boiling water can help seeds germinate.  Ever wonder why "one year seeding, 7 years weeding" applies?   The old wives tale about letting your weeds go to seed leaves you with years of seedlings and not just more work the next year.  Not all seeds germinate every year.  Seeds have evolved different mechanisms to protect themselves and stay dormant until growing conditions are right.  Some seeds need fire to germinate as they have a fire ecology strategy and others need to pass through the gut of a bird- fertilizer and distribution in one!  The seeds often have a hard protective covering that prevents germination unless it has been stimulated the right way.

Fall color.

Scarification is the process of stimulating the seeds to germinate by attempting to break that protective coating.  There are different ways to do it, but one is by using boiling water to pour over the seeds and soak them.  Apparently Redbuds need some sort of scarification in order to germinate properly- so I dug up 18 of my seeds and poured boiling water over them and let them soak overnight.  I just replanted them today but am now second guessing myself- perhaps I should have redone the treatment?  Ideally- the seeds should swell up after treatment as the hard seed coat has been breached by the treatment and allows water to enter the seed and begin to soak into the tissues.  In my case, they didn't swell, so it might not work.

Another method of scarification is to physically scratch the seed coat and break the hard outside barrier- often with a nail file.  I have done this with some of my Redbud seeds but think that I will do more scratching and combine it with boiling for at least a couple.  Very scientific since I am just sort of hacking and trying to find out what will work.  Bottom line is that I have 24 cups with seeds and all I need is one... just the one for the hill and we will go from there.

So far, my Bush Lupines that were boiled and swelled up are germinating great.  I have actually had great germination success with my other plants too- so I will try a few more experiments on the Redbuds and see if I can get this spectacular tree to grow.

I feel like someone rubbing on a lamp hoping to get a genie. Rub Rub Rub!  If this works, I will have some extra Redbuds that I am sure I will be able to find homes for.  Thanks David!