This is for the plant folks out there. Last fall, I gathered some acorns and wild plum seeds (I’m in Winnipeg). I kept them in the fridge for the winter (to mimic winter conditions), and planted some about a month ago in peat pots. So far, nothing.
Do these seeds need some special treatment (i.e. passage through a digestive tract) in order to germinate? If so, is there any way to mimic this - I am NOT swallowing seeds and fishing them out of the toilet!!
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I used to gather acorns in the fall from under trees nearby (live oaks*, in this case). Seeds lucky enough to hit nose down and torpedo themselves a couple millimeters into the soil, often germinated. They showed a distinctive root emerging from the buried ‘pointy” end.
Still, I would gather from these few forays, that a digestive process was not needed for those live oaks.
*I do not assume these live oak trees were native live oaks though. They almost look like olives, if you did not know.
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The book “How to grow native plants of Texas and the Southwest” says “most oaks require no pretreatment in order to germinate prompty. they should be planted outdoors or in deep containers immediately after collection. Many oaks prompty extend their roots when planted but require exposure to cold temperatures to initiate shoot growth in spring.” “…cover with 1-2 inches of firm soil. Mulch lightly…” “Protect …with wire mesh to prevent predation by squirrels…”
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See Doug Tallamy’s new book, The Nature of Oaks. He has a whole chapter titled “How to Plant an Oak”. He recommends starting with an acorn. Methods differ significantly between red oaks and white oaks. Fascinating book, highly recommended.
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Many oaks start germinating in the fall, immediately after ripening and falling, but need to overwinter to really sprout. Both types of seeds need to be kept moist (not soggy) if stored in a fridge for several months. If they dried out, they are probably toast.
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I tried germinating some oak acorns once and failed. My 5 year old brother just goes and picks up acorns and he sticks it them in pots… almost 100% germination rate. 
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Isn’t that always how things work!
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Was that a joke or do people actually do that?
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I’ve never known or heard of anyone doing that. It was meant to be a joke! However, this comment concerned wild plum seeds rather than acorns. Some seeds need to pass through some sort of gut in order to germinate. I was wondering if birds swallow wild plums whole, and pass the seeds. If that’s the case, I’m not doing that! Neither is my dog, although he would eat them. I’m just not that dedicated to poke around in he feces looking for seeds!
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The woody plant seed manual has some good information on germinating seeds from different species: https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/32626
For oaks, sometimes you don’t get good germination if the acorns have dried out on the ground or if they’ve been infected by weevils. You can test viability by floating them in water - the ones that sink are usually good.
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I would like to welcome @alaynam and @davel to the Forum. I read the Man Who Planted Trees just now, and it is wonderful. Thank you all for the help!
I don’t know if plum seeds need some kind of pretreatment. My suspicion is not, but there are techniques for starting seeds that usually pass through a digestive system. It usually involves lightly sanding off part of the seed coat or nicking it with a file.
Just think a single stomach mammal digestive system probably wouldn’t do much. Going through a gizzard probably does a lot more about removing the seed coating. :-)
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It was interesting to see that this publication is 1223 pages and only available as a PDF download. Just think how many trees would be killed to print it in quantity!
It’s also 20 MB large, so I didn’t download it but bookmarked it. Thank you for the info.
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For wild plum seeds, it seems they vary in their requirements based on species and location where the seed originated. Cold stratification may be required - the book I have suggests 60-90 days cold stratification or sow in fall outdoors to germinate in spring. It also suggests to plant two or more individuals in close proximity for best fruit set - I assume because they require cross-pollination for fruiting? It sounds like these should germinate just fine.
For oaks, the suggestion is to soak the acorns in water and discard the floaters as they are most likely not viable. Let the rest soak for a day or two and then place them in moist vermiculite or similar in plastic bags in the refrigerator for the winter. The viable ones will split and germinate in the bags during refrigeration. Carefully plant the rooted acorns out in spring and discard the duds that didn’t germinate. Apparently a lot of them fall victim to weevils and won’t germinate so this method allows for enrichment of the viable ones.
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Thank you everybody for your informative responses.
Im not sure if its me but all of your comments are so funny I enjoy reading them. They always make me laugh even when you’re not trying to be funny!
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Then I have fulfilled my mission! I’m a firm believer in humour in everything, even if it is a serious topic. Witness the obituary I wrote for my Dad - https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-255324/TOAL_ROBERT I still miss him, but I’m glad I wrote that.
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