I was hoping to update this log more, but it didn't happen. This year was not very good for trees. I germinated a few redbuds, Kentucky coffeetree, wisteria, and honey locust. Nothing else did much. My hops failed, too. About the only thing that worked well was the hot peppers. I collected several pounds of most of the varieties, made some hot pepper jelly this past weekend, pickled a batch, and the rest are in the freezer waiting for time to make hot sauce. I got quite a few bhut jolokias, although I haven't had the nerve to try them yet.

I've already begun collecting for next year, with katsura, persimmon, hardy orange (poncirus), and bur oak already in the bag. I'll try to update my collecting notes as I gather more.

I have a lot of "mystery" seeds this year because some mice got into my seed holding area over the winter, ate all the acorns, chewed through bags, and ate labels.  We'll see what happens.

The first tray of seeds included (Tray A):

1. Osage-Orange - I feel a little silly planting these guys, since they almost always germinate, and aren't much of a challenge. However, they are a good seed for beginners or kids, since they always come through. I'm growing a lot for a friend who wants to try a hedgerow this year.

2. Katsura - I found a nice tree at Rockwood State Park near my house, in their walled garden area. I snagged some seeds last fall, and just held them in a plastic bag, dry, over the winter. All the little pods had split open and ejected the seeds.

3. Mystery I - these I have absolutely no idea what they are. So there. They might be linden, since the fruit is approximately pea-sized, and the seeds themselves are microscopic.

4. Hophornbeam - I love these trees and have two growing in my backyard that I started several years ago. The tree I got the seeds has been cut down, and the ones that I collect from now are very young; maybe that is why I've had no luck the past few years. I'll keep trying.

5. Bladderwort - these are seeds that I collected along some bottom land by White Clay Creek a few years ago. A reader, Elinor, sent me some seeds she had collected and after we identified them I found some of my own.

6. Goldenrain Tree - I love these guys for their pods and flowers. They actually do quite well in what passes for soil here at my office, so I'm growing some more.

7. Persimmon - spotted this tree in Bellevue State Park, near the stables, last year and collected a bunch of seeds. Just shoved these in the dirt. I scored a few and put them into Tray B.

Tray B:

1. Northern Catalpa - haven't grown these for a while, and I want to see how they do at my house. They grow here at my office, but are stunted except in one wet spot.

2. Mountain Ash - I grew a beauty from seed when I was in Seattle many years ago, but haven't seen them around Wilmington. I collected these seeds from the Hawk Mountain Visitor Center in Pennsylvania last fall.

3. Chinese Scholartree - Easy to grow, good street trees.

4. Wisteria - from a great pergola at Bellevue State Park. I hope to build an arbor at my house one of these days....

5. Mystery II - These are funny. The seeds look like small ginkgo fruits, fleshy and still moist after the winter in a plastic bag, with similarly shaped seeds inside, but they don't stink. I know I collected them somewhere, but the label was chewed off.

6. Redbud - no label, but you can't mistake these. I scratched the seeds with sandpaper just before planting. I usually scarify them this way in the fall, but didn't last year.

7. Persimmon - scarified.

Tray C:

1. Kentucky Coffeetree - I love working with these giant seeds. This year I scored them with a hacksaw. I have a 8-footer here at the office I planted about 3 years ago, and a 1-year-old one at my house. They get big, so it's tough finding a spot for them at the house, but I have some big trees with problems and these might replace them.

2. Mystery III - OK, mystery seed number 3 is a pea-sized fruit, very small seeds, with long thin leaves. The fruits grow in bunches. I'm thinking that these are mountain ash, but I don't remember collecting multiple bags of these last year.

3. Rugosa Rose - well, I'll try to grow anything. I collected these 'rosehips' at a house of a friend I was staying at last fall in Maine. I think most roses are propagated (by people, at least) via cuttings, but what the  hell.

4. Ginkgo - boy, do these things stink. My neighbor has a beautifully shaped tree, but the fruits are a little much, especially when they get onto my driveway and I hit them with my bike. I love the trees, though; there are several streets here in Wilmington that are lined with these guys, and when they turn yellow in the fall they are something to see.

5. Persimmon (Historic) - these are seeds I collected at a historic house in North Carolina about 4 years ago - don't know if they'll do anything, but I'd rather try them then just toss them out.

6. Osage Orange - planted more for a friend.

Here is the diagram of the e Trays A & B and Tray C.  Be sure to see the page for each individual seed type to learn more.

Here is the diagram of the planters.

Note: I get most of my seeds from Pepper Joe's ( (www.pepperjoe.com). I have had good luck with germination using their seeds, they have a great variety of seeds, the catalog is a lot of fun, and I recommend them. I do not receive anything from them for this endorsement.

My seed collecting started last fall,  with help from friends and readers who either sent me seeds, or directed me to a new tree.  The lineup for this year:

ginkgo
Kentucky coffeetree
sawtooth oak
osage orange
poncirus trifoliata (hardy orange)
wisteria
Northern catalpa
Chinese scholartree
magnolia (bigleaf, umbrella, and star(?))
katsura
persimmon
goldenrain tree

Welcome to the growing season of 2009.

Last year was a bust at Trees From Seeds - too many things to do to maintain this site. However, this year I'm making an effort to keep things together and concentrate a little more.

I've cut back a few trees that were shadowing my peppers and tree-germinating site, and done a little repair work on the pepper planting boxes. I've also built two hop trellises at my house for additional varieties - we'll see if the growing conditions are any better than here at the office.

The land around the office that was sold and clear last year is still vacant, and we are still here. The plant might be moving within a few years, but we are safe this year.

This year looks to be interesting, with some new seeds and another try at some old favorites.

I had horrible luck with my hops last year, with a windstorm that stripped most of the leaves, and then some sort of blight that killed everything.

And hot peppers: as usual, I will be growing way too many hot peppers. I made some interesting hot sauces and pepper jellies last year, and I hope to do more this year. My basement is full of hanging dried pepper plants.