Growing Trees from Seed: A Practical Guide to Growing Native Trees, Vines and Shrubs

By Henry Kock, Paul Aird, John Ambrose, Gerald Waldron, Firefly Books, 2008

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2008

Native trees grow much faster than non-native trees. But even experienced horticulturists can be mystified about how nature sows and germinates seeds especially acorns and walnuts.
Thanks to this book, any gardener can now grow trees from seeds within as little as ten years. The secrets are to know what seeds to collect and how to prepare and plant them. From their extensive knowledge, the authors guide the reader in identifying native trees, vines and shrubs and describe howto propagate them.
Growing Trees from Seed covers the ecology, abundance, fruit characteristics and edibility of the more than 200 species discussed in this book. There is expert guidance on when to gather fruits, how to extract seeds from the fruit, and when and how to treat and germinate the seed, plus information on transplanting and expected growth rate. Alerts throughout the book identify closely related non-native species now common to various regions.
Many illustrations and descriptions help the reader with plant identification. A seed-treatment guide provides a handy reference.
Among the trees, vines and shrubs covered are:

Alders

Beeches

Berries

Birches

Cedars

Cherries

Chestnuts

Clematis

Dogwoods

Elms

Firs and pines

Hickories

Junipers

Laurels

Maples

Oaks

Plums

Poplars

Spruces

Walnuts

Willows.

There is no better guidebook on how to grow native trees from seed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this comprehensive coffee-table–sized guide, Kock, a Canadian horticulturist who died in 2005, not only shows how to find and propagate native woody plants but also helps readers understand plants as members of communities of plants and animals rather than as isolated specimens. He tells how to differentiate native plants from invasive exotics and how to collect, clean, germinate and plant seeds and set up a nursery, along with intriguing suggestions (keep a toad in a cold frame to eat slugs) and surprising facts (earthworms are not native to the glaciated areas of North America, and contrary to popular gardening belief, they do a huge amount of damage by dragging undecomposed organic material into the soil, where it does not belong). The book's focus is woody plants of the Great Lakes bioregion, but Koch assures that the techniques will apply to other regions and species as well. With beautifully detailed line drawings and color photographs, the book provides both inspiration and knowledge to think like a seed... listen to the seed's story as written by the land and water where the seed was formed, and the wind, water, and animals that distribute it. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Of all the books on trees, [this is one] of my favorites. (Connie Krochmal BellaOnline 20081011)

I get a lot of gardening books at work, but very few of them get to come home with me. (Luke Miller Better Homes and Gardens 20080925)

Not merely a how-to reference...it gives the reader a context, philosophy, and background that I have not often seen elsewhere (Guy Sternberg, founder, Starhill Forest Aboretum, Petersburg IL, author and photographer of Native Trees for North American Landscapes and Landscaping with Native Trees The American Gardener, American Horticultural Soci 20081009)

[Kock] and his co-authors cover the ecology, abundance, fruit characteristics and edibility of more than 200 trees, vines and shrubs. (Ken Smith The London Free Press 20081014)

To avoid ... foolish mistakes,[this] book might be your best companion. (Kathy Renwald The Hamilton Spectator 200809)

Starting a tree from a seed is....a way to vegetate your landscape cheaply while fighting global warming and perserving biodiversity. (Adrian Higgins San Francisco Examiner 20081009)

The secrets of trees are secrets no longer... Kock helps us understand the how and why of it all. (Alan Pickersgill Tribune (Guelph ON); The View FroM Here at www.ala 20081011)

It contains all you need to know about collecting, storing, germinating and nurturing the seeds of our very future. (Marjorie Harris Gardening Life 200811)

A guiding hand and inspiration. (The Washington Post 20081118)

[Kock] and his co-authors cover the ecology, abundance, fruit characteristics and edibility of more than 200 trees, vines, and shrubs. (Ken Smith The London Free Press 20081101)

Inspiring to gardeners, educators, and conservationists alike, this book...provides a hands-on approach to growing plants from seed successfully. (National Garden Clubs, Inc. 20081128)

Informative ... An invaluable resource. (Judy Love, diggin'it blog Christian Science Monitor 200901)

A rich and detailed resource... Recommended for all public and academic libraries with horticultural collections. (Lisa A. Ennis, University of Alabama at Birmingham Library Library Journal 200904)

This authoritative book could not have come at a more opportune time. (Donald McClure The County Weekly News (Picton ON) 20090601)

Kock demystifies the whole process, through all the stages.... Forests will grow thanks to the lessons he's shared. (Lorraine Johnson Newsletter of the North American Native Plant Soci 20081011)

This book is worth its weight in gold. (Stephen Westcott-Gratton Canadian Gardener 200809)

Gardeners [seeking] help with the challenges of growing trees and shrubs from seed will be very pleased with this book. (G. D. Dreyer, Connecticut College Choice 20081130)

[Kock] and his co-authors cover the ecology, abundance, fruit characteristics and edibility of more than 200 trees, vines and shrubs. (Ken Smith The London Free Press 200812)

This 240-page hardcover book outlines the practical steps to growing trees from seed while providing the reader with interesting information. (New Brunswick's Private Forestry Resource Centre, 20081128)

Henry Kock's Growing Trees from Seed is a beautiful volume and decidedly useful as a growing guide. (Jodi DeLong The Chronicle Herald 200902)

Growing Trees from Seed is a wonderful resource. (N. Glenn Perrett Lake Wah-Wash-Kesh Conservation Association 20081213)

If there is a Garden Book of the Year, it's Growing Trees from Seed by Henry Kock. (Marjorie Harris National Post 20080828)

Growing trees from seeds can be included in the grand scheme of your horticultural endeavors. (Virginia Master Gardener Association 2009)

This volume has the look of a glossy tome destined for the coffee table. (Jon Fear Waterloo Regional Record 20080804)

Respected environmentalist Henry Kock has left behind in his death a bible for are tree and shrub growers. (Thana Dharmarajah The Guelph Mercury )

There is no better guidance on how to grow native trees from seed. (I Can Garden.com )

With beautifully detailed drawings and color photographs, the book provides both inspiration and knowledge. (Publishers Weekly )

Kock's passion was propagating and saving native woody plants. The late horticulturalist's knowledge lives on in Growing Trees from Seed. (Chicago Times )

About the Author

Henry Kock was an interpretive horticulturist for two decades at the University of Guelph's arboretum, where he founded the Elm Recovery Project.
Paul Aird is a forest scientist and professor of forest conservation policy at the University of Toronto.
John Ambrose served as curator of the University of Guelph's arboretum, and curator of botany and manager of horticulture at the Toronto Zoo.
Gerald Waldron is the author of three books and many popular articles and scientific papers on trees.

Preface
There is much satisfaction to be gained in gathering seeds from an old oak or elm or witch hazel, and propagating them, knowing that you are playing a role in preserving the genetic diversity of important local trees and shrubs. But how do you know which seeds to collect, and from which tree, how best to treat them so that they will germinate, or how and where to plant them?
In this book, my aim is to pass on my knowledge to you about how to do these things. This means helping you learn what kinds of native woody plants to look for, showing you how to sharpen your senses to identify plants, even how to "think like a seed," how to plant the seeds, germinate them and protect the seedlings, and what species are not native but invasive species.
To help you identify the fruit of trees and other woody plants to the species level, especially if closely-related exotic species exist in the wild, extensive descriptions and illustrations are provided in Chapter 6. While this book presents procedures found successful for propagating the woody species of the Great Lakes bioregion, the techniques apply as well to the same species where they grow naturally outside this region, and to other species in other regions.
My other aims in writing this book are: to inspire the gathering and growing of seeds to help restore and sustain the precious diversity of our natural heritage; to nurture a deeper appreciation of the natural diversity of landscapes; to help everyone to understand plants as members of communities of plants and animals rather than as isolated specimens; and to understand how lands and forests become fragmented and what this means.
Covering many thousands of square miles, the Great Lakes bioregion is the ecological community of plants, animals and microorganisms encompassing the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world: Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Superior. All of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and parts of Ontario, New York, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania belong to this bioregion. The meeting place of three vast life zones -- the boreal, mixed and deciduous forests (including prairies) -- it contains a rich diversity of woody plants -- trees, shrubs and vines -- arising from the convergence and interaction of species from these three very different life zones. In addition, the birds migrating from as far away as South America -- insectivores, seed-eaters and their avian predators -- have also had a profound influence on the distribution and growth of the woody species in the Great Lakes region. Likewise, the Great Lakes bioregion has had a profound influence on avian populations.
Regrettably, it is one of the most heavily impacted bioregions in all of the Americas. It has been significantly fragmented by intensive human settlement; now, in some rural areas, the amount of coverage with native plants is less than two percent. The disruption of the natural landscape caused by land clearing, paving and extensive planting of exotic (non-native) species has resulted in a climatic, hydrologic, vegetative and faunal imbalance that dramatically restricts the natural evolution of the region's native species.
Planting native tree, shrub and vine species to address this massive injustice to the land is a nearly sacred act.

MIDWEST INDEPENDENT RESEARCH NATIVE TREES