Stratification is the mechanism perennial plant seed uses to time out when to germinate. When seeds fall to the ground they are covered with leaves, snow falls over them and they’re kept moist and cold until the spring.

This is replicated by collecting the seed fresh and placing them in a medium of peat moss or wet sand and placing them in a bucket or small rodent proof container buried outside in wood chips. You can also use the refrigerator, but seeds are more prone to mold and variable temperatures in this space.

Different species require different stratification times usually ranging from 60-120 days. All of our seeds were never allowed to dry out and were placed in a medium of moist sand after being cleaned to satisfy all warm and eventual cold stratification requirements (besides Mulberry which can be dried and germinated successfully without stratification).

Seeds will be shipped in the spring along with all other bareroot plant orders starting in mid to late march depending on the snowmelt. All seeds will be nearing the end of their stratification period or will have just completed the required time.

Seeds can be planted in pots, air prune flats or the garden upon recieiving them or placed in the coldest part of your refrigerator until you have a place to plant them. Be careful not to plant seeds to shallow or deep and mulch over the seedbed with a fine mulch like sawdust. Seeds should be kept moist and protected (with mesh or other pest deterrent) but still be exposed to adequate air and light. Be patient, perennial plants are fickle and often do not germinate uniformly or in a timely manner.