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Overview
It's really easy to grow plants from fruits and berries you've collected, and it's also free. Plants grown from seed aren't always exactly like the parent plant, unlike those grown from cuttings, so look forward to results that could be new, different, and sometimes better.
Do it:
autumn and early winter
Takes just:
30 minutes
How to do it
-
Choose a healthy plant, such as sorbus, holly, cotoneaster or rowan, and check the berries are ripe by squeezing them. Remove a generous bunch with secateurs. -
Squash the berries onto a sheet of kitchen towel and clean away the skin and flesh to expose the bare seeds. Alternatively, clean away the flesh by running them under the cold tap in a sieve. -
Fill a small pot with gritty loam-based compost and sow the seeds evenly across the surface. -
Sprinkle a layer of compost over the seeds, water, then stand the pot in a cold frame or sheltered place in the garden. Keep it watered and protect it from birds.
"Make sure berries are really ripe by leaving them on the plant until they're starting to drop naturally."
"Be patient! Some seeds germinate in a few months, others take far longer, and some won't germinate at all."
"Allow seedlings to develop a few true leaves before pricking them out into separate pots and growing on."
