- 1). Harvest seed at the end of summer. Hold a bag under the seed heads and lop them off with garden shears. Bring them indoors and spread them out on a counter to dry completely for at least 24 hours. Put the seed heads in a mortar and pestle to crush them.
- 2). Pour the crushed seed heads and chaff onto a fine mesh screen. Either take the screen outside and gently toss the contents up and down in a breeze or hold the screen in front of a fan and allow the air to catch the lightweight chaff and blow it off the seeds.
- 3). Dampen a large piece of sphagnum moss and enfold the seeds inside. Put the moss in a zip-top bag into the refrigerator. Let the seeds chill for at least 30 days and up to 75 days. Keep the sphagnum moss damp during this time.
- 4). Mix half potting soil and half compost and put it in the seed tray. Thoroughly moisten the soil/compost mix. Press the seeds into the surface of the medium at a distance of 1 inch from each other. Place a lid on the tray and put it on a seed-warming mat set to 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Germination will occur in one week to ten days.
- 5). Transplant the plants when they are 5 inches high. Put them in an area with moist, rich soil in standing water no deeper than 1 inch. Plant them 12 to 18 inches apart for a close stand when the bulrush seedlings are full grown. Water levels can increase as the plants get taller.
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