Fall 2001

George Johnson and Renee Dankert check out the seed of Canada windflower at her re-created prairie in Harvard, Illinois.

by Beverly McClellan
Photos by Pat Wadecki

For Perle Olsson, gardening for seeds has helped her transform two acres of former turf grass surrounding her home into native savanna and woodland. Years ago, Olsson began sharing seeds with friends; now they return the favor, or pleasure. One friend created almost an entire prairie garden from Olsson’s seeds. “It’s been very rewarding,” she says. “I’ve found that gardeners are very sharing and giving people. The people I’ve met over the last 20 years have become good friends.”

It has taken Olsson two decades to convert her Ringwood yard near McHenry. She began in 1980 when she discovered the showy orchids while making a path through the wooded area in a far corner of her property. She soon began working with Bill Wingate, the late natural historian, whose vision guided the transformation of her Kentucky bluegrass lawn.

Seeds wait out the winter in the garage of Perle Olsson.

In the early 1980s, they started restoring the woodland to its native state. In 1981, Wingate invited Olsson to join the Wildflower Preservation and Propagation Committee, a group from the McHenry County Defenders that wanted to learn how to propagate native plants that were becoming scarce. As she tellsit, back then one simply could not find books or other resources on gardening with most of our native species, much less a place from which to purchase seeds. The group began sharing information and seeds and, later, sprouting seeds for plant sales. These have evolved into large annual events, drawing more and more people into the seed-sharing community.

During 1984 and 1985, with the assistance of late naturalist Bob Horlock, Olsson began the larger task of converting the hilly sandy area in her yard into native prairie. Given the area’s standing oaks, Olsson says it is more accurately termed savanna than prairie. “It’s so beautiful in the morning with the spiderwort in bloom,” she beams. “It’s so amazing, sometimes I can’t believe I accomplished that!”

Over the years, Olsson has given away an uncountable number of seeds. She hosts garden walks in her garden every year, so she keeps seeds ready for people who just keep coming back for more. However, she has given most of her seeds (more than she can estimate) to Wingate Prairie in Crystal Lake to honor her naturalist friend. Jim Wigman volunteers for the Crystal Lake Park District as Wingate Prairie’s volunteer steward. He explains that seed sharers like Olsson are critical to prairie restoration. Quality seeds are limited and costly when purchased from nurseries or catalogs, and restoration efforts normally insist on local seed anyway. As a result, prairie managers rely heavily on people like Olsson to donate seeds.

Perle Olsson in her prairie garden in Ringwood, Illinois.

The Ins and Outs of Seed Swapping
Some seed sharers advise newcomers to be discriminate in their seed sharing to preserve natural plant variations specific to a particular area. One theory recommends limiting sharing to within five miles of the restored area, or about the distance a bird could naturally carry and redeposit the seed, especially when restoring a high-quality area. Others say a larger range is more practical. Observing an appropriate limit is especially important if someone hopes to donate seed for the restoration of preserve lands. But if you’re just wanting native plants for yourself, and perhaps your butterflies, it may not make much difference.

Several local Wild Ones chapters offer annual seed swaps (see page 13) that continue to grow, though some are restricted to chapter members. Margrit Nitz of the Greater DuPage Chapter of the Wild Ones notes that two years ago more than 100 people attended their seed exchange. “We’ve had people bring them in by the trash bags full!”

Speaking of trash bags, George Johnson, or “Dr. Nature” as he is known in the seed-swap community, has a reputation for producing huge amounts of seeds for sharing. After getting started on his own restoration in Harvard 25 years ago, Johnson initiated a seed exchange that now involves almost 30 people living in a five-mile area. The endeavor has developed into a rather large seed operation that provides seeds for a diverse plant community, from wetlands, woodlands, and oak savannas to cow pastures, he says. Although Johnson has a degree in agronomy, close to the nature world, he has no formal biological training. “This is what I love to do,” he says. “If I can help other people at it, all the better.”

Mary Handelsman of the Lake-to-Prairie Chapter of the Wild Ones says they rely on seed exchanges to help new residents of the Prairie Crossing community in Grayslake convert their suburban lawns into native gardens. “When a lot of people first start, they are not 100 percent sold on the idea of native seed gardening,” Handelsman says. “We get the chance to try and hook them.” In that vein, the chapter will present a seminar on seed collecting in October, given by Scott Horlock, who carries on his father’s extensive experience in seed collection and treatment.

Harvesting
Margrit Nitz notes that each plant has its own mechanism for release, which can make harvesting a challenging, but fun, learning experience. She says it is important to pick seed pods before the first frost, while they are still green. (Later they will air-dry to brown.) This is extremely important with jewelweed or spotted touch-me-not, for example. “Once the seed pods show even a little brown, any slight touch – a fingernail or hair – can cause them to explode, making it very difficult to recoup the seeds,” she warns. Similarly, it is difficult to capture seeds of the wild geranium, with its rifle-like trigger mechanism, Nitz says. “The four ends curl up and the seeds explode like 50 feet out.”

The twin-leaf plant, with a double-leaf asymmetry and white flower, has a “seed-in-a-box,” as Nitz terms it. Its cup-shaped pod has a lid that pops up like a jack-in-the-box once the seeds are ripe. Even more ephemeral is Dutchman’s breeches. Less than a week after it blooms, it sets seed and then vanishes – leaves, stem and all.

Often seed harvesters will have to compete with insects and birds for seeds. For example, the female version of the citrus-scented spicebush has pear-shaped fruits growing up and down the stem. During her initial experience with the plant, Nitz watched the fruits as they turned from green to green-yellow, waiting until they finally ripened to orange to pick them. Unfortunately, a bird or other critter found them tastiest at that shade of orange too. A few years later, however, Nitz found two tiny spicebushes in her mulch pathways – from seeds that had been distributed by a wild harvester. Similarly, bloodroot seeds must be collected within a week of blooming or ants, attracted to the protein-laden white tails on the seed, will harvest them instead, carrying them into their lairs. This process essentially composts the seeds, potentially causing them to sprout in place.

One last note on harvesting: Do so only with permission! While most people know not to pick seeds on private property, some may not know it is against the law to harvest seeds from county, state, and federal preserves or parks. In addition, it is illegal to pick flowers anywhere in the wild.

Storage
Olsson stores seeds in various plastic containers. She puts my yellow columbine seeds in a labeled, recycled yogurt container for me to take home. I like the clear lid because it allows me to see the seed shape and color. Nitz says that labeling upon harvest is essential because some seeds look the same as others, once they are ripe. She describes her storage method as Cool-Whip-like containers with no lids, precariously balanced around the living room. Johnson’s group uses large paper bags, like those used to hold animal feed.

Sharon Yiesla, horticulturalist with the University of Illinois Extension, Lake County Unit also recommends using paper envelopes kept in a cool, dry place, as plastic, may cause the seeds to mold or mildew. A glass jar in the refrigerator will do, too. She suggests a quick test before sowing seeds. Place 10 seeds between two damp paper towels. If about 80 percent of the seeds sprout, then the seeds should reproduce well in the garden. If less than 70 percent sprout, Yiesla says you may want to plant more seeds and give more time to develop than usual.

Bags of rare seed, ready to be "processed"" to separate the seeds from the clumpy seedheads.

Sowing
Johnson says seeds are ready for sowing around March 5, “or the first reasonably good day after winter.” He advocates what he calls the “sow and mow” method he adopted from Tom Vanderpoel, a landscaper from Fox River Grove. They do not prepare the seed area, except for the rare burn. In the first year of propagation, they sow early in the spring and mow a few times in the summer. Mowing controls weeds, but does not damage the native seedlings. In the second year, they may burn an area, then seed again and mow once. After that, they burn only one-half or one-third of the area. “It’s kind of a farm practice,” Johnson laughs.

The system clearly is producing results. Johnson is proud to say he has seen a nearby basic bluegrass patch transform into dropseed prairie in as little as five years. “Dropseed prairie is the best you can get because it is such an elegant species that indicates undisturbed prairie, generally,” he explains. Johnson’s group celebrates the appearance of dropseed and other interim milestone species, such as Turk’s cap lily and shooting star, which took about six years to fully develop. “This year we finally saw the pale purple coneflower,” he says. “It took about five years.”

While gardening for seeds is a lesson in patience, Johnson suggests starting with the more prolific bergamot, yellow coneflower, black-eyed Susans, wild rye, and little bluestem. “These species typically develop by the second year,” he says. “They usually diminish as the more conservative species develop.”
In addition, Olsson advised that, while some naturalists encourage gardeners to seed for grasses first and add forbs later, grasses can out-compete the flowers. “It used to be thought that you should plant a prairie with a ratio of seven grasses to one forb,” she explains. “Now I’ve seen that it’s almost the opposite that’s needed. And I just did it initially out of preference. I just wanted more flowers.”

While creating a small prairie from seed may seem intimidating, the good news is that there is an existing network of people just waiting to share the knowledge and joy they have gained in gardening for seeds. Perle Olsson simply “planted” the seed with me, and now I am out sharing the idea with others. Who knows? Maybe in a few years I will be sharing my seeds with her.

Upcoming Seed Exchanges
Nov. 3, Greater DuPage Chapter, Pat Clancy, (630) 964-0448
Nov. 8, North Park-Chicago Chapter, Bob Porter, (312) 744-5472
Nov. 12, Lake-to-Prairie Chapter, Mary Handelsman

Getting Started: Seed & Other Resources

Blazing Star Associates
Woodstock
(815) 338-4716
www.blazing-star.com

Bluestem Prairie Nursery
Hillsboro
Ken Schaal
(217) 532-6344

Earthskin Nursery
Mason City
Lou Nelms
(217) 482-3524
www.earthskin.com

Genesis Nursery Inc. Tampico
Dennis Lubbs
(815) 438-2220

Ion Exchange
Harpers Ferry, IA
(319) 535-7231

LaFayette Home Nursery
LaFayette
(309) 995-3311

Landscape Naturally, Inc.
Sycamore
Scott Horlock
(815) 899-7574

McHenry County Defenders Woodstock
(815) 338-0393
www.mcdef.org

Northwind Perennial Farm
Springfield, WI
Roy Diblik
(262) 248-8229

Prairie Moon Nursery
Winona, MN
(507) 452-1362
www.prairiemoonnursery.com

Prairie Nursery
Westfield, WI
Neil Dieboll
(800) 476-9453

Prairie Sun Consulting
Naperville
Pat Armstrong,
(630) 983-8404

Taylor Creek Restoration Nurseries
Brodhead, WI
(608) 897-8641
www.appliedeco.com/tcrn

“Prairie Establishment and Landscaping,”
Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources
McHenry/Lake County office
(815) 675-2385
(Natural Heritage Technical Publication #2, 1997)

“Wild Ones Handbook”
toll free (877) 394-9453
www.for-wild.org