Our Akron Garden Club wildflower experts say that bloodroot seeds are ready… and ginger may be too. Here are the basics for ginger and bloodroot propagation from seed:
Asarum, Wild Ginger
Seed Watch: Late May through June 20th
Search under the leaf litter for brownish maroon strange-looking “flowers” attached to the base of Y-shaped stems. Break open a flower in late May to check the seed color. Ripe seeds are brown. (This same technique works for non-native European Ginger, but its flowers are tiny and ripe seeds are dark gray.) Remove seeds from the pulp of the flower (this can stain fingers, so wear gloves). Rinse seeds and plant ½” deep. Seedlings emerge as a pair of pointed leaflets the next spring.
Sanguinaria, Bloodroot
Seed Watch: Late May to mid-June
A green seedpod shaped like a slim, elongated football forms at the end of the stem when flowers fade. It grows taller and fuller and gets slightly discolored and lumpy as it matures. When this occurs, gently squeeze a pod open along the seam. If the seeds inside are a warm, shiny brown, they are ripe. It is important to catch these seeds before the pod splits. Once one pod is ripe, gather all green seedpods and take them inside. Any pod that splits easily when gently squeezed should have its seeds planted immediately. Other pods can ripen on a paper towel inside a small OPEN plastic bag. (Do not close the bag since pods mold easily.) Check the pods daily and plant the seeds as pods ripen and split open. If seeds dry out they rarely germinate. Plant seeds ½” deep. Seedlings look like a quarter-size version of the parent.
Click here for a photo and more information about Sanguinaria from the New England Wildflower Society.Click here for a photo and more information

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