Published by Brian Wagner on 11/4/25 in “Growing Flowers from Seed.”
Alchemilla alpina (commonly called alpine lady’s mantle) is a flowering perennial native to the alpine regions in Europe, notably the Alps and Pyrenees (and also the mountains of Norway, interestingly enough). Some suspect it originated in the mountains of Scotland, but this story is lost to time. In its native geography it is a true alpine – which means it worships the sun, enjoys cool summers, and appreciates fast-draining soil with little soil nutrition. Rock garden enthusiasts will appreciate these subtle quirks.
Most gardeners are familiar with the plain-old Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis). The A. alpina species is smaller and more compact – and takes a little longer to get going. Also, A. alpine has shimmering silver edges giving it a two-toned look.
‘Alchemilla’ is a throwback to its earlier consideration by alchemists as a source of pure water, which if you didn’t know if quite important when you’re trying to convert a material into gold. Or so they thought. It’s also referred to as ‘Lady’s Mantle’ because it was considered pure – holding drops of water as small spheres when they land on its foliage – which is a wink at the Virgin Mary whose clothing might be just as pure.
Growing from Seed
Seeds of Alchemilla alpina are notoriously difficult to germinate. First and foremost, you need to source relatively fresh seeds. Likely a rock garden club (NARGS or ORG&HP perhaps). Try Scottish sources, they seem to love this plant.
Seeds are thought to exhibit an intermediate physiological dormancy, which is in between non-deep and deep. Seeds respond to GA3 if you’re trying to hack the germination code, but best to stay around 300 to 500 ppm if doing so. The research certainly points to seeds needing a very long cold stratification period – around 6 months. And there’s a good chance they just won’t work. Be prepared for this on an emotional level.
To grow from seed, it doesn’t matter fresh or dried, they will behave the same. You need to cold stratify the seeds for a long period of time, but it is suggested to try a period of warm stratification first. This often reduces the length of cold strat required for seeds that have an intermediate PD. There isn’t research specifically supporting this method for these seeds, but it’s worth a go.
It is suggested to warm stratify the seeds at 21C (70F) for 6 weeks, and then cold stratify the seeds for 3 months at 4C (40F). Afterwards, consider testing germination at 21C (70F) during the day – but keep the night temperatures quite cold, even down to fridge temperatures (4C) at night. You can always just keep the seeds in the baggie and pop them in the fridge every night. These oscillating temperatures between day and night seem to be important germinating these seeds. If you don’t see germination within 2 weeks, pop them back in the fridge for another 2 months. Then try germinating them again. Seeds do require light for germination, but only provide 8-10 hours per day (and only dim light, not bright light). Once dormancy is broken, seeds should germinate in about 10 to 14 days. If nothing happens still after the second cold stratification period, consider growing Pansies which are much easier and provide instant dopamine.
References
Baskin CC, Baskin JM. Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination. Second Edition. 2014. Academic Press: San Diego, California
Deno N. First Supplement to the Second Edition of Seed Germination Theory and Practice. 1996. Self-Published. Available online by the United States Department of Agriculture at http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/catalog/41279
Fernández‐Pascual E, Jiménez‐Alfaro B, Bueno Á. Comparative seed germination traits in alpine and subalpine grasslands: higher elevations are associated with warmer germination temperatures. Plant Biology. 2017 Jan;19(1):32-40.
Gallmetzer W, Florineth F. Study of the germination behaviour of alpine herbs for revegetation of high altitude areas. Rasen-Turf-Gazon. 1996; 27(1): 4-18.
Karlsdóttir LI, Aradóttir ÁL. Propagation of Dryas octopetala L. and Alchemilla alpina L. by direct seeding and planting of stem cuttings. Icel Agric Sci. 2006;19:25-32.
Nikolaeva MG, Razumova MV, Gladkova VN. A Guide to Germinating Dormant Seeds. 1985. Nauka, Leningrad, 348 [Translated in part by Rosbakh S, Baskin CC, Baskin JM. Nikolaeva et al.’s reference book on seed dormancy and germination. Ecology. 2020; 101(7)]
Porro F. Comparative plant diversity and seed germination patterns of alpine species in the context of climate change. Doctoral Thesis. Universita di Pavia. 2020. URL available at: https://iris.unipv.it/handle/11571/1318449
Schneider E, Stekly G, Brunner P. Domestication of alpine ladies mantle (Alchemilla alpina agg.). Zeitschrift für Arznei- & Gewürzpflanzen. 1999; 4(3): 134-140.