Hepatica acutiloba

Growing from Seed

Growing Hepatica of any species from seed is a real treat – and you’ll be hoarding your own seeds once you get hooked. Seeds are somewhat recalcitrant, meaning they do not tolerate drying out – and they should be sown fresh almost as soon as they are harvested. If you need to preserve them for a few months until sowing, it is best to keep them wrapped in damp paper towel and at slightly cool 10C (50F) temperatures if at all possible and within ambient daylight (but away from direct light or perpetual darkness). Avoid keeping them in the fridge, which can be harmful to recalcitrant seeds. (Seeds are technically not considered recalcitrant, but we should treat them as such.)

There are two ways to grow Hepatica acutiloba from seed. The first way is simpler but requires a bit of babysitting – simply sow the seeds when they are ripe (around May) into pots, cover a little with soil, and place outside away from direct sunlight. Ensure they’re watered and do not dry out. You will see the shoots emerge the following spring (around April). This is the simple method, but of course the seeds can get blown around or eaten by animals.

The other method is more controlled. First, whenever you are warm stratifying seeds for long periods of time, you should soak the seeds for 10 minutes in a 1:10 bleach solution, which will kill any fungus spores on the seeds. After, rinse with cold water for a minute. Wrap the seeds in moist paper towel, and place this inside a thin plastic bag. Keep on the window sill around 21C (70F) for one month, then find a slightly warmer place in the house that’s around 25C (80F) and try and keep it there for 2 months. This imitates a warm summer. You can try placing seeds in direct sun but maybe take its temperature (with a meat thermometer) every once in a while to make sure it isn’t getting above 32C (90F) or else they’ll cook. After this, you’re placing the seeds into an autumn temperature around 15C (60F) so this may mean a cooler area of the house. They can be in mostly darkness, but it’s always best with any seeds to ensure they’re never in perpetual darkness if you can help it. The roots are going to emerge after shifting to this autumn temperature of 15C (60F), and it always helps if they have cooler nights. Once you see the roots emerge after 3-4 weeks do not sow the seeds – they aren’t finished yet.

With the roots poking out, you need to now cold stratify the seeds for 2 months in the fridge (around 4C or 40F). This is because these seeds have a special kind of dormancy called deep simple epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy. It’s a mouthful. It means the roots have their own dormancy, while the shoots have a different dormancy; they must be broken in sequence. The cotyledons (shoots) will emerge around the 6-8 week mark after they’re in the fridge – at which point you can sow the seeds with the roots facing down and the shoots facing up. Alternatively, it might work even better if you sow the sprouted seeds (i.e., with the roots) into a small tray with soil before you place them in cold stratification – and then place the whole thing in the fridge. If so, seeds should be buried slightly. What is tricky at this stage is you will see the shoots emerge and will be tempted to take them all out. Try waiting until at least 25% have emerged. If you can, place the tray under light and somewhere cool; they will prefer early spring temperatures at this stage (around 10C or 50F) and dim light.