oldirtybotanist.bsky.social
Ecologist, Botanist, Native Plant Enthusiast. At home in and around them Appalachian mountains! Assistant curator at the State arboretum of Virginia.
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Given 200 years with little disturbance, trilliums and trout lilies will blanket a forest floor, through steady rhizomatic growth and ant-based seed dispersal but it will take that long. Check out Mt. Cuba center for growing advice, they have a great trillium propagation program.
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The thing about most spring ephemerals is they are adapted to mature, several hundred year old forests where things only change very, very slowly. So they grow slowly, they disperse slowly, they germinate slowly, and they can't be rushed. You need to be willing to wait 7 years from seed to flower.
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Oh shid it's Him!
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Certainly prettier than the metal cages we were using before!
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The process of weaving these was rewarding also - feeling the structure get stronger with every added stand. It's the same feeling I get when I plant new meadows, each plant species becomes another strand making the space more resilient.
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It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic.
When the fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.
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Oh yeah for sure. I have no hate for tallamy, I've read two of his books. He does a great job at teaching the importance of native plants to lay people, and his work is important for that alone. But to really change things, we need to foster a more personal connection like Kimmerer's. We need both.
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I can save one for you if you ever want to swing by!
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You're absolutely right. But that's what makes him so popular - most average landowners in America also have a very old-fashioned, European perspective. He's a stepping stone along the journey from that stodgy thinking to the more cohesive, elegant vision Kimmerer presents.
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Thinking about moving towards this also. I wonder if broadcasting the seed along with it's chaff may actually confer an advantage to germination... Like a natural mulch. The few times I've done it I've had great success.
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Cool, thanks for the reply. I really like winter sowing as well - artificial stratification is too much of a hassle and too many things can go wrong.
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Interesting approach! May I ask how the seed was prepared and stored? It looks like a lot of shredded plant material in there - curious if that's from the parent plants or was added in after?
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Looks like a leaf cutter bee of some kind - probably a species of megachile. Some are green, some bluish. Not 100% certain though.
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Looks like an instant classic.
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I usually just snack on em in the field and spit out the seeds. Also currently infusing some vodka with them to make a foraged gin of sorts!
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I'll add Watermark Woods for the Virginia section! I've purchased a number of great natives from there. www.watermarkwoods.com