Cold Stratification

All of the gardeners out there know about cold stratification that some seeds need to germinate. Well, hopefully today’s weather helped them along because it seemed a bit cold today. 😉 So it was on my third walk today, when this topic crossed my mind as I walked with my head down in the wind. I thought about what Kathy had told me last month that her peach trees needed a certain amount of cold weather. Some of our favorite native plants require cold weather too such as milkweeds (Asclepias), bluebonnets (Lupinus), perennial sunflowers (Helianthus) to name a few.

Yesterday though was not one of those days. All that Jeanne and I required were two layers and a jacket. At first I wasn’t going to even take the jacket, but I remembered the meteorologists forecast. A northeast wind would be blowing in later. And it did at the end. 🙂

So as hopefully you can see the prairie was not as bleak as you may have thought in the winter. And additionally since a burn or the grazing had kept the vegetation short it was easier to find these treasures. 🙂

One more thing…the cold stratification inspired me to make a cup of hot chocolate when I got home from the third walk. LOL.

Ancient Fossil That Baffled Scientists For Decades Finally Reveals Its True Identity

Why the silverspot butterfly, native to just 3 US states, is inching closer to extinction

The Science Behind Red Nets: A New Dawn in Eco-Friendly Farming

Ill-judged tree planting in Africa threatens ecosystems, scientists warn Thanks Claire!

Keep looking!

The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know