The Nature Conservancy (TNC) excels at native plant restoration and ecosystem stewardship on a landscape-wide scale. By creating, extending, and conserving native habitat, they provide permanent and migratory wildlife species the spaces they need in order to thrive.

While most of us can't restore hundreds of acres at a time, we can establish native habitat, wildlife corridors, and migratory stopovers in our yards. The place to start is with native plants that feed and house the wild creatures we aim to attract and protect. And the best way to start native plants is with seeds collected within a 50-mile radius of your local environment.

Anyone under contract to collect native plant seed for TNC knows that the 50-mile radius rule is non-negotiable. Why does this matter? Because these plants have adapted to their specific conditions, including soil types and climate variables. A seed collected close to its intended new home is more likely to thrive than one collected from a different region. And when you are restoring habitat on a landscape scale, the more plants that survive to thrive, the greater the probability that your restoration project will succeed.

This article offers guidance adapted from TNC's online training on how to collect native seeds to plant in your new habitat garden. It explains the importance of knowing when during the year to collect seeds; the best ways to extract seeds based on their type and needs; and how to improve chances of success. When you immerse yourself in the practice of collecting native plant seed in your area you experience a renewed connection to nature as you observe and learn the life cycle of the plants you want to propagate.

Successful seed collection is a matter of timing. If done too early, the seed will be immature and not likely to germinate when planted. If embarked upon too late, the seed may be dried up, losing its ability to grow when needed. Also important is knowing what type of seed dispersal method your chosen plants use. The first four outlined below are the most time sensitive, followed by four seed dispersal methods that are categorized as “reliable,” meaning that they can generally be stored until you are ready to plant them. 

Time Sensitive Seed Dispersal Methods:

1) Seeds with elaiosomes: This is an amazing strategy some plants have developed to disperse their seeds. Elaiosomes are fleshy lipid structures that surround part of the seed. In general, the fats and proteins in the elaiosomes lure in ants, which carry the seeds to their nest to feed the fleshy nutrients to their larvae. After the larvae have consumed the elaiosome, the ants move the seeds to their waste disposal area (which is rich in nutrients from the ant frass and dead bodies) where the seeds then germinate.

Northern California plants that have seeds carrying elaiosomes include Shooting Star (Primula jeffreyi); Violet (Viola adunca); and Trillium (Trillium ovatum).

To time your collecting, track the seed maturation process by waiting for the seed pod to start splitting. Clip the splitting seedpod into a container. If you cannot plant it outside within a day or two of harvest, pot it in cool, moist soil, and store in a shady area. Once the seed has sprouted, you can transfer it to its place in your garden.

2) Ballistic seeds: Let the fun begin! These are the exploders, like California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), with seeds that go flying when the pod dries enough to split open. Watch for seed pods to form after the flower is spent, and a change in color from green to yellow or brown, indicating dryness. For poppies, your timing for collecting has some wiggle room: if the seed pod is not completely dry (vertical stripes along the pod will appear as it nears its time to disperse), you can store your collected pods in a paper bag. You'll hear them when they start to pop open.

In addition to the California poppy, other plants of this type in our region include wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpa) and Touch-Me-Not Impatiens (Impatiens occidentalis).

3) Puffy / fluffy seeds: The design of these seeds allows the wind to disperse them, a process called anemochory. Their hairy feathers or fluffy structures enable them to travel long distances. The plants you may know best that utilize this strategy are the many species of milkweed (Asclepias). Another is coyote brush, also known as or coyote bush, (Baccharis pilularis).

For collection purposes, wait until the seeds are visible within the fluffy material before gently separating it from the plant, or until the closed flower has formed a fluffy, feathery tip.

4) Plants that produce berries: These plants rely on wildlife to eat them, and then disperse their (undigestible) seeds through their feces; the creatures' stomach acid and the act of chewing prime the seeds for planting. Regional representatives of this seed category include gooseberry (Ribes californicum); Oregon grape (Berberis aquifolium); and California blackberry (Rubus ursinus).

You may have to compete with local birds and mammals to collect the delicious berries! (Note that the species name of the California blackberry is Latin for bear – this berry is one of its favorite foods.) Once you have picked your berries, leaving plenty behind for the wildlife, remove the flesh and plant right away. If necessary, store them in a cool, even cold, place until you are ready to sow them.

Reliable Seed Dispersal Methods:

1) Shakers and Beaks: Once mature, these seed pods can be shaken from the plant by either the wind or when a critter brushes up against them in passing. The seeds then fall out of the pod once it opens. Examples near us include Western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) and goldenrod (Solidago). Collect these once the pods are formed and starting to dry. You can store these in a cool dark place in a paper bag until planting time.

2) Coneheads: Think Echinacea purpurea, the beautiful purple coneflower, to visualize this type of seed structure. The flower has a cone-shaped center, in which the seeds are stored. Some coneheads are crumbly, making it easy to separate their seeds. Others are hardened and must be manipulated to extract the seeds. In addition to the coneflower, Rudbeckia and many species of sunflowers fall into this category.

3) Shattering: Separation of these seeds from their host plant is triggered by the lightest of touches. They also just drop off when they mature. Many species of grasses fall into this category. Our region is home to a number of beautiful grasses, including  purple three-awn (Aristida purpurea), blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), California fescue (Festuca californica), giant wild rye (Leymus condensatus), California melic (Melica californica), deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens), and purple needlegrass (Nassella pulchra).

As it can be difficult to determine the exact level of readiness of grass seeds, use a gentle touch test to see if they are ready to pluck.

4) Hitchhikers: You know these! Plants that produce seeds that stick to our clothing (and to the coats of animals) as we pass by were the inspiration for Velcro. It's debatable whether you want to plant any of these in your native garden, as many of them, especially burclover (Medicago polymorpha) and bedstraw (Galium aparine) are considered invasives.

Materials needed for harvesting seeds. The tools you'll want to have on hand include clean, sterilized pruners, and a bag or a bucket. Try to avoid anything plastic; paper is better for seed preservation, because it allows the seed to be exposed to air and dry naturally. Plastic, on the other hand, restricts airflow and retains moisture which may lead to the seed rotting. Smaller paper envelopes that make for nifty seed storage can be found online or in stationary stores. If using a grocery type paper bag, tape the seams so seeds can't work their way into them. Have on hand a pen and notebook to record the collection date and location, the name of the collected species, and a pair of gloves to avoid any contact with thorns or poison oak plants.

Ethical harvesting means you don't take too many seeds from one plant, or from too many plants in a small area. Collecting a few seeds from a number of plants also ensures biological diversity. A handy rule is: one-third for collection, one-third for wildlife, and one-third for plant regeneration. If collecting on private lands, be sure to get permission from the landowner or agency first.

Wherever and however you source your native plants, enjoy your new garden and the wildlife you are supporting!

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system.  To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area visit our website.  If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.

The arrival of fall brings shorter days, cooler nights and a gradual winding down of garden activity. Flowers start to fade, while leaves turn glorious colors and begin to fall from the trees. For many gardeners, though, fall isn't a time to relax and put their feet up. That's because common garden advice tells us to rake up all those leaves, remove every dried stalk and maybe even begin a burn pile for branches and twigs pruned at this time of year. 

But a different and more laissez-faire approach to fall gardening is on the rise: one may view these seasonal changes as opportunities to build healthier soils and create nesting sites for garden wildlife, particularly native bees. In other words, there's an excellent excuse for “leaving the leaves” and letting dried stems and stalks and dead wood stay put.  Of course, one must be sure to keep piles and all dry combustible leaves and woody materials away from structures in order to be fire safe.

Allowing the leaves to break down over the fall and winter months is a form of natural composting that adds back nutrients, increases soil tilth and feeds organisms necessary for healthy plants. In the prolonged drought we are experiencing, a layer of leaves helps to retain moisture and prevent blowing dust. Invertebrates that help control garden pests, provide food for birds and other wildlife, and pollinate plants depend on leafy ground for shelter and survival over the fall and winter months.

One way to gradually allow more leaves to do this useful work is to remove them only from lawns or walkways and pile them beneath the canopy of ornamental trees, shrubs and perennials (but away from trunks and stems) or on top of vegetable beds, using them as you would any layer of compost.  Larger leaves may need to be crunched down or shredded to stay in place. And a light layer of soil can aid in holding leaves in place on windy days.

In addition to letting leaves compost naturally, there is another reason to do less clean up in our fall gardens. A very important group of invertebrates that benefit from and depend upon these garden “leftovers” are our native bees. Most people think immediately of bumblebees and honeybees when the subject of bees comes up. But in fact, California is home to 1600 species of native bees of various sizes, shapes, and colors, and all of them are important pollinators of flowering plants, shrubs and trees. Some are even considered essential crop pollinators for orchards and commercially-grown produce like alfalfa and tomatoes.

We are able to benefit in myriad ways from the huge diversity and beauty of flowering plants and the bounty of vegetables because of pollinators, especially bees. Bees and flowers evolved together, with flowers producing pollen and nectar needed for food at various life stages by all bees (they are vegetarians, whereas their wasp cousins are carnivorous). Bees help move pollen from one flowering plant to another, thus ensuring the plants' successful reproduction.

When we allow some leaves to break down naturally and keep some dried stalks and stems in our fall gardens, we are helping to provide nesting sites and shelter for native bees so they can survive the winter and emerge in spring to start a new generation.

Almost all native bees are solitary; after mating the female does the work of building and provisioning a nest and then lays her eggs. There are no queens or worker bees and most do not tend to the young, leaving them to complete their development into a new adult bee on their own. The majority of native bees have fairly brief life spans as active adult bees, often only living a few weeks or months. 

Bumblebees, however, are social. They form nests with a queen and worker bees but unlike honeybees (which are not native to North America, and were introduced in the 1600s) the nest only survives one year with a newly mated queen flying off in the fall and finding someplace, often in the ground, to overwinter before emerging in spring to start a new nest. Leaving some leaves and garden litter helps the queen remain hidden and protected through the long winter months.

Different native bee species emerge throughout the spring, summer and fall, often appearing when the flowers they depend on are blooming.  Our native manzanitas, California lilac and Western redbud, along with annuals and perennials like clarkia and California poppies, all bloom in early spring and are good examples of this seasonality. The associated bee visitors emerge from their winter nests and show up in our gardens around the same time these natives are blooming. Planting an abundance of flowering plants, mostly native, that bloom through the seasons is the best way to ensure the success of all pollinators.

Our native bees have common names that can give a clue to the type of nest they build or a behavior they share.  Carpenter bees chew into wood or stems to form their nests.  Leafcutters cut circles or ovals from soft leaves that they then use in a stem or tunnel for nest building.  Mason bees use mud to partition their nests.  Cellophane bees make a resinous gel to form their cells. Sweat bees like to drink in the perspiration on exposed skin!

About 70% of our native bees are ground-nesters. The remaining 30% nest in fresh or dried stems and wood, existing tunnels made by boring beetles or insects, rock cavities, or (in the case of bumblebees) old rodent holes or even man-made items like birdhouses. All their nests are in what can be called a linear space or tunnel and do not look like honeybee hives.  Some species of stem-nesting bees use stems that are hollow (like reeds); others favor stalks that have soft interiors that they can chew through.

A good example of a stem nester that depends on dried stems or stalks is Ceratina, the small carpenter bee. She uses these pithy stems to build her nest, lay her eggs and overwinter as an adult bee. Flowering perennials that have long, fairly strong stalks with a softer or pithy interior are Ceratina's choice for nesting. 

Leaving dried stalks in place (at a height from 8 to 24 inches) instead of removing them provides opportunities for these nests. Come spring, the new bees emerge and the female, after mating with a male bee, starts chewing from the top of the stalk (or sometimes through its side) to form a tunnel. She gathers a pollen and nectar ball and provisions this tunnel, laying her egg on top of the food source. She then seals this into a cell and builds another. Usually, five to six cells are formed in each tunnel. Ceratina is a bit unusual as she doesn't close the top of the nest and will guard it from predators. The next generation develops into adults and spends the winter inside the nest tunnel, emerging in spring to start the cycle again.  You can watch these cut stems for any activity!

The past year's stubble with old nests will quickly decompose through spring and new perennial growth will hide much of it.  Additionally, letting dried seed heads remain often provides benefits to birds and other wildlife that eat the seeds.  When and where feasible, leaving stumps of trees or piles of brush in place can also provide nesting sites for tunnel nesters, bumblebees, and other winter hibernators.

Ground-nesting bees need areas of bare soil or ground that is lightly mulched or covered with a thin layer of leaves. They tunnel down to build their nests, complete with chambers and cells, provisioning them and laying their eggs. They too need these nest sites to survive winter. Not tilling the soil if possible and avoiding pesticides helps them nest successfully.  Pesticides are problematic in many ways for invertebrates; ground-nesting bees have added risk as they use their mouths to excavate the soil, putting them in contact with any pesticides present in the dirt near their nests. 

Ground-nesting bees can use just about any texture of soil that will hold together.  A garden area that has stepping stones with soil between them is a great potential nest site for these bees, with the advantage of providing protection to the nest. Scientists with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (a national non-profit organization) have observed that ground-nesting bees often nest at the edge between lawn and garden. This may be because bees, especially the smaller species, often don't fly far from their nests to forage, so the proximity of their nest to flowers, their food source, is beneficial.

Most of our native bees will go about their business with no regard to us. They are a fascinating and often beautiful group of insects, mostly unwilling or even unable to sting. They tend to live harmlessly and unnoticed, unless we take the time and effort to look for them.

Making some or all of these small, but potentially significant, changes to our gardening habits (and aesthetics) each fall has the potential to encourage the population growth of these important insects while, at the same time, increasing the health of the soil in our gardens. Tell your friends and neighbors that you're “leaving some leaves,” and stems, for the benefit of healthier plants and for the sustenance of wildlife, including our very important pollinators -- native bees.

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system.  To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area visit our website.  If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.

“The fundamental chemistry of combustion lies at the core of the living world. When it happens within a cell it's called respiration. When it happens outside organisms, it's called fire.” (Stephen Pyne, NOVA)

Plants cannot move when threatened by fire. So how do they survive the intense heat and maintain the ability to reproduce? Their defense strategies fall into three main categories: 1) Resistance: the above ground parts of a plant protect it (as in the thick bark of eucalyptus and cork oak trees).  2) Recovery: plants evade permanent destruction by sprouting after the fire recedes. 3) Recruitment: plants evolve so that their seeds actually need heat, smoke, and seed scarification in order to germinate.

In one example of resistance, ponderosa pines shed their lower branches as they mature. This strategy prevents lower branches from becoming ladder fuel, thereby protecting the branches and needles higher up on the trees.  Most mature trees have fire-resistant bark from two to four inches thick which insulates the inner tissues from heat (similar to the way Nomex or Kevlar suits protect firefighters). It might seem counterintuitive, but South African aloes and Australian grass trees retain dense dead leaves around their stems; the dead matter acts as insulation against the heat.

Plants recover from fire in an astounding variety of ways, as you already know if you have ever tried to remove a tree and later been faced by a yard full of returning suckers. Buds that lie dormant deep under the bark will develop when exposed to light and air. Even if all the stems of a eucalyptus burn, these deep-seated (“epicormic”) buds are still able to germinate, so the trees are able to regrow their canopies quickly. Scrub oaks and chamise plants resprout from their roots.  Many plants and trees that have evolved to thrive in fire-prone areas have woody growth (lignotubers) at or below ground level.  These contain dormant buds and starchy nutrients to fuel the growth of new basal shoots. Similarly, in a phenomenon known as clonal spread, the loss of above ground stems triggers regeneration. California redwoods and aspens can send up suckers far from the burned mother tree. In Utah an aspen colony 40,000 strong has developed from one quaking aspen.

In recruitment strategies, seed dispersal is triggered by fire instead of by natural maturation. This process is known as serotiny. An example of serotiny is the Jack pine: In the heat of a fire, immature pine cones open and release small, brown, hard-shelled seeds. You can observe this phenomenon by tossing a young pine cone into a campfire and watching as it opens and releases its seeds. Conifer survival is enhanced with a higher germination rate than other plants due to thermal scarification (the breaking or softening of the seed shell, which facilitates germination). 

Many other plants that have evolved in fire-prone landscapes actually need fire in order to propagate. Heath can wait up to two years after a fire to germinate. The germination of yellow rock rose is triggered by smoke. In experiments the germination rate of sugar bush increased from one in ten seeds to nine in ten after being submerged in boiling water while kept dry in waterproof bags. Lodgepole pine depends on fire to melt the resin that surrounds its seeds so they can be released.  The acacia tree “recruits” ants to carry its resinous seeds underground where they can then germinate after a fire. 

Another form of recruitment is pyrogenic flowering, found in plants that have adapted to periodic fires by increasing their rate of flowering after a fire event. In this situation, fire actually facilitates and accelerates flowering and seed development.  Plants and new sprouts get an extra benefit because fire creates an environment that has increased light due to decreased tree canopy; soil amendments and nutrients from ash; and greater opportunity for birds, bees, and winds to carry seeds to bare earth.  Fireweed and the grass tree have particularly impressive floral displays after a fire.

In our area, and in chapparal and forest ecosystems in general, landscapes have received periodic fire for thousands of years, and the plants that thrive here have evolved to withstand or even rely on it. But fire is disastrous if your home is located in the path of one, as many of us have experienced.  Regular prescribed or controlled burning at the proper time of year can control the size and intensity of future unplanned fires as well as result in greater germination rates.

We humans can help resist disastrous fire results on our own properties by choosing more fire-resistant species and maintaining proper defensible space around buildings. Well-watered plants are less flammable. Stress increases risk, so plants that are stressed from drought or poor soil can become more vulnerable to fire due to stunted growth and the buildup of dead material. Enriching the soil with compost and watering regularly can increase fire resistance, which depends on leaf moisture and the chemical content of sap, among other factors. As an example, fig trees hold lots of moisture in their large juicy leaves. Planting trees like figs can help deter fire. Deciduous trees like maple, poplar and cherry are generally less flammable than conifers.

In many ways, plants have developed strategies to live with and even win over fires! Overcoming the disadvantage of not being able to run away, plants have evolved ways to use fire to survive, multiply, and thrive. Hopefully humans will do so as well.

For more information on this topic, see the following references, used in writing this article:

NOVA Online | Fire Wars | How Plants Use Fire | PBS

Andrew C. Scott, et al, Fire on Earth: An Introduction (2014).

Improving California's Forest Health | Our Strategies | CAL FIRE

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system.  To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area visit our website.  If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.

The past two columns in this space have focused on the formal gardens of Kyoto, and some ideas that can be borrowed from them for use in our own home gardens.  But what about the average urban dweller in Japan? What kind of relationship to plants and gardening do most people have when they live in a tightly congested urban area? 

As a means of comparison: the population of Japan in 2024 is a bit more than one-third the population of the United States (about 124 million, compared with the US population of 345 million).  But Japan is about 26 times smaller than the US.  Crowded into such limited space, most residents of a city like Kyoto have no backyard and only limited street frontage.  But this does not deter them from tending to plants, and even creating elaborate container gardens facing the street. And businesses often use the sidewalk area in front of their entrance as a place for a small water feature or tiny garden.

Simply walking the streets of Kyoto one is treated to a vibrant demonstration of its residents' love of gardening.  On display are a variety of plants cultivated in pots and grouped to create beauty in the limited space of a porch or stairway. Shrubs grown in containers are placed to form hedges shielding a home's entrance from street traffic, or to create a space for parking bicycles.

Some home gardeners have created clean strong lines of potted plants marching up an exterior stairway; others may block an unused garage door with a container garden. It's not unusual to see small gardens incorporated into the paved area in front of business properties, or simple fountains with floating water lilies along a sidewalk.

The main message is that no matter how small an outdoor area one might have, gardening can take place. The lack of ground soil to plant in is no barrier because so much can be accomplished by planting in containers.

Much of Japan is in a climate equivalent to U.S. Hardiness Zone 6b, where the average minimum temperature falls to 5 to 10 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, as opposed to the zones 8 and 9 of Butte County, in which our lowest winter temperatures generally fall between 20 and 25 degrees above zero Fahrenheit (10 to 15 degrees in the higher regions of areas like Magalia). This means that Japan has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons, with a relatively short growing period in spring and summer, so gardeners must make the most of the warmer months.

And yet, surprisingly, a stroll around Kyoto in May reveals many plants that are very familiar to gardeners here in our Mediterranean climate: roses, brunfelsia pauciflora (commonly known here as “yesterday, today & tomorrow”), ferns, pelargoniums, pansies, and many more.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons to take away from a visit to Japan is simply the fact that, with a little imagination and just a tiny amount of outdoor space, one can create a home entrance with plenty of “curb appeal” that is a pleasure to come home to.

Planning a trip to Kyoto? American expatriate and Kyoto resident Judith Clancy has published a number of useful and informative travel guides to the region, including Kyoto City of Zen; Kyoto Gardens; and Exploring Kyoto: On Foot in the Ancient Capital.

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system.  To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area visit our website.  If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.