December 2025 Newsletter
Sowing native seeds
Now is the time to sow your native seeds! There are three main ways you can do this: direct sowing, winter sowing and putting your seeds in the fridge.
The seeds of many native species for our region are dormant; they need to experience winter conditions before they will germinate. This is a protective mechanism that prevents the seeds from germinating in late fall only for the tender seedlings to be killed by winter weather a few weeks later. Seeds must be in moist conditions for this process to occur, it does not work if the seeds are cold and dry.
Not all native species need this moist cold treatment, but it doesn’t hurt them. If you like to do all of your sowing at the same time you can. Otherwise you can check the germination codes for your species to see if it is necessary.
Direct sowing
Early December is a great time to direct sow your seeds. Sprinkle the seeds on top of a clear section of soil where you want them to grow. Your native seeds are not likely to grow into mature plants if they are sown into an existing lawn or area with dense vegetation. You want your seeds to have direct contact with the soil.
You don’t need to cover the seeds, many native species need light to germinate. If your seeds are very small, you can mix the seeds with some sand and then spread the sand/seed mixture over the area. It makes it easier to evenly distribute the seeds.
You can also directly sow your seeds into pots and leave them outside for the winter. Then in the spring you can transplant them into the garden.
Winter sowing
Winter sowing involves sowing your seeds in transparent containers and placing them outside for the winter. The containers provide some protection from seed predation by birds and rodents. They also act as mini greenhouses in the spring, giving the seeds a boost of added warmth.
There are a lot of resources out there for winter sowing. The key concepts are: 1) use transparent or translucent containers with holes for ventilation and drainage, 2) sow your seeds on the surface of moist potting soil and 3) place your containers outside for the winter.
Winter sowing began around 25 years ago when Trudi Davidoff was looking for ways to start seeds for her garden but she didn’t have any room indoors. She also didn’t have a lot of money so she used containers from her recycling bin for pots. I found an essay by Trudi from 2013 where she describes how she got started with winter sowing. One tip I learned from her essay was to put your containers on a table. Her pets and children kept stepping on them once they were buried in the snow!
Since that time there are many websites, blogs, articles and groups dedicated to winter sowing. One of my favorites is the information found on the Royal Botanical Garden’s website. They have a 3-part series: Before you start, A step-by-step guide and Container choices.
Seeds in the fridge
The last method involves putting your seeds in the fridge. It is another way that seeds can experience the cold, moist conditions they need to break dormancy. This method works if you have space to grow your seedlings indoors under lights. It is also more labour intensive and your seedlings will need to be hardened off in the spring before you can transplant them into the garden.
Fortunately you do not need to fill up your fridge with pots of soil. In this method you place the seeds with moist growing medium in a small plastic baggie. For the growing medium you can use potting soil, but I like to use vermiculite. At this point the seeds do not need any nutrients, they just need a cold, moist environment. You will want something sterile, it will need to be in the fridge for a few months and the conditions are good for mold to develop. I would avoid using soil from the garden, it can have weed seeds and will get moldy faster.
After two or three months in the fridge you take the seeds out and sow them in pots that are placed under grow lights. If you put your seeds in the fridge at the beginning of December it is possible to take them out and plant them indoors at the beginning of February. Then you will need to care for them under lights until they are ready to be planted in the garden in May.
New Species!
All of our species are now available. We have cleaned the seeds from this year’s harvest and those species that were sold out have been restocked. The following twelve species are new:
Holiday Sale
Native seeds make great gifts! To help you celebrate the holidays we are offering a special sale for our newsletter subscribers: 20% off orders $30 and over.
Use the code HOLIDAYS on the cart page when you place your order. The sale will run from December 1st to December 24th, 2025.
Coupon code: HOLIDAYS
20% off orders $30 and over
Happy Holidays!
Andrea D’Silva
Swallowtail Native Plants