fireweed seeds

[kathyp]

cindy, did any of your fireweed seeds come up?  i don't see any in the places i scattered them.

[Cindi]

Kathy, whatever eh?  A few days ago I checked all over out the back for the fireweed seedlings.  NOt a single one did I see.  I wonder if they just take their sweet time or if the birds saw all the fluffy white stuff, investigated and ate them all up.  I am not losing hope though, maybe, just maybe.  Oh brother.  It was so much work and so messy eh?  All that fluffy white stuff all over me.  We will see, time will be the teller of that tale.  Best of a beautiful day. Cindi

[Brian D. Bray]

If you want the fireweed seeds to grow try a little fire.  They seem to grow best in logged off areas, or better still in areas that have had forest fires.

[Cindi]

Brian, hmm.....maybe I should set some fire to some ground areas.   I have heard that too.  About logged areas?  Well, last year we had the back of our property cleared, logged, scraped, big burn pile made (huge one that has not been burned down yet).  Our friend excavated, downed trees, left beautiful groves of coniferous trees, removed all hardwood (thank goodness, now the cottonwood barely flies back there), so it is very cleared and logged.  I sowed the fireweed seeds all around the perimeter of the back 3 acres, narry a fireweed seed has germinated that I can see.  I looked again yesterday, walking around, looking closely.

I am of the firm belief that the birds saw all the fluffy white stuff and knew there were seeds in amongst this fluff and ate them all up.  I would have seen the fireweed seedlings by now for surely.  Oh well, no Fireweed so far.

This fall I am going to gather seed and germinate it myself and set the seedlings out next spring.  I have the greeenhouse that I can perform this task in, I don't see why it would not work.  It was just such an intense job to gather this seed and spread it, KathyP can tell ya.  Have a wonderful day, love the life your livin'.  Cindi

[reinbeau]

Here's a page on fireweed, including a good discussion on its germination and growth requirements.

[Cindi]

Ann, thanks, gonna check it out.  Have a wonderful day, great life.  Cindi

[KONASDAD]

I know nothing about fireweed, other than its gorgeous in fields and the bees like it. Nonetheless, I purchased from ebay 20 fireweed roots for planting from a dealer I have done business w/ before.  Got'em yesterday and will plant them tonite. Any suggestions as to what type of environment I should plant them in. I've only seen them out west and at high altitudes. These were grown in Tenn and the seller told me they take four or five years to bloom and I bought 5+yr old bare roots.I hope they take hold and proliferate as they look awesome in huge bunches.

[Cindi]

Konasdad, wow!!!  Five years to bloom.  Now isn't that interesting.  I never knew that, learning something new every day.  I know nothing of the cultivation of this plant. I just know that they grow everywhere here.  Doesn't seem to be any particular care taken of them, they just grow wild.  Maybe some other forum members will have great input.  Good luck to your growing of the magnificent Fireweed.  Yeah!!!!  BEst of this beautiful day, Cindi.

[KONASDAD]

Thanx Cindi- another beautiful flower found in your area that I love is bear grass. I understand that takes 4-6 yrs to bloom, and it blooms only once in its life! Truly amazing sometimes when you think about it.

[Cindi]

Konasdad.  Bear grass, never heard of it.  Does it go by another name that you know of?  The species that only flowers once in its lifetime is a beauty to behold I am sure.  Picture that, once in a lifetime?  Could it not only be beautiful?  Have this wonderful day,  Cindi

[kathyp]

i have heard that the reason it's called fireweed is that it's one of the first plants to grow back in burned out areas.  mine popped up in an area of bare ground that had been cleared of blackberries and had no grass.  5 years!  no wonder i see no results from my seeds 

after all that effort last year, i did find out that roots were to way to go.  maybe i'll dig a bit this fall and see if i can transplant some.

also was told that instead of catching those fuzzy seeds, just cut the entire top when it goes to seed and plant whole.

[Cindi]

Kathy, ya, that sure was alot of work last year gathering the fireweed seed, you know it and I know it.  I think actually that I am going to try to grow the seeds properly, under controlled conditions this year and see what I get.  Funny how we learn so many things by trials and errors.  The places where I see the fireweed growing, I don't think that I could even begin to get a shovel into the earth, they grow alongside the road in the ditches and deep grass, I think it would be a horrendous job to dig any up.  I have fireweed growing big time about 1 km from my house, I think that my bees probably found it last year, it was close enough  Have a wonderful day, great life. Cindi

[KONASDAD]

Heres your bear grass link Cindi. Also, the roots I got off ebay of fireweed were nice and healthy. Hope they bloom and thrive.
https://www.terragalleria.com/pictures-subjects/beargrass/

[Cindi]

Konasdad.  That is a very cool site, I love the pictures of the bear grass.  I wonder if it grows up where I live, it is like nothing I have seen before, I'll have to look into where it grows.  I hope the fireweed does well for you, it grows like "wildfire" everywhere, so I am sure you will have good luck, yeah!   Have a wonderful day, great life.  Cindi

[nepenthes]

I think when Brian said Logged he meant water logged areas?

[randydrivesabus]

i think he means where logging has taken place.

[Cindi]

Cody, no.  What Brian meant was when places are logged of trees, all trees cut down and then the fireweed loves to grow there.  It appears to like places that are devoid of any vegetation, hence "fire" weed, burned down forests, "logged" forests.  Have a wonderful day, great life.  Cindi