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The Propagation of Arbutus menziesii from Seed

Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii) seed from a high elevation seed source (Cayuse, Washington) and a sea-level source (Blyn, Washington) were tested for germination requirements. Preliminary studies show that madrone seed need a chill period for adequate germination and that gibberellic acid (GA-3) has little effect on enhancing germination. Cleaned seed of 2 maternal trees were given cold stratification treatments of 4°C for 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 days. Mean days to germination, percent germination and a comparison of the 2 seed sources were determined. Germination percent increased with increasing exposure to cold with maximum percent germination at 60 days for ‘Cayuse’ and 40 and 60 days for ‘Blyn’. Mean days to germination decreased with increasing exposure to cold. Plants are propagated by seeds for many reasons (Hartmann and Kester 1983). Seed from many temperate zone plants from the northern hemisphere often exhibit one or more types of dormancy which in nature may require an after-ripening period, or in the greenhouse an artificial chemical/physical manipulation, for germination. Such physiological dormancy is commonly encountered. It is usually broken in nature by a chill period (Hartmann and Kester 1983 and Dirr and Heuser 1987). The plant propagator may be able to accomplish this with the application of an artificial chill period or the application of gibberellic acid (Bretzloff and Pellett 1979). Artificial removal of these various dormancies usually leads to increased and more uniform germination and ultimately results in more uniform propagules. This research was designed to more accurately determine the germination requirements of a native Pacific Northwest plant, the Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii). Arbutus menziesii is a small to medium tree with a geographical distribution from southeastern British Columbia and southern Vancouver Island to southern California on the western side of the Cascade, Coast and Sierra Nevada Mountains. Growing season precipitation (April – September) varies from 2.5 to >100 cm.