Collecting seed for hardwood tree establishment

Before collecting seeds, contact your local area forestry office for a list of tree species and quantities accepted, and the dates and times when seeds will be purchased. Refer to Seed zone map for more information.

Collecting, storing, and delivering large quantities of high-quality seed is critical to the success of regenerating our hardwood resource.

Species	Seed crop freq.	Time to collect seed	Shape and app.	Collection method*	Cleaning	Storage until seeded in fall	Comments
Black Ash	1-3 years	October to December	Flat exclamation point	H, T/S, P	Remove stems and leaves	Keep dry- can be stored in feed sacks in a 40° cooler for several weeks	Can hang on trees in bunches into December
White Ash	3-5 years	Late September to late November	Flat exclamation point	H, T/S, P	Remove stems and leaves	Same as above	Hard to tell from green ash, purple leaves only sure way
Green Ash	1 year	October to January	Flat exclamation point	H, T/S, P	Remove stems and leaves	Same as above	Grows on a wide range of sites
Basswood	1+ years	September to December	Brown peas with propeller on a stalk	Rake, T/S, H	Crush stems and wings, separate hard, round seed	Dry-Store in moisture-proof container at 40° or lower	Second year germination. Needs cold/warm/cold cycle.
Black Cherry	1-5 years	August to September	Purple-black berries	Rake, T/S, H	Mascerate soft fruit, separate hard seed, dry	Dry- Store in moisture-proof container at 40°	Collect from high-quality trees
Hackberry	?	October to December	Purple-black berries	Rake, T/S, H	None	Store dried fruits or cleaned seeds in moisture-proof container at 40°
Shagbark Hickory	1-3 years	September to December	Four football-shaped segments together	H, Rake	Remove leaves and twigs	Can be stored in feed bags at 40°	Stay within natural range
Silver Maple	1 year	June	Green to brown propellers	Rake	Remove stems and leaves	Plant as soon as possible in early summer	Seed shallow
Sugar Maple	3-5 years	Late September to early November	Green to brown propellers	Rake, T/S, H	Remove stems and leaves	Dry-Store in small seed sacks at 40°	One bushel per person per day is maximum yield for hand picking
Bur Oak	2-3 years	August to September	Acorn almost fully covered by cap, which has a furry fringe	Rake, B-A-N, Pick	Cut open a handful to test for viability; hand sort	Only for a few weeks at 40°F- soak overnight before storage	Race with squirrels and deer for acorns
Red Oak	3-5 years	September to early October	Reddish-brown acorn	Rake, B-A-N, Pick	Float, then remove "floaters" or hand sort	Only for a few weeks at 40°F- soak overnight, sow in fall	Race with squirrels and deer for acorns
White Oak	4-10 years	Late August to September	Tan to light-brown acorn, thinner and smaller than most red oak acorns	Rake, B-A-N, Pick	Float, then remove "floaters" or hand sort	Only for a few weeks at 40°'F- soak overnight, sow in fall	Race with squirrels and deer for acorns
Black Walnut	1-2 years	October	Golfball-size nut with green to black husk	Rake, B-A-N, Pick	Remove leaves and twigs	Only for a few weeks- small piles to prevent the heating of seed	Stay within natural range. Nuts have been stored too long if warm and black like tar.
Gray Dogwood	1 year	July-August	Pea-sized white berries in clusters	H	Remove leaves and twigs	Seed extraction from fruit is not necessary	Sow in fall as soon as possible after collection
Redosier Dogwood	1 year	July to September	Pea-sized white berries in clusters	H	Remove leaves and twigs	Seed extraction from fruit is not necessary- Prevent heating of seed	Sow in fall as soon as possible after collection. Attractive red twigs.
Choke Cherry	1-2 years	August-September	Pea-sized dark red to purple berries	H	Remove leaves and twigs	Seed extraction from fruit is not necessary- Surface dry fruit is OK for sowing.	Sow in fall as soon as possible after collection. Prevent heating in storage.
Highbush Cranberry	1-2 years	August-September	Pea-sized bright red berries in clusters	H	Remove leaves and twigs	Seed extraction from fruit helpful is some viburnum species	Often second-year germination. Prevent heating in storage.

*Collection methods:
H - Hand pick from cut or standing trees
T/S - Tarp ground and shake branches when seed is ready to fall
P - Pruning hook on a long pole
B-A-N - Bag-a-Nut machine
RAKE - Rake fallen seed from street or lawns
PICK - Gather fallen seed by hand from ground

Bagging seed for shipping

Oak seeds - Put into breathable, woven poly bags or burlap.
Ash and maple seeds - Put into paper or burlap bags after drying.
Walnuts - Keep in small, open containers or small piles.

Label all bags with species, date and place collected. Do not overfill bags.