In springtime you will often find many small plants in beech forests, the leaves of which are still half enclosed in a capsule. These are beech seedlings that have germinated from the seeds of the beech trees, the beechnuts.

Beech seedlings are often found on the forest floor under their mother plant

Germinate a beech tree

Beech seedlings arise from the fruit of the beech, the beechnut. Each fruit contains two of the triangular seeds. Beech seeds must be stratified in order to germinate. This means that they have to go through a cold period.

In the great outdoors, this happens automatically through the winter. If you have collected beech seeds yourself in order to grow a beech, you must simulate the cold phase. For example, you can put the removed beechnuts in the fridge for a few weeks.

The stratified seeds are then sown in small pots or directly in the ground. Then there is a layer of soil that is about as thick as the beech seed itself.

Beeches germinate slowly

It takes a few weeks for the seed to germinate and for the beech seedlings to appear. At first the seed appears to be lifting out of the ground. The hard capsule protects the delicate cotyledons. It falls off later or is carefully pulled off by hand.

Protect beech seedlings from frost

Beech seedlings are still too tender to withstand sub-zero temperatures. They can freeze to death in a sudden frost. Therefore, protect the beech seedling from temperatures that are too low. For example, you can put old leaves around the small tree.

But make sure that the seedling still gets enough light. If it is too shady, it will die. For this reason, beech forests, for example, are thinned out when new trees are cultivated.

From beech seedling to seedling

After a year, the first two leaves, the cotyledons, have fallen off the seedling. The first real pairs of leaves were created for this.

The beech seedling is now a seedling and can be transplanted to the intended location.

Be careful not to damage the delicate roots as much as possible when removing them from the pot or digging them up.

tips

You can eat beech seedlings that have grown near beeches in spring. Simply pull the seedlings out of the ground and eat them fresh or cooked as a spring vegetable.

Category:

Trees