Alnus rubra 'Red Alder'

Betulaceae: An extremely fast-growing tree to 25m. Large leaved tree which carries male catkins up to 15cm long in the spring. Moist rich soils in woods, usually below 600 metres and within 50 km of the coast. Native to Western North America, from Alaska to California.

USES:

The catkins can be eaten raw or cooked. They are rich in protein but have a bitter flavour and are sadly not very palatable. The Inner bark can be cooked and dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickening in soups or mixed with cereals when making bread. The sap can be used raw, harvested in late winter, the flow is best on a warm, sunny day that follows a cold frosty night. The sap is nice and sweet in flavour, it was often used to sweeten other foods.

Red alder was widely employed medicinally by native North American Indians who mainly used the bark to treat a wide range of complaints, but the plant is little used in modern herbalism. The bark has appetizer, astringent, cathartic, cytostatic, emetic, stomachic and tonic properties. The bark contains salicin, which probably decomposes into salicylic acid (closely related to aspirin) in the human body.

The plant prefers a heavy soil and a damp situation. Grows well in heavy clay soils and can tolerate very infertile sites. A very wind resistant tree with excellent establishment in severely exposed sites, it tolerates severe maritime exposure. The red alder is a very fast-growing tree, even when planted in severe exposure, but it is short-lived, dying when 60 - 80 years old. This tree is also a good nitrogen fixer.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Red Alder seeds are relatively easy to germinate and grow. The dormancy within the seed is short and easily broken. This is achieved by a short period of cold stratification in the fridge. You can do this by first soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours. Fully drain away all the water and place the seeds in a zip-lock freezer bag. Place the seeds in the fridge, it is important that during this period that the seeds do not dry out or are waterlogged otherwise the pre-treatment will be ineffective.

After 4 weeks under these conditions the seeds are ready to be sown. In general, many seeds will fail to germinate unless treated in this way, simply sowing untreated seeds in compost at room temperature will not break down the dormancy and germination will be disappointing. You can also choose to mix the seed with moistened vermiculite, fine perlite or sand. These help to stop the seeds from clumping together and allow more between the seeds.

Fill your chosen container with a good quality general potting compost and firm it down well. Suitable containers could be plant pots, seed trays or plug trays or even improvised containers with drainage holes. Firm the compost gently and sow the seeds on the surface, if you have pre-treated your seeds without any vermiculite/perlite etc. the seeds will be difficult to separate from each other. If you add a little dry sand at this point and mix thoroughly you will find that the sand separates the seed and makes it much easier to sow. Cover the seeds with a couple of millimetres of vermiculite or failing that a fine layer of sieved compost. Follow with a gentle watering and keep them at room temperature.

Germination will begin from a few weeks following sowing. The seedlings are very small and delicate, they need to be kept out of hot sun until the first true leaves emerge. Shading and a moist seedbed are very important for successful germination. Seedling growth can be very rapid and in their first growing season the seedlings can grow to heights of between 20-50cm. It is preferable to produce shorter, stocky, well branched seedlings rather than long leggy ones. High quality seedlings like these can only be grown if the sowing density is relatively low.

Keep the seedlings well-watered and free from competing weeds. Growth will accelerate in the second and subsequent years and the developing young trees should be planted in their permanent position usually by the end of their second year. Large trees of these species do not transplant well and should only be moved during the dormant season.

HARVESTED: 2022

APPROX. 100+SEEDS