Snowberry Seed Colleting

Its that time of the year when snowberries are plentiful. Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) is a deciduous shrub of the pacific northwest that has bright white berries that remain on the plant deep into winter. It provides a food source for wildlife and birds once other plants have gone dormant. In the Pacific Northwest you can start collecting snowberries around October into December. The berries will be white and slightly soft when squished. When collecting ensure you follow ethical harvesting principles and only take what is needed.

Processing the Fruit

Once you have collected the berries you will need to extract the seed from flesh. Each berry will contain many seeds. To remove the seed you can push the seeds out with your finger and separate with a toothpick. If you are processing a larger amount of seeds you can place the fruit in a blender and pulse it with some water to help remove the flesh of the seed. Rinse the flesh and seed mixture with a screen to remove the fruit.

Storing your Seeds

You will want to remove as much flesh as possible before storing to prevent mold. Allow the seeds to dry and then store in a cool and dry location out of sunlight. I like to place the seeds in a paper envelope until stratification or planting.

Stratification Requirements

A warm stratification period of approximately 1-3 months followed by a cold period for another 2 - 10 months is recommended. To do this place indoors for the first few months followed by storing the seeds in a moist paper towel inside of a plastic bag or other container and store in the refrigerator. Or consider sowing outdoors for a natural stratification.

For further reading Snowberry check out the USDS Plant fact sheet here