'Great oaks from little acorns grow'
Jayne Jones, who tends to the gardens at our factory in Stoke-on-Trent, is a dab hand at growing plants from seed. Here, Jayne offers her advice on how to do it yourself at home.
Hazelnuts and acorns are great seeds to plant.
They can go into a pot (1 litre) with layer of gravel and compost in it, buried in a semi shady spot in the garden and protected with chicken wire.
Once they reach a couple of foot tall they can be removed from the pot and planted where you want it.
What you need:
- A tree seed; beechmast, sweet chestnuts, hazelnuts and acorns
- A plant pot with drainage holes in the base
- Some small-stoned gravel
- Compost
- Wire mesh
How – To:
- Put some gravel at the bottom of the pot and fill it almost to the top with compost.
- Plant the seeds around 2cm deep, then press down the compost and water it thoroughly.
- Put the pot outside in a semi-shady spot. Cover the top with chicken wire to stop nosy creatures from disturbing it.
- Make sure you check it weekly, watering if dry – but do careful not to over-water it.
- Once it reaches a couple of foot tall, find a suitable place to transfer it into the ground.
- The best time to plant is late autumn, through winter, when the seeds are dormant and less likely to damage.