Winter Sowing Native Plants
On January 18, 2025 from 11 to 12:00 the Newport Public Library, Newport is offering a program on winter sowing. Learn all about growing native plant from seeds and get hands-on-experience sowing native plant seeds. Now is the time to sow! All native seeds can be sown in the fall through January. In fact, seeds of many native plant species require being exposed to winter (cold, moist) conditions to germinate.
Space is limited. Registration is through each library.
For this event, participants will need:
- One empty and well-rinsed 1-gallon clear/translucent milk jug (please bring one with you; these will not be provided)
- Gardening gloves (optional)
- An outdoor place to store the milk jug over the winter
Gardeners will be provided with an overview of the propagation process: seed collection/purchasing, seed cleaning, winter sowing, transplanting into pots, summer care, and fall planting of seedlings.
Gardeners will be provided with links to websites that will provide information:
- How to hold the jugs over the winter and transplant the seedlings from the jugs to pots
- How to grow the seedlings over the summer and plant the seedlings into the ground
- Gardening guides for plants native to Rhode Island
Betsy Lennon and Susan Ricercato are URI Master Gardeners and members of the Rhode Island Wild Plant Society. They have been working with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for several years to create and maintain native plant gardens at Kettle Pond, Trustom Pond, and Sachuest Point. They have worked with habitat restoration teams to propagate and plant thousands of native plants at wildlife refuges, schools, and public parks throughout Rhode Island.
This event is a part of the Grow Rhode Island Native Seeds (GRINS) a project which aims to empower Rhode Islanders to grow and champion native plants via seeds, information, and programming organized by their local libraries. Thanks to the RI Wild Plant Society and URI Master Gardeners for their support of this work.