PHOTO BY MARTHA HANNON
Club Cites Kobasiar Yard
The landscape of the John and Carol Kobasiar residence, 13 Sage Court, is the November Yard of the
Month for the Carolina Shores Garden Club. In a natural setting of tall trees, John Kobasiar has care
fully planned and planted more than 500 flowering and non-flowering shrubs and other plants.
Sex, Seed And Successful Gardening
I could always wake up the most
bored students when I lectured on
the "Sex Life of Plants."
Propagating plants by seed re
quires that the sophisticated garden
er of the 1990s understand the basics
about sexual reproduction in plants.
Successful sexual reproduction in
plants results in seed, or in the case
of lower plants such as ferns and
mosses, spores.
Hybrid seed result when the ge
netic material from two different
plants successfully combines into a
new genetic entity (the seed em
bryo). The plants produced from
these seed will not be exactly like
either parent but will have traits of
both.
For every seed produced, a single
pollen grain and a single egg were
required. For example, each seed in
a tomato represents the genetic
product of the contents of a single
pollen grain and the ovule which
contains the egg cells.
Many folks confuse seeds with
fruit. Fruits are nature's way of
packaging seed. A seed properly
packaged has the greatest opportuni
ty to be relocated to a suitable nurs
ery area. A sexually produced seed
is genetically and physically distinct
from the mother plant and consists
of three parts: the embryo, food stor
age tissues and seed coverings.
The fruit is a ripened ovary which
consists entirely of the tissue of the
mother plant. When you eat an apple
or pear, you are eating fruit tissue
(or a ripened ovary). The portion
you throw away (core) contains the
ovules which contain the seed.
Seed and embryo development
control the growth of the fruit.
Therefore, good pollination is re
quired to produce good fruit in many
plants.
Some plants can produce viable
seed from self-pollination while oth
er species require pollen from geneti
cally different individuals. This is
why specific pollinator varieties are
required for many varieties of ap
ples, pecans, peaches, blueberries,
Chestnuts and many other fruit crops.
Other plant species are successful
in pollinating themselves, like toma
toes or beans, and do not need spe
cial pollinator varieties.
In special cases plants have been
selected by man to produce fruit
without seed, as with the banana,
seedless watermelon and Thompson
seedless grape.
Some plants produce very small
seed and others very large seed.
Some members of the orchid family
are known to produce millions of
very small seed per pound, whereas
the coconut represents a very large
seed. (The husk around the coconut
is the fruit.)
THE
PLANT
DOCTOR
C. BRUCE
WILLIAMS
Extension Area
Turf Specialist
Seed germination represents the
earliest stages of plant growth. In or
der for germination to occur, the em
bryo in the seed must be alive, the
seed must be non-dormant and the
appropriate environmental condi
tions must exist.
Seeds from the apple, pear, rose,
peach, cherry, pecan, camellia and
maple have a dormancy requirement
for germination. These species re
quire two months to six months of
moist chilling at 40 degrees Fahren
heit or less as a minimum require
ment for optimum seed germination.
This moist chilling treatment is
called stratification. Seeds can be
stratified by simply mixing seed with
moist sand, sealing the sand-seed
mixture in a plastic bag and placing
the bag in the your refrigerator.
Seed can also be directly planted
in the soil during autumn, but seed
ling loss due to critters and weeds
can be a major headache.
The embryos of some species are
so well protected by the seed or fruit
covering that the covering actually
prevents the young embryo from
growing. Seeds may require rubbing
with sandpaper, cutting with a file,
soaking in acid or cracking with a
hammer to achieve germination.
This process is called scarification.
Alfalfa, clover, canna, cotoneast
er, witch hazel and thousands of oth
er plants require scarification before
the seed can germinate. The diges
tive tract of birds or animals often
make the best natural plant seed
scarifiers for obvious reasons.
A great many species of plants re
quire both stratification and scarifi
cation before the seed will germi
nate.
Each species of plant has its own
special requirements for seed germi
nation. If you really want to seed
propagate plants, consider the pur
chase of Plant Propagation ? Prin
ciples and Practices, by Hartmann
and Kester, published by Prentice
Hall, Inc., the most recent edition,
and Manual of Woody Landscape
Plants by M. Dirr, Stipes Publishing
Co. These two books will cover
nearly every aspect of the require
ments for seed germination.
A less expensive alternative
would be to contact your local N.C.
& ^
Dr. Stephen Canaela
announces the relocation of his
Orthopaedic Practice
to
144/4 Jefferson Street
Whiteville, NC
effective December 1 , 1 993.
The new office telephone number
will be 640-1022.
The Supply office will be
open until November 24, 1993
Cooperative Extension agent.
Send your gardening questions or
comments to The Plant Doctor, P.O.
Box 109, Bolivia, N.C. 28422.
West Students
To Sponsor
Blood Drive
West Brunswick High School
health occupations students will
sponsor their annual Red Cross
Bloodmobile on Monday, Nov. 15,
from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the
school library.
The blood drive is open to the
public, but students will receive first
priority. Blood donors must be at
least 17 years old and weigh more
than 110 pounds.
Arts &{
Crafts |
Shop j
! The dinner bread \
House
l ? Over 70 Crafters
? ? Gourmet Fudge ?
\ Holden Beach Road *<
? K mile from Wal-Mart ?
\ Shallotte ? 754-8979 J
? 9905 Beach Drive SW <
\ 500 ft. east of stoplight !
> Calabash ? 579-8485 \
\
Thank You
for re-electing me as
Commissioner for
Holden Beach. Your
continued support
these next two years
zvill be needed and
appreciated.
David Sandifer
KOZO
HAIR DESIGNS
is happy to welcome
Marjorie Ingram
NAIL SPECIALIST
Manicures ? Sculptured ? Tips
Overlays ? Pedicures
Call 754-9477 for appointment.
Hwy. 179 ? Village Pines ? Shallotte
Master Blend
34.5 Oz. Can
Maxwell
House
AD Coffee"
Maxwell
. House
Master
I.END
Kellogg' s
2/$3
T-Bone Or Porterhouse Steaks
m
Grade A Jumbo Pack Chicken
[Leg Quarters
Big 8
All
14 Oz.
Cracklin'
Oat Bran
Cereal
Tide Ultra
18 Load
18
Unscented/
14 Load With
Bleach
Meat
Gwaltney
Franks
99
All Varieties
In-Store Made
Italian
Sausage
Food Lion
Imported
Ham
$159
Lb.
$099
Lb.
Poinsettias
a
Clip & Save * Clip & Save * Clip & SavW
Beautiful
Florist
Quality
BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE!
Boy QK? 15 oz. Apple Cinnamoii Cfccerte* and
9^ (Sfg 15 oz. Apple Cinnamon Ctieerios*
FREE!
"Groccr, Please Fill In Retail Value"
Ring On Vendor
Coupon Key
1 1/101 1/16/93
omy a Food Uon
11063900
?oi? _
aaiWMlaai
$
1600(r71 60(
i.
i & Save * Clip & Save * Clii
Diet Coke, Caffeine Free
Diet Coke,
Sprite
Coke Classic
$129
3 Liter
6 Pack - 20 Oz. Non
Returnable Bottles
Diet Coke, Caffeine Free
Diet Coke, Coke Classic.
Sprite. Diet Sprite 2.05
Prices in this ad good
Wed., Nov. 10 thru
Tues., Nov. 16, 1993.
We Reserve The Right
To Limit Quantities.