Stages of Growth | BitterrootHeaven.com

BitterrootHeaven.com | Stevensville, Montana | info@bitterrootheaven.com

	home \| planting seeds \| growth stages \| growing map \| f.a.q. \| trivia \| photos \| my story \| purchase

Stages of Growth

	First year sprouts are very tender and should not be disturbed.

	Seeds are usually dispersed one or two at a time as the wind blows them from place to place. If there is no wind, sometimes the seed pod will fall to the ground and disintegrate. In cases like this, the sprouts will grow individually but appear in a group. Because of recent winter frost upheavals, instead of planting my seeds individually, I put anywhere from 10 to 25 seeds in one hole. I leave them alone in their "group" the first year.

	After the first year, I dig up the "group" of roots. The individual roots now look like tiny carrots. I plant each root separately, in either a planter or a garden area I use for bitterroots only. I do this because I have help with spring weeding occasionally. I do not want the new Bitterroot plants to be accidentally thrown out because they may be attached to weed dirt.

	When a mature plant reappears in late fall or early spring, it will look like this and be laying flat on the ground.

	As the flower buds begin to appear the plant may still have some green leaves but gradually the leaves will wither and retract back into the ground forming a crown from which a new plant will, depending on the weather, reappear in late fall or early spring. An early frost in the fall may prevent the plants from coming through the ground until spring.

	This is what the flowers will look like. They can be many different shades of pink or they may be white. The edges of the petals can be rounded or pointed. The plants like full sun. The flowers will close in the late afternoon and reopen the next morning.

	When the flowers begin to die off they stay on the plant, but again look like the original bud. The difference between the two is that the flower bud this time has an almost transparent tip that helps you recognize it is now a bud that has already blossomed and is ready to produce seeds.

	Within a few weeks the bud will open again. This time it is dry and very transparent. The calyptra is a parasol-shaped group of twisted petals and stamen in the center of the bloom. At this stage, the calyptra is still attached and protects the seeds until they are ready to fall out and be dispersed by the wind.

	Shortly thereafter, the bud will begin to open and the Calyptra will fall out exposing the seeds. At this time the seedpod is very light and the slightest breeze will blow it away. The seeds will start falling out if picked up by a light breeze. A heavy breeze may blow the seedpod and its contents a long distance from the mother plant. When this process is through, you will no longer be able to see any signs of the plant, it has gone dormant and will not appear again until late fall or early spring. If you dig in the ground though you will find the plants red roots which assure you the plant is alive, but in dormancy.

	There can be anywhere from one to over a hundred seeds in a pod. Seed quantity depends on the size of the flower. Flowers tend to be larger in a garden environment than in the wild. The seeds are shiny, round, black and very, very tiny.