starting highbush cranberry from seeds

We have some highbush cranberries growing here but not many. I'd like to grow more bushes, mostly to feed the birds in the winter, but also because I like cranberries. I've inspected them and they seem to be the American variety. I ate a few and they tasted like a tart cranberry, edible, but not a treat. Unfortunately, this year the beetles have ravaged them.

I plan on starting some from cuttings, but right now I'd also like to prepare to start some from seeds. I have the berries still on the bushes to work with. I assume that the best way to go about this is to remove the seed from the berry, dry it, and store at a cool temperature. Has anyone else planted highbush cranberries from seeds or berries? Any advice would be appreciated by me and the birds.

A friend of mine who is a commercial grower said to just plant the whole berry about 1/4 inch deep.
Nature does it by birds eating the cranberries and pooping out the non digestible seeds.

Redhawk

i wouldn't let them dry out. planting the whole fruit (or cleaned seed) in a protected outdoor spot should do it. a reference i have says that they get best results with 3 months warm stratification followed by 3 months cold.

Thanks for the good advice. I appreciate it and I'm sure the birds will as well. I'll keep it simple and just plant the berries and let the earth do the rest. We use many herbs and I'm always looking for new ways to add more native plants. I wildcraft some herbs but also like to encourage wild plants like elderberry and highbush cranberry. Thanks again

greg mosser wrote:i wouldn't let them dry out. planting the whole fruit (or cleaned seed) in a protected outdoor spot should do it. a reference i have says that they get best results with 3 months warm stratification followed by 3 months cold.

Good one Greg, indeed it has been determined by quite a few "experts" that the proper time to plant any seed is when it is ripe enough to fall from the tree and thus plant itself. This works for all nuts and fruit trees.