Yes, I've grown a few. It's almost the time to begin collecting the berries. You want to harvest the bright red-orange ones that are fully ripened. Extract the seeds from the berries and simply plant the seeds in pre-moistened potting soil in 6 pack trays. I'm pretty sure they don't need stratification (overwintered chilling in moist soil), but in Oregon I leave the 6 packs in a tray on a table in the garden over the winter anyway. By the late spring, you
should see some germination in the 6 packs. Replant the seedlings in deep-root plastic pots. You can also add mycorrhizae at this time- I like to use spore emulsion from edible
mushrooms like morels. (Madrones are the partners for many good mushrooms.) Finally, you can transplant your madrone seedlings into the ground the following winter- be sure to handle the roots with extreme care, as they are sensitive to transplanting. Also, be sure to
mulch the young
trees and protect them from
deer. Happy madrone berry hunting!
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