Siberian Pea Shrub

I purchased 15 Siberian Pea Shrub seeds and then stratified them for forty days.  After I took the seeds out of the freezer I put them into a bowl of hot water to soak.   Six of the original seeds started floating so I trashed them, and planted the remaining nine.   All nine sprouted and I lost two from insects.

If these are left in the house over the winter, I'm pretty sure they won't make it.  I have a cat that taste--tests everything.  

Not sure why but the growth is really slow so I don't expect them to be super big in the next few months.  Does anyone have an idea for planting these outside in a way that would protect them...some kind of contraption or hot-box.  I live in zone 6  


I attached a photo but not sure if it will show up.  The plants are around 2" tall.

this may be a silly question but, if you're willing to build a contraption to overwinter them outside, why not build something to keep the kitty out?

zurcian braun wrote:this may be a silly question but, if you're willing to build a contraption to overwinter them outside, why not build something to keep the kitty out?

I'd like the roots in the ground, not a pot :-)

These are what we called Caragana up north and once established, pouring gasoline on the stumps and burning them won't discourage them.

Overwinter in a deep five gallon pot, and plant out in spring. Dig extra deep hole (check your taproot) and they should be fine. Just make some hardware cloth or 1" chicken wire enclosures to discourage kitty sampling.

I grew up with these at home (we were 2b at the time, and 18" from  permafrost on the average, a few years I remember from the late 1960's we might have made the designation) and once established, will grow quickly and into a good hedge/fence. And reproduce themselves ALL over. The seed pods look like miniature peapods and hold small 'beanlike' seeds. You can build coldframes over them if you want to try to keep them in the ground in place. Put a ring of hay bales and put window glass (an old window) over that and cover it at night or during really cold snaps. If you do that keep a few indoors as your backup. Trust me, get some going in the ground and in a few years you will have all the seeds you need to reforest the planet....

Deb Rebel wrote:These are what we called Caragana up north and once established, pouring gasoline on the stumps and burning them won't discourage them.

Overwinter in a deep five gallon pot, and plant out in spring. Dig extra deep hole (check your taproot) and they should be fine. Just make some hardware cloth or 1" chicken wire enclosures to discourage kitty sampling.

I grew up with these at home (we were 2b at the time, and 18" from  permafrost on the average, a few years I remember from the late 1960's we might have made the designation) and once established, will grow quickly and into a good hedge/fence. And reproduce themselves ALL over. The seed pods look like miniature peapods and hold small 'beanlike' seeds. You can build coldframes over them if you want to try to keep them in the ground in place. Put a ring of hay bales and put window glass (an old window) over that and cover it at night or during really cold snaps. If you do that keep a few indoors as your backup. Trust me, get some going in the ground and in a few years you will have all the seeds you need to reforest the planet....

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Thanks for the great information! I have three acres of flat grass sosomething with a little zing would be nice to have👍🏻

Don't say you weren't warned. They made hedges and windbreaks (my parent's house had a row of them as neighbor hide fence and the school had a big row of them for playground windbreak and my aunt had a neighbor fence made of them. You COULD shear them into a hedge about 4' high but they preferred to be a tall spiky clumpy mess about 10-12 feet high. The seed shed is 'vatloads' once they get going. We considered them 'junk trees' because.....

Deb Rebel wrote:These are what we called Caragana up north and once established, pouring gasoline on the stumps and burning them won't discourage them.

Before they really get established, however, they are somewhat sensitive... 2 of 2016's seedlings got planted in the fall and barely made it through this summer's drought (one had already dropped all leaves but was reanimated by generous watering). Zone 6/7 here, summer temps of up to 35 C = 95 F = not really totally crazy.

Crt Jakhel wrote:

Deb Rebel wrote:These are what we called Caragana up north and once established, pouring gasoline on the stumps and burning them won't discourage them.

Before they really get established, however, they are somewhat sensitive... 2 of 2016's seedlings got planted in the fall and barely made it through this summer's drought (one had already dropped all leaves but was reanimated by generous watering). Zone 6/7 here, summer temps of up to 35 C = 95 F = not really totally crazy.

I'm seeing that in these little seedlings.  They have been in good soil, with good sun and water and they still grow really, really slow.  These seedlings have been going since June

Where I grew up was a 7.5 foot frost line, and permafrost is considered 9 feet. Some years the un-insulated basement wall had frost at the bottom of the walls even in mid summer. Some years I remember having snowball fights with snow in roadcuts in July. One week around New Year's Day, the best high would be -40 and at least one night we had better than -61f (Liquid Petrolium Gas, would liquefy, hauled in insulated tankers and used on farms for heating and cooking and stored in a long tank on site.) You would have to take a Bernzomatic and warm up the pipes and thaw the tanks out . Late July to Mid August our temperatures could soar and we could see 3 weeks of superhot, 110-120F Caragana survived it all. (edit for typo)

Deb Rebel wrote:Don't say you weren't warned. They made hedges and windbreaks (my parent's house had a row of them as neighbor hide fence and the school had a big row of them for playground windbreak and my aunt had a neighbor fence made of them. You COULD shear them into a hedge about 4' high but they preferred to be a tall spiky clumpy mess about 10-12 feet high. The seed shed is 'vatloads' once they get going. We considered them 'junk trees' because.....

You are not a fan!

I'm going for biomass, pollination, and habitat.  What would you suggest as an alternate?

I wasn't a fan because they were rather an ugly shrubby tree-ish thing that dumped tons of seedy pods, and once the clumps were established no way to get rid of them. I'm not sure of your climate and soil particulars to recommend something. There are other plants and trees that I consider junk, because of having lived and worked with them. In some environments they may be just the thing.

Only you can decide what you want to plant, where, and why. I do agree with others that they are sort of fragile the first few years of their life. Then watch out.