Success with Germinating Australian Native Seeds on Real World Gardener

 PLANT DOCTOR     Germinating Native Seed <p>Australian plants have evolved over thousands of years to respond to a variety of climatic extremes, from fires, to droughts to floods as well as being grazed by native animals.</p>   <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidj7c1vhs2njL_IM6Kac6kufsb5WsRa-MdhPwNIGQ_-u_zi8UvunKI7Bk1ZAtaVKTHAQkhlIodlqibgpZQERQJd0EvJ4m3xCIg4Xq6DpSXApDaRQh9DGJsZGZ-2qLRKqTbSUsw_Ic1VX2hsJXBsT4ho6lG7Incj8kZatAFfiVligkxY9FyVmRSPSWqlQ/s4160/Wattles%20n%20Grevilleas.jpg'></a> Wattle seeds need boiling water treatment Such a long, long time  for plants to evolve as well as being isolated from the rest of the world has meant that a high diversity of flora abounds, so that it would be unusual to think that everything grows the same way. Australian plants have developed various  adaptations so that the seeds of which can grow in the most suitable environment for that species of plant to survive.  A suitable environment often means seeds don't germinate until a bushfire removes competing plants giving the seeds more access to sunlight and nutrients. Then they only have a short window to germinate.  The hard seed coat is therefore a protective layer that allows the seed to stay dormant for great lengths of time, even years before germination.   So how do plants keep germinating and what tricks have native seeds to keep them alive until conditions are right?   There are specific requirements for some seeds and in fact a wide range of native seeds require you, the gardener to break their dormancy before they germinate. Some are more difficult than others. So what are some of the treatments to break native seed dormancy? Boiling water or hot water treatment is recommended for hard-coated seeds such as Acacia (wattle)and Hardenbergia  species . This involves boiling some water and waiting for a minute so it's just off the boil,  then soaking the seeds for a few to eight hours. The time varies depending on the seed.   Smoke chemical treatment or smoke treatment to break the