How to Germinate Red Cedar Berries

Gather ripe red cedar berries in fall. Both those on the tree and the ground may be used.

Soak the berries in water until you can easily puncture the outer flesh with your fingernail. This may take a week or more, so change the water daily.

Place the softened red cedar berries in the blender, add 1 cup of water with a dash of liquid detergent and blend, at low speed, for 10 seconds.

Allow the blended red cedar berry solution to sit for 15 minutes. Scoop off any seeds and other material that floats to the top.

Place two to three layers of cheesecloth in a kitchen strainer, set over a bowl. Pour the contents of the blender into the strainer. The berry solution will slowly drip into the bowl, leaving the seeds behind. This may take two to three hours.

Remove the seeds from the cheesecloth and soak them overnight in a bowl of hydrogen peroxide.

Lay the seeds on a screen to dry completely before planting.

Prepare a spot in the garden for the red cedar seed by cultivating a 2-foot-square area to a depth of 2 feet. Pulverize the soil so that no clumps remain.

Push the red cedar seeds into the prepared soil until they are covered lightly with 1/4 inch of soil. Water the bed until the top of the soil is moist and cover the seed with a 2-inch layer of mulch.

Carefully rake back the mulch in spring. The red cedar seed should germinate before temperatures reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit.