Tiny beginnings: the simple magic of growing trees from seed 🌳
- Francisco Gutierrez
- Nov 19
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 22
Francisco Gutierrez
For over seven years, Francisco has called the charming village of Brigstock home, but his connection to its green canopy runs even deeper. A teacher by profession, Francisco has always harboured a profound love for trees, though often feeling saddened by their widepread global loss.
His passion led him to become a bushcraft instructor, training in woodland management and animal tracking both in the UK and abroad.
This deep, practical knowledge now informs his work as Brigstock's Tree Warden, a role he took on four years ago. Even before this he had been planting native trees around his own home, understanding their immense benefits for the environment and local fauna. Today, he invests much of his personal time in the vital work of harvesting seeds from native tree species. This hands-on contribution brings him great joy, knowing that he is actively helping to secure the health and future of our planet, one small, rooted specimen at a time.
There’s a quiet satisfaction in taking a tiny acorn or a delicate wing-nut seed and nurturing it into a thriving sapling. I am proud to say that what started as a “let’s see what happens” enterprise is having a positive impact – this planting season, with a bit of luck, there will be thirty more Wild Service trees growing in the area covered by Rockingham Project Vision – and there are more of other types as well.
Increasing biodiversity, one tree at a time
I never thought about it, really. I do not class myself among those gifted with “green fingers.” One day, during a walk through Wakerley Great Wood, I found an acorn on the path… Just an acorn. I probably inflicted a piece of knowledge on my wife then and there:
“You see, this is interesting… Oaks don’t grow under Oaks. The last thing an Oak needs is another Oak to compete for light, food and water for the next four or five centuries…. Oaks rely on Jays and small mammals to disperse their acorns.”
So I picked up the acorn, put it on my pocket, and carried on walking. And then I forgot everything about it.
Some days went on, and then I put on the same coat and found the acorn. And I just potted it, to see what happened. I put the pot in a corner, life went on, and one day I noticed there was a tiny oak growing!
That was quite something! So, I did some reading and thought to myself that it would be a good way to enhance biodiversity if I could propagate some trees.
I set myself two rules:
native species of high value,
and good seed provenance.
And the solution was found in the same place: Wakerley Great Wood. As a remnant of the Rockingham Forest, Wakerley has a vibrant range of species, boasting some mature trees perfectly adapted to the local landscape.
So the following autumn, I went for walks! I exclusively selected native species, which are essential for supporting local wildlife and strengthening the woodland's resilience. Crucially, I harvested seeds only from good specimens—trees that display excellent health, structure, and vigour. This increases the changes that the resulting saplings will inherit those high-quality traits, producing trees that will stand tall for generations. And that was how I started propagating trees: Oaks, Hazels, Wild Cherries, Rowans, Goat Willows, Maples, Hawthorns, Wayfaring- and Wild Service trees.
The successful “nursery”
Thus far, the “experiment” has been successful. Over the last two or three years I've propagated a range of excellent native trees:
Rowan (or Mountain Ash): Easy to germinate and quick to provide bright berries for birds.
Goat Willows: We used cuttings from some of the fast-growing varieties, which root almost instantly, great for Purple Emperor butterflies.
Oaks: The mighty oak, a long-term commitment, but one that underpins the entire ecosystem.
Alders: Excellent for poor or damp soil, these nitrogen-fixing trees are ecological powerhouses.
Wild Cherries: I did not think much of them to start with, but the birds love them, as they keep gifting me the stones!
Hazel: ever so easy to propagate, the voles and squirrels love them!
Field Maples: So elegant, I love to see the galls on their leaves. The bright yellow cannot fail to cheer you in the autumn light.
Wayfaring Trees: a red beauty, super useful as an understorey tree/bush. Moths love them.
But the real highlight this year has been the unexpected success with the Wild Service Tree (Torminalis glaberrima, previously Sorbus torminalis). This is notoriously one of the trickiest seeds to germinate, often requiring a long dormancy. To see its delicate, maple-like leaves emerging in the trays has been a genuinely joyous—and slightly surprising—achievement! 🎉
My method with Wild Service seed
It wasn’t easy though. The first year, I did everything by the handbook, and nothing happened. Literally, nothing. Not one seed seemed to notice… The second year, I did some of “my own things” (nothing to lose, right?), and nothing happened, again. Well, I thought that that was that, and the next year came around. While on a walk in Wakerley, I noticed the chequers, and I could not resist, so I collected some. And did some thinking. I tried to replicate the natural process as much as I could and minimise the common problems.
So here are the steps I took last year
To avoid damage to the seeds while extracting them, first of all, I left the "chequers" a couple of days in water. This made it easier to separate the seeds. I started by hand, but it took forever, so I used a fork, as softly as I could.
To avoid them going rotten, I cleaned them – yes, I did this one at a time! – and placed them in a bag with moist (not wet) perlite and a bit of TCP.
To break the dormancy of the seeds (a process regulated by temperature and light), I set up a three-step process: a) a couple of months in the fridge in a clear box, b) a couple of weeks in the freezer in a black box, and c) again two months in the fridge in a clear box.
After this, I just got the bag with perlite out of the box and I placed the seed on a tray on damp cotton, and I waited. And I waited, and then slowly, they began to wake up!
As I began to see the roots, I moved the seeds to a propagation tray, and from there things followed the “normal” path.
Yes, it was a bit crazy, especially since some seeds started in March and some others in June – I did have to change the cotton on several occasions. But the upshot was an extraordinarily high success rate – more than 90% of the seeds are now saplings!
A simple call to action
The good news is that most tree species are way more obliging than the Wild Service and you can achieve success quite easily. While we may have our own technical methods, the process of growing a tree from seed is accessible to anyone. It requires patience more than expertise.
It's easy! Here is how:
Collect some seeds
– most trees will be ready in September/October, but some may have mature fruit before and others later than that! Here are Wild Service chequers being collected from a tree in Fineshade Wood this year.
Treat the seeds
I separate the seed from the other parts collected. Nuts and acorns can be planted straight away – that is nature’s way. But most smaller seeds will need a restful winter – I use a bag with moist perlite and a small container in the fridge will do.
Plant the seed
Do this early in the spring, probably best in a tray that can stay indoors until the weather is kinder. A window-sill with some sunshine in the morning is perfect.
Don’t forget to keep your seedlings moist! They will be trees in no time.
By choosing native seeds and giving them a safe place to grow, you're doing more than gardening; you're building a vital, living legacy. Whether it’s one Oak in a pot or a hundred Rowans in a tray, every seed sown is a step toward a greener, healthier future. Give it a try—you might just find your own quiet magic in the soil. 🌱
Here are two trees I have grown and planted in the village - a Wild Service on the left in front of by house, and on the right my original Oak grown from an acorn
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like some of my saplings. This is my official Tree Warden’s email address: brigstocktrees@icloud.com.
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