Hieracium (gracile)

Tara Luna USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana 59936 (406) 888-7835 http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/azpmc

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Family Scientific Name:	Asteraceae
Family Common Name:	Sunflower Family
Scientific Name:	Hieracium gracile Hook.
Common Name:	Alpine hawkweed
Species Code:	HIEGRA
Ecotype:	Subalpine meadows, Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, Glacier County, MT 2030 meters
General Distribution:	H. gracile is found in montane to alpine meadows throughout the Cascade and Rocky Mountains; from British Columbia and Alberta to New Mexico.
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	seed
ProductType:	Container (plug)
Stock Type:	160 ml conetainers
Time To Grow:	7 Months
Target Specifications:	Stock Type: Container seedling<br. Height: 3 cm with multiple leaves<br> Caliper: N/A<br> Root System: Firm plug in container.
Propagule Collection:	Seeds are hand collected in mid September when ahenes are easily removed from the disk. Seeds are grey at maturity. Seeds are collected in paper bags and kept in a well ventilated greenhouse during the drying process and prior to cleaning. Collection Locality: Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, MT
Propagule Processing:	Seeds are hand cleaned using screens to remove pappus from the achenes. Seed longevity is unknown for this species. Seed dormancy is classified as physiological dormancy. Seeds per kilogram: unknown %Purity: 100% % Germination: 100%
Pre-Planting Treatments:	Seeds were fall sown two weeks after collection and were watered in prior to a 5 month outdoor cold-moist stratification.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	Outdoor nursery. Sowing method: Direct seeding. Seeds are lightly coverd with medium. Container Type and Volume: 160 ml (7 cu. inch) Ray-leach conetainers. Medium: 6:1:1 Milled sphagnum peat, perlite, vermiculite. Seeds are hand sown at the rate of 7 seeds per cell,lightly covered with perlite and thoroughly watered prior to winter stratification.
Establishment Phase:	Germination is uniform and continues over a 2 week period after snowmelt in the nursery in May. Outdoor nursery temperatures vary from 16 to 25C during the day and 10 to 15 C during the night in May. True leaves appear 2 weeks after sowing and are thinned to 1 per cell at this stage. Seedlings are irrigated only when the medium is dry on the surface at during this stage.
Length of Establishment Phase:	2 weeks
Active Growth Phase:	Seedlings produce rapid root growth characteristic of alpine forbs at this stage. Multiple leaves were evident 8 weeks following germination. Seedlings are fertilized twice weekly with 20-10-20 liquid NPK at 100 ppm during this stage. Plants are fully root tight 6 weeks after ermination in the spring.
Length of Active Growth Phase:	4 weeks
Hardening Phase:	Plants are fertilized with 10-20-20 liquid NPK at 200 ppm during September. Irrigation is gradually reduced in September and October. Plants are given one final irrigation prior to winterization.
Length of Hardening Phase:	8 weeks
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	Total Time to Harvest:7 months Harvest Date: July Storage Conditions: Overwinter in outdoor nursery under insulating foam cover and snow.
Length of Storage:	5 months
References:	Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock and Cronquist, University of Washington Press,7th printing, 1981. Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, Baskin and Baskin, Academic Press,1998. Glacier National Park Propagation Records,unpublished.

Citation:

Luna, Tara; Wick, Dale. 2008. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Hieracium gracile Hook. plants 160 ml conetainers; USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2025/05/20). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.