As the seasons transform and warmer weather is slowly replaced with cooler days, you might assume that Mother Nature is about to take a long break for the winter. This is somewhat true. But along with the falling leaves of autumn, numerous seeds are being dispersed for the future. Notably, many of the South’s favorite trees – oaks, maples, yellow-poplar, loblolly pine, eastern redbud – are dropping seeds. Most of these seeds will be eaten by wildlife, and not all will germinate, but a lot of them will land in hospitable places and come forth as new trees.  

Many beloved trees make seeds in what is described as natural regeneration for reforestation. You might find little sweetgum trees growing in the garden, pine seedlings sprouting out of a container, baby yellow-poplars in the flower beds and vigorous water oaks shooting up among the shrubs. Since trees shed so many seeds that tend to sprout up everywhere, why not take advantage of this amazing feature and grow your own trees?