Bear Mountain Forest Nursery

Bear Mountain Forest Nursery 📍Dena'ina Ełnena / Chugiak, Alaska
Love for Earth. Love for People. Repeat. Specializing in native plants/hardy fruits/food plants
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I spoke too soon.I ran my initial germination test of these Ribes glandulosum/Nundghuna(Dena’ina)/skunk currants back in...
03/29/2026

I spoke too soon.

I ran my initial germination test of these Ribes glandulosum/Nundghuna(Dena’ina)/skunk currants back in December/january, and only had about a dozen germinate. I figured that was good from a few dozen total berries I received from a friend in Fairbanks. The plan was to save and plant those plants to establish my own seed source/patch on the edge of the nursery..

While pursuing that plan, for funsises, I threw the ungerminated seeds back in the fridge only to remove them about a week ago. Well, it turns out we just needed more time, as I just filled a 50 cell plug tray with seedlings, and still have more coming..

Turns out we will have confirmed pure skunk currant plants with the nursery, along with our five other native species of Ribes 😅

Finally got caught up with transplanting the newly germinated Vaccinium parvifolium/Tleikatánk(Lingít)/red huckleberry s...
03/09/2026

Finally got caught up with transplanting the newly germinated Vaccinium parvifolium/Tleikatánk(Lingít)/red huckleberry seedlings from berries harvested with Yéilk’ in Sitka! We will be formalizing/documenting the germination process for this species in the coming months, but in the meantime, these seedlings will be living their best life under lights and fed fish emulsion. We are looking into opportunities to send a portion (about 200) of these plants back to southeast Alaska in support of community plantings/projects, but that still needs to be ironed out. If anyone has any ideas of anyone or entity that would be willing to receive these plants in southeast Alaska and transplant/care for them until final homes are identified, let me know! I will ensure they are spoiled until then!

Bring on the red huckleberry plants!

These beauties are Ribes glandulosum/Nundghuna(Dena’ina)/skunk currants grown from seeds harvested north of Fairbanks. W...
02/28/2026

These beauties are Ribes glandulosum/Nundghuna(Dena’ina)/skunk currants grown from seeds harvested north of Fairbanks. We only managed to germinate about 15, so instead of selling these with the nursery, we will be using them to establish plantings on site and create our own local seed-source. Due to their trailing growth habit, I will plant them along the perimeter moose fence and train them up the fence. This will create an edible wall of native currants, and will allow us to grow/harvest seeds from our space to grow future nursery stock. We will be doing this with all of our native Ribes(currant) species this season, and hopefully our native blueberries and raspberry species too. Creating an on-site seed source will help us grow more of these more reliably into the future.

Happy plants, happy place.

Quick break from the world. Please join me in enjoying the progress of these beauties.These seedlings are Menziesia ferr...
02/20/2026

Quick break from the world. Please join me in enjoying the progress of these beauties.

These seedlings are Menziesia ferruginea/Rusty menziesia/false huckleberry, that we started from locally-harvested seeds back in early December. This species is a common component of moist forests from southcentral Alaska to Northern California, and upslope areas of the Rockies from British Columbia to Wyoming, often getting up over 6’ tall. They are often nicknamed the “fool’s or false huckleberry” due to similar flowering structures to species within the Vaccinium genus (blueberry/western huckleberry). But when those aspiring berrypickers return pick the berries of the bushes that were covered in the bell-shaped flowers, they find they were fooled (no berries). This species, while belonging to the family Ericaceae (same as Vaccinium species), they are closer related to azaleas/rhododendrons. The more you know 😀

The progress growing these from seed has been slow but steady. I lost some to fungus gnat larvae prior to beneficial nematode/BT treatment (mosquito dunk bits), but the remaining plants have grown strong, and didn’t seem fazed by the transplant into the cells. The plants are now planted in pure peatmoss under lights, and being given diluted fish emulsion every few weeks. These plants are the oldest, and have since started two more batches of seeds (staggering incase of loss). But none the less, they are still doing their thing!

I will keep everyone posted!

Bring on the crowberries!These beauties are Empetrum nigrum/Gigazhna(Dena’ina)/crowberries grown from seeds we collected...
02/18/2026

Bring on the crowberries!

These beauties are Empetrum nigrum/Gigazhna(Dena’ina)/crowberries grown from seeds we collected in the Chugach. This was the first year we got more than a dozen to germinate at a time. After doing some homework, we found out this species has a double dormancy, and benefits from both warm and cold stratification. So these seeds were extracted, mixed in with moist peat in a plastic baggie. From there, the baggie was left at room temp for 2-3 months, followed by 2-3 months in the fridge, and now they are germinating. Our germination rate is likely 10-20% currently (may need to adjust the number of days in warm and cold), but that has resulted in lots of baby crowberry plants!

I will keep everyone posted!

One of my favorite plants!These beauties are Lysichiton americanus/qaugcaaguaq(Sugpiaq/Alutiiq)/western skunk cabbage fr...
02/16/2026

One of my favorite plants!

These beauties are Lysichiton americanus/qaugcaaguaq(Sugpiaq/Alutiiq)/western skunk cabbage from seeds we found in Whittier. These beauties are native from California to southern Alaska, and have been/are utilized by various indigenous groups for many purposes, from wrapping food to medicine. The beautiful flowers are among the earliest flowers in the spring, and are known for their pungent aroma, as it attracts pollinating flies and beetles.

Whats not to love?

Well, the seeds were collected from mushy seed casings/pods late in the fall, and stratified in moist peat moss for a few months. Now they have germinated (only 10 so far), so I have to figure out how to grow them.. more to come, as we are fixing to learn.

Time for an update on the Rhododendron groenlandicum/Quchukda (Dena’ina)/labrador tea seedlings. We started the seeds in...
02/14/2026

Time for an update on the Rhododendron groenlandicum/Quchukda (Dena’ina)/labrador tea seedlings. We started the seeds in early November under growlights after pretreatment (half the seeds were cold stratified and the other half were sown fresh). The germination rate was about the same, so I do not think cold stratification is needed (but also doesn’t hurt). The seedlings germinated quickly once placed under lights (tiny seedlings), and are now over 3” tall. I did not have high expectations when I started these seeds, so this journey has been a really pleasant suprise!

The Hatcher pass blueberries are really starting to get going.These beauties are the Vaccinium ovalifolium/Gigantsa(Dena...
02/10/2026

The Hatcher pass blueberries are really starting to get going.

These beauties are the Vaccinium ovalifolium/Gigantsa(Dena’ina)/early blueberries we grew from berries we picked at Hatcher Pass. The seedlings were started in early November after a few months of cold stratification, and then transplanted from their germination/community pots into plug trays back in middle January. Since then, they have established and began growing vigorously. I’m hoping these plug trays will suffice until spring 😅

Bring on the Hatcher blues 😋

The wild strawberries have officially matured enough to start producing their first runners. These are the Fragaria chil...
02/02/2026

The wild strawberries have officially matured enough to start producing their first runners. These are the Fragaria chiloensis ssp. pacifica/Shug/Šug(Eyak)/beach strawberry that were grown from berries/seeds harvested in Cordova, and germinated in early November. The plants have progressed rather rapidly in their development, and have apparently reached runner era. I may have to be proactive in collecting and planting the runners into propagation trays, as I cannot have these rooting themselves in all of the neighboring flats.

So that’s an answer I didn’t have before. The plants can start producing runners by their three month mark. Now we know.

The native sages (artemisia sp.) are going quickly now!We are growing four Alaska-native artemisia species (related to m...
01/24/2026

The native sages (artemisia sp.) are going quickly now!

We are growing four Alaska-native artemisia species (related to mugwort/sagebrush vs culinary sage), and they are all getting going quickly. I do think I may have started some of it rather early (looking at you, Artemisia tilesii/stinkweed). The Artemisia borealis had initially poor germination, so i re-sowed seeds and now have a big flush of seedlings starting now! The Artemisa tilesii/stinkweek, Artemisia arctica/mountain sage, and Artemisia frigida/prairie sage are all well established, and the Artemisia borealis/boreal sage will catch up!

Now, I am trying to resist the urge to start additional plug flats now of the each species, as I think they are all deserving of being planted. But what Josh thinks is cool/ecologically/culturally important doesn’t translate to what sells with the nursery (I suck at capitalism). But I also have the bad habit of designating that as a future Josh “problem” and just starting them anyway (as there are always homes for native plants). Should I stop at a flat of 72 of each? Or send it? I need an adult 😅

It’s about time I transplant the cranberries.These beauties are Vaccinium vitis-idaea/Hey gega(Dena’ina)/lowbush cranber...
01/24/2026

It’s about time I transplant the cranberries.

These beauties are Vaccinium vitis-idaea/Hey gega(Dena’ina)/lowbush cranberry/Lingonberry, and were grown from seeds i collected up high in the Chugach. While I did give these seeds cold stratification, it seems the verdict is out whether they actually need cold as a prerequisite to germinate. I started the seeds in early November, and they are finally large enough to carefully separate and transplant into a plug tray. More to come, but lots of native cranberry plants are incoming.

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Peters Creek, AK
99567

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