Re: nail clippers and germination

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At least with aril iris, the end of the embryo is near the point of attachment of the seed to the pod. Of course, with arils that is easy to find because that is where the aril is. I just cut a few seeds of Iris sintenisii and I also found the embryo near the point of attachment, but I don't know if it is universal.

A magnifying glass is a good idea. I have a stereo microscope that is very helpful. At least for large seeds, I keep it at the lowest magification: 7.5x. After you cut off the tip of the embryo, the embryo should be visible as round circle in the endosperm, but sometimes there is not much difference in color between the embryo and endosperm.

Ken

Diane Whitehead wrote:

 

My cutting is just a guess. I try to look for a pointy end and nip
there. I'm not sure whether I actually cut anything off, because once
the skin gets scraped, the seed underneath is white, so seeing white
doesn't mean the seed itself has been cut.

If I can't distinguish a pointy end, I just cut anywhere. I try not to
cut anything off but just slice into the seed.

When the new SIGNA seeds arrive, I guess I should set up a working
space with a magnifying glass on a stand so I can actually see what I
am doing.

Diane