Re: HYB: seeds in containers
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] HYB: seeds in containers
- From: w*
- Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 17:23:50 -0500
- Priority: normal
On 7 Aug 01, at 18:31, pbrooks@whidbey.net wrote:
> On this site and elsewhere, people have said they plant iris seeds in pots
> with many to a pot, as though the crowding is somehow beneficial. That's
> not been my experience with many other kinds of seeds. Is there something
> special going on with iris seeds that makes this a useful technique?
>
> Patricia Brooks
> Whidbey Island, WA, zone 8-9
>
Patricia, I have heard that crowding the seeds in a pot sparks germination. I
cannot find a print reference. It is not in TWOI, or I didn't find
it. On the practical side, not all of your seed are going to
germinate in the first place and some that do will be wimps or even
albinos and die so why give them a great amount of space. You really
need to sprout them in pots or in a seed bed with dividers so that
the seeds don't wash away or into each other over winter.
TWOI (THE WORLD OF IRISES) says first year germination of tall
bearded iris seed can vary in percentage from 90 per cent down to
five per cent, and germination can extend over a period of 15 years
or more. Seed can remain dormant but viable for 18 years in a
seedbed. So, I use the pot method and rarely hold over a pot for the
next year for additional seeds to germinate. After the seedlings are
removed from the pot, destroy the remaining soil.
Walter Moores
Enid Lake, MS USA 7/8
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