Re: Germinating iris seeds

Carol - I germinate JI seeds every year using a method devised by John Coble
and Bob Bauer and published in the JI Review several years ago.

Harvest the seed pod when ripe and just keep it in a safe place till the
garden chores are finished - November.  

Place the seeds (removed from the pods) in bags made out of stockings with a
label on each bag noting the cross.  If you don't know the actual cross, then
you just label it with the pod parent.

Soak your stocking bags for 15 days in a cool place.  I use an unheated
mudroom.  Each day pour off the water and add fresh.  The explanation for
this is that JI seeds have a germination inhibitor on them and this breaks it
down.  On the fifteenth day, drain off the water then place the damp stocking
bags into ziplock plastic bags and put them in the veggie bin in the
refrigerator.  

Mark your calendar for 10 weeks later.

On the 10th week, remove the ziplocks and place them in a sorta warm place -
like on top of the fridge.  Check the seeds every day or two for signs of
germination and plant as this occurs.  BE PATIENT... some of these guys are
slackers.

I then put my pots under shop lights and in a flat fitted with a plastic
dome.  As the green shows, I remove the dome and start caring for them.

There are many rewards to doing this, but the two most important are:

1.  You can shave a year off the time from germination to bloom
2.  You can keep yourself occupied and gardening during the cruelest part of
the year

Kathyguest - who was rewarded this year by receiving a BEST SEEDLING award...
awarded in part by our own Clarence!
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