Re: Louisiana Iris seed

From: "Patrick O'Connor" <swamp@ix.netcom.com>

For Louisianas, I leave the corky coat on and undisturbed.  I tried to chip
it off a few times, but felt I was damaging the seeds.  It is also very
time consuming to chip each seed.  I have never heard of any hard evidence
that it matters with respect to germination rate.  Some of my crosses
result in a high rate of germination, but for others it is poor.  I am
dubious that chipping the coat would improve things, but am open to any
evidence on the subject.  

One factor in germination, perhaps the major one, is not letting the seed
get dry.  Since the coat is corky, I assume it absorbs moisture and may aid
in germination.  Some seeds, like Moonvine, have a brittle coat that has to
be soaked to allow moisture to penetrate.  Iris seeds are not of this type.  

I would be interested in the experience of others on seed germination.  I
would like to avoid any practices that improve germination, because I don't
know _what_ I would do with more seedlings.

Patrick
At 09:31 AM 8/28/98 -0400, you wrote:
>From: N8KXP@aol.com
>
>
>In a message dated 8/28/98 2:21:34 PM, BILLS@hsc.edu writes:
>
><<When you plant your seeds, do
>you rub off the corky outer coat, or leave it on? >>
>
>Bill.
>
>I pick the seed, soak for 2-3 days, chip the corky shell completely off and
>plant in pots immediately.
>That seems to work in Florida, but I don't know about those areas of the
>country that get freezing weather.   I suspect it would work if the seeds
were
>planted late enough to assure they did not germinate until spring.
>
>Harry Wolford
>Palm Bay, FL
>
>
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