Re: HYB: Germination

Paul, that sounds really interesting.
The more I mess with the refrigeration and natural cold cycling of seeds trying to "push" germination, the more complicated it seems. Like you say, one thing is clear - no one treatment works for everything. Some crosses seem to need much longer vernalization than others, some need two separate cycles, and I haven't had the patience to track those 'two winter' types closely enough to tell if they have needed long cycles (two separate 3 month vernalization periods with hot dry conditions in between) or if short ones would work just as well).
Another thing I <think> I have learned this winter is that some (all? most?) late bloomers don't germinate until soil temperatures are much warmer (or warm for a longer time period?) than earlier bloomers. That hypothesis is based on seeds from three late blooming parents, none of which germinated until night time temperatures were in the mid 60s F and daytime highs near 70. I've heard that optimum germination temperature for TBs is between 50 and 60oF, and for most of my crosses that has been true. But not for these late ones. 

Then there was that one seedling that germinated in July....
I'm surprised at your comment about IMMORTALITY being one that doesn't require a long vernalization period. For most of the crosses I've made with it, 8 weeks gave little immediate germination - 12 weeks was <much> better. And keeping them at temperatures that continued to cycle down to 40o at night resulted in a few more seedlings coming up.
Then there are those crosses that just have poor germination no matter what I do - never am sure if those just didn't have the right conditions in the pod to be healthy seeds or if it was something I did to them or if they just aren't a good genetic match. I got a note offlist that LADY FRIEND is one of those parents that just doesn't give good germination unless with the right partner.
Betty, I agree with you 100% on the need to make <sure> germinating seedlings have plenty of moisture. I'm convinced I lost a lot of seedlings when I was germinating them outdoors before I retired. Just wasn't taking care of them.
<I had posted earlier a few weeks ago that I had some seeds from a particular cross germinate at 6 weeks after being stored in the refrigerator for a year. However, this iss apparently only occuring for this one cross and not the others and once all my germination data comes in I'm probably going to propose a theory that the early germination for this particular cross (and other crosses such as with 'Immortality') is genetically controlled. But really aren't they all? The norm is really just 12 weeks, some 8, and now I might have a line that is at 6 weeks.
I have a plan to study the factors of dry storage and immediate germination after vernalization this next year after I obtain enough seed from these particular lines of plants.> 

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