Re: HYB: germination

Thanks Paul, Christian, Betty. Each time we go over all this stuff, I learn more. Just to make sure I understood - even with the seed coat
Paul, are you planning an article summarizing results of your germination experiments?
TB genes are so scrambled up, I guess it isn't suprising that there is so much variability of germination requirements within any one pod.
As for cycling temperatures improving germination, I haven't been doing any controlled experiments, but am definitely getting much better germination from seeds that I damp chill for three months, then move to the sunporch.
By opening windows or the door to the house, I've been keeping temperatures between about 40 and 65oF. Temperatures have a daily cycle similar to outdoor temperature cycles, but warmer. And possibly a bigger range, since pots are exposed to heat from sun.
But they have also gotten extra chilling without having to move them back outdoors this winter. Every time we've had overnight outdoor temperatures in the teens and cloudy days, the sun porch has stayed near 40oF.
It seems to have triggered another flush of germination in <some> crosses, but definitely not all, especially not in the late-main season bloomers.
So they are getting daily cycling plus longer interval cycling related to cold fronts.
Paul, your experiments shed some light on why seeds from my seedlings germinate much more readily than seeds from imports (as Paul Black suggested to me they might)..... I've been selecting for seedlings with germination traits that are suited to my growing conditions. I nearly always plant bee pods with high seed count outdoors the "usual" way, and always get waay too many seedlings to handle (which is why they just get potted in November, like we are "supposed" to plant seeds <g>). 

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