Re: HYB: CULT: germination

I sure hope we all get better at germinating seeds - dismal 'success' in
preceeding years has given some clues, but I'm starting to wonder if
slow/stubborn germination might be linked to 'toughness' of adults.
Wouldn't that be a bummer?

As experienced hybridizers keep reminding us, the genetics of modern
hybrid TBs is so scrambled, that it's hard to make generalizations.
However, it makes sense to me that the genetic makeup of cultivars that
don't 'jump the gun' and start growing willy nilly every time the
weather seems favorable for a few days or weeks are more likely to
survive when weather abruptly turns deadly as it does here so often.  &
possibly the same is true for germination of seeds.

Like Neil, I had the best germination ever last spring.  Have no idea
why, but I also had the best bloom season I remember in many many years
(decades).  Certainly the best since I've been trying to germinate
seeds.  High rates of germination in both newly soaked and refrigerator
stratified seeds and seeds remaining outdoors in pots from the
preceeding (dismal) spring.

Hybridizers have told me that eventually, I will wind up with my own
lines of cultivars whose seeds will germinate at a highish rate under my
growing conditions.  Unfortunately, the 'normal' outdoor growing
conditions vary so much from year to year, that process will take
forever <g>.

So far, I'm really pleased with the early germination of seedlings this
year using the toilet tank soaking & burrito refrigeration method.  The
seedlings that came up in October/November are growing really well
outdoors in a coldframe & have not been hurt by outside nighttime
temperatures as low as 20oF.

Keith K said:
<The ONLY time I have had a
problem was one year in California....record cold down into the high
teens at night, not thawing for several days....in February, after the
seed had been germinating for over a month.  >

Good grief, that sounds like Tennessee! <g>

<All sprouts up were fine; but practically nothing else came up except a
few stragglers, and those tended to be very late in the season.  It was
if the germinating-but-not-emerged seed/seedlings were at a critical
stage.  I wonder if anyone else has had this experience?  >

Several years ago, I worried about this happening to seeds that were not
showing signs of germinating, but should have been about ready.  Lloyd
Zurbrigg said that they are vulnerable to hard freezes right before
actual germination and warned that they could be killed at that stage.

Gradually recovering from Christmas flu/virus... hack, cough....
--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8

American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
iris-talk/Mallorn archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
iris-photos/Mallorn archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE IRIS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index