Re: HYB: seed stratification

Thanks Chris - I am rapidly not having patience to do even this much
(!), but I do have time.

Several folks here have mentioned seeds germinating while in the fridge
- so far, none of mine have germinated before being planted.  I wonder
if that's due to the genetics of the crosses or other factors?  Most of
my crosses are of later bloomers, so maybe they won't germinate until
temperatures get above 50?  I bought a bag of apples to store in the
fridge to make ethylene, just in case that was a factor, but it didn't
seem to make any difference.  A few seeds have rotted and I've wondered
if maybe those tried to germinate and were frozen and killed by temps
getting too low in the fridge?  Maybe they are too wet or too dry?  I
try to keep the paper towels damp enough that water can be squeezed out,
but dry enough that no water is free in the baggie.

Can anybody think of other reasons why no seeds are germinating while
still in the fridge?

Chris, do you have some crosses that don't germinate any seeds until
after they come out of the fridge?

<I pot all germinated/non germinated seeds after 12 weeks of fridge
                   stratification,  75% appear to germinate and the rest
will pop up the
                   following year if you leave them in their pots.  I
don't have the
                   patience or time to do anything
else.                   Chris>

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
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