Re:seed viability

At 04:19 AM 3/13/96 MST, you wrote:
>do any of you know whart iiris species seeds that  have to be sow fresh.
>and tjhose that is ok. to sow from dried seed.
>
>Gunnar Andersson, Sthlm/Sw
>(ekaguan@kkeka.ericsson.se)
>
>What an excellent question. I have often wondered the same thing myself and
will offer my own experiences here and hope that others will join in!

In general Iris seed keep very well. Dry storage may cause some species to
delay germination. That is why Tom was able to report an easier time growing
I. missouriensis seed than I did. My seed had been dry stored for a time. 

Many (maybe all?) of the iris have a hypogeal germination in which a radicle
emerges from the seed before leaf formation. In some cases there is a delay
between this and this is why it is important to keep the seeds moist but not
soaking wet. In some species the seed will swell and "rest" for awhile
before going on to germinate. 

Our native Pacific coast Iris will germinate with about six to eight weeks
of cool rainy weather if the seed is fresh. If the seeds are dried too much,
they may take a year.

I have found that Spurias tend to germinate in the warm weather, but they
too can sit for a year and germinate later. 

The safest bet is to keep the seeds for at least a full year in the pot and
not to give up too soon! To avoid watering, I soak seeds to plump them,
making sure that the water stays fresh, then plant them in a plastic milk
jug with the top cut off, holes punched in the bottom and cover it with a
poly food bag. I use good fine soil with lots of sharp builder's sand.  I
put them on the north side of the house where the light is good but they get
NO SUN. 

Does anyone know which Iris actually do have truly ephemeral seed- seed
which is killed by dry storage? 
Does anyone have experience germinating Oncos and or Regelias?

Happy Growing!, Louise
Louise H. Parsons  <parsont@peak.org>
1915 SE Stone St.
Corvallis, OR 97333  USA
USDA zone 7 (at least!) Emerald NARGS, transplanted Oregrowian
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index