Re: SPEC: i. setosa seeds not germinating
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: SPEC: i. setosa seeds not germinating
- From: D* L* <g*@rogerswave.ca>
- Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 05:16:28 -0700 (MST)
On Mon, 16 Mar 1998, Daryl &Kathy Haggstrom wrote:
> Diana Louis wrote:
> > I germinated I setosa seeds last year but I put them in the fridge
> > with diurnal cycling (in the fridge over night and out of the
> > fridge during the day) for 5 weeks before they started germinating.
> > The SIGNA seed germinating instructions say a minimum of 3 weeks in
> > the fridge is required for any iris seeds.
>
> Have been following the thread on sprouting setosa seed, and saw your
> reference to "diurnal cycling". I am curious about that procedure.
>
> Do you use it for all seeds you stratify, or just certain ones? Also, is
> it a procedure to hasten germination? Is setosa seed considered light
> sensitive for germinating purposes? I know there are certain perennials
I actually planted the seeds not too deeply ie one seed width and
realized afterwards that I should have put them in 1/4 to 1/2 inch
deep. I have been trying to use this on I versicolor, virginica
var shrevei, missouriensis, tridentata and have had no germination
at all after 6 weeks but only 3 weeks in the fridge). However I
have been keeping the soil in the pots wet but i can't see why
this would cause problems.
> I've never known the minimum stratifying time required for setosa, as I
> always sprout them in one way - I seed them into pots in the fall, and
> set them outside all winter to let the weather work on them. They sprout
> by themselves come springtime. Your note that they will germinate in 5
> weeks is handy - just in case I have to fill in for old man winter
> myself sometime!
FWIW, after about three weeks of diurnal recycling I put some water
on them which seemed to hurry things up a bit.
>
> Also, a last question - I've read comments many times where people will
> say that setosa are among the easiest seed to sprout, and they commonly
> have close to 100% germination. Quite often, I will have more than
> several seeds in a pot that germinate the second spring, not the first.
> I don't know if it is my method which produces this phenomenon, or it is
> just a survival technique of the setosa varieties I'm growing - sort of
> Kathy Haggstrom Anch AK/ Zone 3 hagg@alaska.net
One of the varieties had 100% germination Isetosa (arctic). The
other 2 had about 50%. AS you say, there may be some new seedlings
this spring.
Diana Louis <dlouis@dynamicro.on.ca> <- private email address
Zone 4/5 Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
AIS, CIS, SIGNA, IRIS-L, Canadian Wildflower Soc.
URL for the North American Native Irises web page
http://molly.hsc.unt.edu/~rbarton/Iris/NANI.html
