Re: HYB-seed germination questions

From: "Jan Clark" <janclarx@hotmail.com>

John Bruce wrote:
>Seed germination on last years' bearded crosses has slowed down to a near 
>standstill.
I think it is well worth the time taken to stratify these seeds, if you want 
high germination rates in the first year. It sounds as if you have delayed 
germination, and may have to wait a few more years until they are all up. I 
prefer to chuck out those that don't come up in year 1. Mine are popping up 
like crazy at present. 43/750 at 7 weeks after planting, and they are coming 
up at the rate of around 10 per day. (yeah, I count them)
Also, interestingly, the dwarfs came up first, then the IB's, and now the 
TB's. There was a thread on this a while back.
>I also planted 350 PCN seeds, and only 4 have germinated. I thought PCN 
>germinated readily, like siberians?  All seeds were planted in January and 
>allowed to weather outside naturally, with the alternating temps and wet of 
>an Ohio zone 5 winter.
Mine germinate very freely. I would be worried about the wet conditions, and 
rotting seeds. I germinate mine inside, and monitor their dampness 
constantly. I have 60 on a windowsill, which should start showing in about 
10 days. I'll let you know how these go. They don't take up a lot of room, 
and I think it is worth it, again to ensure higher rates of germination. 
Previous rates have been over 90%.

Reading back over this, I don't know whether I've helped you or made things 
worse? I'm still trying out different techniques myself. The last lot of 
stratified seeds was planted 2 weeks ago, and I also knicked the end of 
these, so will be interested to see if they perform any better.
Cheers, Jan clark


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having difficulty getting "in synch" with list members? 
http://www.onelist.com
Try ONElist's Shared Calendar to organize events, meetings and more!
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index