Re: HYB: CULT: early germination

Christian, from what little I've gathered from discussions here and my
own limited experience, early germination seems to be a characteristic
of early bloomers, which is the last thing I want.

I would love to hear comments from others with more experience.  Walter
posted something about plicatas being the first to germinate among his
seedlings,  I think.

I think early germination is the same as germination after the least
time stratified at near freezing temperatures.  But I'm not entirely
sure if that would always be true.  Slower germinators may have a
requirement for germination temperatures to be higher or <just right>
for more time time once germination starts or who knows...

On the same subject, I've wondered if seeds that take two winters (two
chilling cycles) to germinate produce seedlings that are more tolerant
of our erratic spring freeze thaw cycles.  In other words, whether they
are less likely to jump the gun and engage in lush growth at the first
sign of warm weather and then get killed when temperatures drop well
below freezing (i.e., low 20s F) again.

<I wondered if anyone has done any breeding with early germination as a
reselect criteria. Christian>

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
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