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Re: Seed Germination Theory and Practice

Glen is quite right - many species do only need 4-6 weeks cold.  I think
Deno needed a standardized treatment that would cover a wide range of
needs, and the 3-month regime fit the bill.

Anyone using Deno needs to realize that he's reporting the results of
tests rather than examining the individual needs of species, and that his
testing methods necessarily miss the requirements of certain species.  For
example, some arums germinate fairly readily at 50-55F (for example, A.
italicum and A. nigrum), as do the alstroemerias I've tried (aurea,
pallida, `Ligtu hybrids'), but if you read Deno, who only tried 40 and 70,
you'll see, for alstroemerias, for example: "A. aurea germ. 50% in 4th w
at 40 if the seed had been subjected to a 4 w period at 70 first.  Without
this prior 4 w at 70, none germ. at 40 in 2 m.......The remaining seeds
germ. over the next year, but only in cycles at 40.  The final percent
germination was 100%." (Deno, Seed Germination: Theory and Practice,
2nd ed., p. 93).  Having grown several batches at an even 50-55 (as
suggested by Jim and Jenny Archibald in their seed list, which has offered
several speciesd alstroemerias in recent years), I am quite convinced that
neither lower nor higher temperatures are needed.

Nonetheless, I find Deno absolutely indispensable.  The bottom line is
simply that one should study his experimental protocol, realize its
limitations, and trust one's own observations when results suggest
outcomes that Deno didn't investigate.

Ellen

Ellen Hornig
Seneca Hill Perennials
3712 Co. Rte. 57
Oswego, NY 13126

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