RE: Azaleas from seed?

At 07:13 PM 22.2.00 -0500, Glenn Clark wrote:
>I am rather surprised that you still have unopened seed pods.  

I was too - maybe a long dry autumn was the reason - I just hope that
doesen't mean it is bad seeds? Time will show.
Thankyou for good advice - I have already collected them before you mailed
back - and found there are a lot of small seeds inside - I will sow as soon
as possible now when you told me how to manage them - suppose if any
straitfication was needed since they have been out the whole winter.
I have a growing room in my basemment where I raise most hosta and some
other perennials - give 18 hours of light and +18*C (~65*F) - do you know
it that is good enough for these azaleas seeds.
I will sow in peat - ph about 5,5 -6,0 ? and cover with domes make it sure
not to dry out.
What about daylenght after they have germinated - do anyome know if there
is there an optimal for that - will 18 hours bee too long? 

These seeds are form a very old plant - so old I don'tknow the name -
niether do I of the neighbour plants - one orange, one yellow one
creamwhite -- and that is I asked about crossing - there might be different
comming out of this, but if I understand you not before I have seed from
the plants that might come through this first time??  Never mind - it is
exciting even if all of them gets red too :)
Arnhild - in Hardanger  sw coast of Norway

>By all means 
>open them now.  The seed will be like flakes.  You can germinate them 
>inside.  They do not need a lot of heat to germinate but the soil medium 
>must never dry out.  The soil medium must be acidic and should contain a 
>lot of peat.  I actually use sphagnum moss.  The seed is placed on the soil 
>surface.  Light and high humidity is required for germination.  I put the 
>pots or flats in a plastic bag to make sure that they do not dry out at any 
>point.  Germination should occur in about 2 weeks.  It is not a difficult 
>plant to start from seed.
>
>When hybridizing, your choice of parents will depend on your goals and your 
>climate.  For me, hardiness is a major concern therefore at least one very 
>hardy parent must be included.  With so many rhododendron species and 
>hybrids and such a wide range of colours and plant habits, it is hard to 
>recommend good parents.  I am not an expert on genetics and inheritance but 
>I seem to remember reading that the maximum variation does not occur until 
>the second generation of hybrids.  There is also some rules followed to 
>increase your likelihood of obtaining certain colours.  This is a concern 
>in Eastern North America where much effort has gone into producing a good 
>hardy yellow flower.  I cannot comment further on this however.

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