Cold stratification

13 years ago

I read where gardening members have done "cold stratification" on certain seeds. I thought that wintersowing the seeds outside in containers replaced that but evidently I am wrong. It seems to me that is a lot of extra work and I'll take my chance for germination in the milk jugs. My husband is putting up with me filling the milk jugs in the kitchen; he'd put his put down if I put seeds in the refrigerator! I just want to get them sown in the jugs and put out in the cold cruel world and sit back and wait for germination. I never said I was a patient gardener!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

trudi_d
13 years ago
Winter Sowing does replace indoor cold strat. You don't have to do both.
morz8 - Washington Coast
13 years ago
pippi, I'm not sure what you've read - winter sowing is cold stratifying although for most sowers here - not limited to seeds that need it. Some of us will use the refrigerator for seeds we can't obtain at the right time of year to winter sow, but I can't recall seeing where anyone has chilled to prepare for WS sowing.

There are some seeds that will achieve better germination if given a warm moist period before the chill...
Related Discussions
butterfly weed - need cold stratification?
Q
Comments (4)
I can't answer the question about older seeds, but I can give you a little info about my experience this year. I sowed a couple dozen butterfly weed seeds (I got them from Prairie Moon) this winter (mid February) in milk jugs. About half of them germinated. I transplanted them into small pots after the second true leaf emerged. They were tiny at this point, and I think it was perhaps early May by then as we had had a longer winter than usual. Not long after that I moved them into the garden. I was a little worried that if I left them in containers too long I'd damage the taproot when moving them. Around the same time I planted a couple of larger ones I'd purchased in containers from a nursery. One of these died about a month later, and the other looks anemic compared to the ones I wintersowed. The wintersown seedlings grew slowly until late June or so and have been doing well since then. Most of them have two or three main stems that have been bent down quite a bit by winds (possibly the soil is too rich as well). I've propped a few of them up with stones. I was surprised that some of them are flowering now in their first year. The attached photo was taken this morning.
...See More
For experts in cold-stratification -- native seeds.
Q
Comments (8)
I do check with Clothier's data on seed germination, it is helpful. A method that I came up with myself and use for germinating seed of prairie wiildflowers and grasses is to cover the seed once it is sown with a coarser perlite rather than a peat based germ mix which seems to smother the seed. This method is used for seed that requires a covering, some seeds need to remain uncovered and exposed to light for germination. I found that Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed) doesn't germinate at all when lightly covered with a peat based media - I got a few to germ that were left uncovered but I get high germ when the seed is lightly and evenly covered with perlite after it is sown. This tells me that prairie species need more gas exchange or exposure to the air while at the same time being covered so the seed is protected and does not dry out. I wouldn't worry too much about your seed germinating early in the fridge, I have Dictamnus albus and eryngium sprouting now in the seed trays that are in my refrigerator - the mice kept getting them in my garage - the cold temps will keep them from growing much and they will be taken out of the fridge in late March or early April to go out into a cold greenhouse to continue growing. Keep in mind that seed that requires stratification for germination can not be hurried along with warm temps! We aren't growing marigolds or petunias here. If you see no activity after you might expect to see signs of life, keep the seed colder longer rather than warming them up - most seeds will start to sprout while still chilled and germ best while at cool temperatures. Again, good luck! I wanted to add that some varieties that require stratification do only start to 'wake up' and grow once the temps warm up, like morz8 said - but not too warm - temps in the low 60's are better than say mid 70 or 80 degrees. Try to avoid quick extremes and no need for additives like wood ash or innoculants for germination - I've never used GA-3 myself and don't really see a need for it. There is no secret incantation or method that will make this process go much faster, it is one of those things that takes time. 'Tricky' things - violet species for example - germinate for me better when they are placed in a coldframe outside because the rain and snow are washing out the germination inhibitors that keep the seed from growing at the wrong time. That is my educated guess. I remember that when I grew Callirhoe involucrata from seed the germination was very erratic, seedlings slowly germinating in an outdoor seed bed for more than three years! This post was edited by jebfarm on Sun, Dec 28, 14 at 13:58
...See More
Do Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) seeds need cold stratification?
Q
Comments (4)
I read in a few places on line that if not allowed to dry out a couple of weeks of cold stratification would help them germinate. Could you provide that citation? In my area, Red Maple or Acer rubrum seed will ripen next month. Some years they are shed in large quantities, not this year. When they ripen seed should first be checked for soundness. Cut a few in half and be sure they are not hollow. When you find a good tree use seed from that tree. Break off the wing and discard it. Direct seed them into pots, put several seed in each pot, you can always come back later on and remove the weakest ones. Red & Silver maples have seed which matures in May, cold stratification doesn't figure into their germination.
...See More
Can I cheat cold stratification
Q
Comments (9)
I started out with around 100+ seeds and have left 60 give or take to leave in the freezer for about a month. Last year we bought two younger plants which we just left outside in pots which are now starting to sprout new growth (5-6 new stalks each). The ones that I have been trying to germinate outside of the freezer have been in a container folded in a damp towel for around 3 weeks and only one has sprouted and I am doing my best to nurse it. sorry for the lack of info I was just mainly concerned about the growth of my seeds being as the second year plants are doing just fine and will hopefully produce seed pods this year
...See More
gardenweed_z6a
13 years ago
morz8 - are you aware of a site or source for germination information like the warm-cold-warm that's sometimes referred to? I think WS is amazing and the seeds are warm & dry inside the house prior to WS which might give them at least the warm part. I think it was you who suggested starting lady's mantle seeds in moist vermiculite before WS and I did that with some of the seeds I had. I'll let you know how they do.
morz8 - Washington Coast
13 years ago
gardenweed, I usually check what I'm sowing in three places: fresh seed - Druse (Making More Plants, great book for all propagating, the Clothiers site for stored or commercial seed, and for those really weird unusual seeds, Explorers Garden propagation notes, Hinkley.

If I can't find it anywhere (which doesn't happen often) I'll research the country and climate where the plant grows naturally and try to copy the conditions best I can that the seed would normally experience...when ripe in what kind of zone, if warm, cold, wet, dry for a while, what would happen to it next after falling or blowing from the plant.

The ladies mantle was always hard for me, I bought seed more than once, and not from discounted sites where it could have been old, or badly handled. Then bought one plant and had self sown seedlings to pull, more than I needed. I tried warm, cold, cool from my own seeds (like mother nature would have done) and bingo, germination after it no longer mattered :)

Anytime you store seeds dry, either warm or cold, it's just storage, doesn't count towards the germination process.

And one thing you have to remember about the suggestions on any of the germination databases, even the very good ones, they are suggestions of processes known to work and sometimes known to work for best/most germination, not necessarily the only way that works, or the only way any germination at all will happen.
morz8 - Washington Coast
13 years ago
Did I make that sound like the alchemilla/ladies mantle warm cold cool was my own idea by overexplaining? Didn't mean to, credit goes to Tom Clothier...

Alchemilla alpina, epipsila, erythropoda, hoppeana, mollis, saxatilis, and xanthochlora , Sow at 18-22C (64-71F) for 2-4 wks, move to -6 to -7C (19-21F) for 4-6 wks, move to 5-12C (41-53F) for germination
gardenweed_z6a
13 years ago
Thanks for the information morz8. I guess I just had dumb beginner's luck last year with the lady's mantle seeds/chaff mixture I WS. It was my first time to WS as well as my first ever attempt to WS lady's mantle. I'd harvested the dried flowers assuming there had to be seeds too small to see somewhere in the mix. I got excellent germination but since I was new, I was cautious and only WS one container. I've got a plan to edge a very large garden with LM so I'm hoping this year I'll grow enough plants to execute my plan. I'm also excited about seeing all the babies I grew last year getting some size to them in a few months.

You didn't overexplain it, or if you did, I was too interested to notice! Without giving myself a headache, I try to understand these gardening challenges but admit I read them over a few times before it all sinks in.

Cold stratification

Comments (6)

trudi_d

morz8 - Washington Coast

Related Discussions

gardenweed_z6a

morz8 - Washington Coast

morz8 - Washington Coast

gardenweed_z6a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US