I lookup the stratification requirements when I am making up my plant tags. Then I write on the tag "ws" for wintersow and "ss" for spring sow. If it is something that may need multiple warm cold warm cycles I also write on it "slow" and the date sown. That way if it isn't sprouted by summer I know to keep watering it and move it to a shady spot over the summer so it won't completely dry out before next winter. I file my seed packets I plan to sow and prepared labels in a tub with sections for sowing early winter, late winter/spring, and tender-only sow after frost. This is just to make sure I get the things that NEED cold out first. Then I can take my time doing the things that might need a bit of cold or fluctuating temps or at last can handle cold. The tender things can wait, some of them get done in my "wintersowing containers" and some get direct sown. That decision depends on how many of the seed I have, where it is going, how quickly it germinates, and of course how much potting mix I have left! I always end up underestimating how much I am going to do each year. So, there are still reasons why some of us research the seed's needs, but it is definitely not required for a successful experience. If you like researching that info - do it, if not skip it altogether or maybe just do it for those very special seeds. You will also learn what works best for you over the years and tweak the routine to suit your needs.

You won't know the way things work in your area until you start trying. And some folks who hybridize roses in hot climates have found that the first seed set is the best. Some find little success with second and third trys in a season, even though their skills and plants are the same. Germination time will depend on which classes of roses you're working with. And there's lots of discussion on the Rose Hybridizers Association forum, a group you might want to consider joining. They also sell a CD with the newsletters from many, many years of members talking about what works. It's a great read for a hot long summer. Here is a link that might be useful: RHA forum

MaryMcP, you make important points. Soil temp can be a killer, especially in hot climates, because in hot climates. our tomato growing season is short. By late June, I'm all done for the summer. I chuckle when I hear northerners taking pride in getting their first tomato by the Fourth of July. Getting tomatoes in the ground outside for us is a race against the eventual heat. That said, the Syngenta tool says that the average soil temp in Phoenix on March 1 is 60F. Pretty much like for me. So some years are harder than others. As to why folks don't start new threads, and instead glom onto archaic ones, should we suspect it's shyness? Now, I answered that original thread because I didn't notice that it was old. Is this your question, or someone else's question? Some resurrected threads here are old enough that the people that started them are probably well composted.

So it looks like take them back OUT of the fridge, keep them inside, see if they come up, and if not in a month, THEN stick them into the fridge and after that, the garage. It doesn't look like they need light to germinate, so I must not have to put them on the sill for it. Thanks! The instructions I received were worded very vaguely. Out of the refrigerator and into the house for a month.