As Calistoga said. But if you want to test for germination after you pull them from the frig use the damp towel method in a close container outside the frig. Check daily but use a germination guide to understand the typical time to germination for that specific seed. These are only guides. I have seen seeds germinate quicker if in a warm moist environment.

This year, I sowed seeds for heuchera both indoors and outdoors. The ones I sowed indoors (with no period of cold strat.) germinated several months ago... the ones I Wintersowed are just now starting to come up. So I'd say either way should work fine.

If you just let the seeds on/in the ground they will get a natural stratification. And if the seeds are "good seeds" they will germinate next spring. Besides.... I have sown various kinds of Picea seeds the last couple of years (in april), without stratification and they came up well. Only minor disadventage is that some seeds take about three-four weeks before they germinate, others five, six or more weeks. Even in july I had a few that germinated..... One advantage of stratification is that they germinate (almost) all around the same time, and perhaps a few day's or one week earlier (in the case of Picea).

Why bother? Because it's necessary? Because I'd prefer to succeed than fail? Because I want to increase the germination rate? > I have been growing from seed (everything from trees to vegetables) for over 30 years Me too > ...have never used hydrogen peroxide, acids, lemon juice, gibberellins, auxins, colchicine or any of these things. Me either. ...but then I've never had to. Apparently I've never grown anything that requires any sort of special treatment. I've never put seeds in the fire either (except for when I plan to eat them!) but if I decided to grow from seed, Jack Pine, for example, I'd know that fire exposure is required and I just might seek the input from others that know more than I and have had experience having done this. (See serotiny) I don't know this for a fact but my hunch is that the acid pretreatment is intended to simulate the passage of a seed through the digest tract of a bird or other critter. (This is one reason why I ask why sulfuric acid is specified since, to the best of my knowledge, gastric juices are usually (or always?) hydrochloric acid). "Complete germination often takes 2 years. Common Elderberry seeds require pretreatment for good germination during the first year (Worley and Ni xon, 1974). Several pretreatment schemes have been described in scientific literature. One pretreatment scheme involves scarification with sulfuric acid for 10–20 minutes, rinsing, and cold stratifying (2–4 o C) for 60 days..." excerpted from: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/mipmctn10584.pdf Because forum contributors (too) often tend to make suggestions or answer some alternate question that wasn't asked rather than the one that was, I'm guessing there's a likelihood that this post might receive responses like "Why are you bothering with seeds?", "Why don't you just use cuttings?", "It's easier to grow Elderberry from cuttings or live stakes". That's correct. I know this. Because I was able to obtain seed and but don't have access to a bush from where I could get cuttings. If you do have access to Elderberry plants (preferably Sambucus canadensis or Sambucus nigra) and live nearby (Cleveland Ohio area) or would be wiling to send me some cuttings or stakes (of course I'll pay shipping) I'd love to hear from you. Please contact me.