Hi Jools, Those seeds I started 3 weeks ago are doing pretty well. I took 10 seeds, gave them (2) cycles of freeze/thaw, then chipped them as I described earlier. Of the 10 seeds, 2 germinated within 72 hours, and by day 10 there was a total of 7 germinated. Maybe the others were duds, or maybe they weren't chipped right. Who knows? In answer to your question, I use a gritty mix for the seedlings too, and planted the germinated seeds 1/4" deep, including extra perlite to cover the seeds to help retain moisture, in a terra cotta community pot. A total of 6 finally made it (pictured). I put a maximum of 5 seedlings in a pot. In a few days these will go individually into 4" pots, and after a couple weeks of recovery, I'll start acclimating them to outdoors. From here on, I'll overpot, just to save time. Community pot==> 4" pot==> 8" pot==> ?? When my larger seedlings (4" -- 8") first went outdoors, I was more than a little concerned bc all the plants developed tiny brownish freckles, which I thought was either fungal or bacterial, and I was all set to treat these when they spontaneously cleared up, with no damage to the leaves. So far, the temperature here has stayed below 85ðF, and I have each terra cotta pot sitting in a dish which serves as a water reservoir, with that whole setup sitting in a larger container to shade the clay pot from direct sun. Remember, if the roots hit 85ð, the plant is toast. So far, this setup creates evaporative cooling, and I'm pretty compulsive about checking the pot temps, especially on the warmer days. I don't have a good spot to plunge these in the ground. As long as there's water in the dish, the unglazed pot will provide root cooling, and the plant can have its full sun. If the local temperature ever gets too high though, I won't hesitate to put the plants in the basement for a few days. I hope this helps. These are methods that seem to work so far for me, but I'm still experimenting.... Rick in coastal Connecticut

Thank you for all the great feedback. My primary worry has shifted from temperature to root rot. But I guess there isn't a whole lot I can do about drainage until I re-pot or get another one to practice on. I'm hoping by refraining from watering until a moisture meter reads dry at the middle of the pot will help it from drowning. I just have to hope that the wetness before it begins to dry out isn't too much for the plant. If it does do well, then that is good news and means the roots can handle high moisture levels for 2-3 days. @Stush I don't have any good ground spots with the right lighting conditions to bury it. Plus I wanted to try moving it to a full sun position when winter nears. @wanto I'm a nut when it comes to growing things that shouldn't be grown in my local environment. I tried to think about everything that could logically help the plant without needing daily attention. I will definitely come back in later months with updates. This forum was my primary source for ideas, supplemented by the expert knowledge of the head propagator at UC Berkeley botanical gardens. @david I was thinking about moving it to a full sun position when winter and rain come. But I will keep it very tilted to avoid the crown rot I see reported on the forums.

Hi,I new here,but I wanted to share my Experience and I got seeds from same seller at ebay.Andrea*seeds,It makes sense use the stratification process,because Aloe Poly live in High elevation were cold and snow are present,They get this naturally in the wild, lying on the ground, being half buried by fallen leaves, the digging of animals, and frost heave. Without this period of cold and wet, certain seeds, won't germinate at all. Instead, they continue to wait inside their shells, asleep. I have try several forms to germinate this seeds stratification (usually just called stratification or cold stratification)is this was the only one that work for me I have pictures of my seedling with a high germination from this seller. There are six methods of cold moist stratification to choose from: cold water soaking, refrigeration, fall planting, winter/solstice sowing, outdoor treatment, and snow planting. The one that I use was the refriration,I've gotten so reliant on this method that I've forgotten that previously everyone simply planted seeds that need cold stratification outside once it got cold in the fall,For the cedar chips included at the pack,Its well know the ability to repel insects,and a lot of people like me use them as and insecticide for the young seedling since chinosol or other insecticides are not safe for the young ones,in my personal opinion,I don't mix with the soil,just sprinkle over once seeds germinate and are out of the germination box,is safer,when seedling are a litlle stronger regular insecticide will be ok. A bonus to using cedar is that it breaks down over time, and adds some nutrients to your soil. It doesn't hurt to use it,Hope this help,and happy growing!!!

I know this is a very long shot...but, does anyone have this plant to trade? I have wanted one for a long time. Please let me know so we can work something out. Thanks a lot