30 days is shortest time in print I remember seeing. I had some acorns sprout last week after just 7 days in the fridge. There should be different recommendations for time depending on species. But there will always be variations based on seed condition, age, moisture, etc.

Yes, it's not an answerable question. Only the seeds know.

For sugar maple about 60 days usually works. Although, IME there is a little benefit to starting indoors early vs. starting them outside. I do grow them in containers, but I wait until spring to do them outside. I haven’t seen where you get any additional growth for the season by starting them early.

depending on where aunts house is.. do you count any of the time on the tree??

Generally no Ken, in general seeds are protected from germination while attached to the mother plant by something like hormones. The hope is for seed germination AWAY from the mother plant to avoid competition. This isn't 100% true, but generally. So no, time attached to mom doesn't count in any way beyond maturity of the seed.

really ... go figure.. who knew.. lol ...

for the last 3 weeks... its been colder outside.. than in my fridge ... which made me think.. you would need to factor that in ...

i would have thought.. that at some point.. the connection between the tree and the pod .... would not be active .. just like an oak leaf.. that hangs on all winter.. until the bud under.. starts expanding in spring ...i suppose..

a dead leaf.. is a dead leaf.. whether it is hanging on the tree or on the ground ... the hormone job long done ... though i would suspect it might be much different in warmer climes ... and on evergreen plants.. rather than deciduous .... which i may have been equating with a seed pod ....

oh well.. learn something new every day ... whether i want to or not .. lol ... oh the heck with it.. im going to take a nap .. this learning something new.. gave me a headache ...

ken

Yes, we old codgers need a nap. However, to answer your quandary, the fruit/pod has something to do with it..and sometimes the seed coat contributes too.

I’m still wondering if maple seeds gathered while still on the tree would be ripe....

Floral_uk z.8/9 SU UK

yes, you can collect maple seeds from the tree and they’ll germinate. Depends on the time year and the maturity of the seeds. Maple seeds will be be kind of tan or brown and look like they’re about ready to fall off. I done this plenty of times and they germinated just fine. This spring I germinated some japanese maple seeds that I picked off the tree last fall.