posted
REad this from a website yet again. This is the text, but just in case, here's the website site The site also has a few other methods.
I've tried this method on a few seeds--belladonna, henbane, black mandrake, white mandrake, and various monkshoods--and it is promising enough and low-tech enough (no fancy chemicals needed) to make it worth trying with other seeds that need cold stratification, especially if they are not too small. Use a small jar (and old vitamin bottle works well). Put the seeds in and fill with cold water. Store in the fridge, and change the water for fresh daily. This is important--you're trying to imitate snowmelt here, and how snowmelt apparently works is to wash away germination inhibitors in the seed. Also, if you don't change the water, it will get moldy. After two weeks, take the seeds out and plant as usual. I usually plant in jiffy pellets and put under fluorescent lights until it's warm enough to put them outside. This method works well if you are within a few weeks of your last frost date. It's short and sweet. If you try this with other seeds, let me know your success (and failures) so that I can add the info here. Today I just read of another way of getting the cold water soak going - putting seeds in little muslin bags and then suspending them in the toilet tank, lol!
If this works, it's going to save time, but a bit mor work (to someone as forgetful as me).
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Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth My WebsiteMy Blog Plants: 1697 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: May 2006
| Seeded: 72.59.25.122
posted
I always forget about seeds that need real special care like that one. In one case I read somewhere that blackberry lillies needed to be chilled and they are still sitting in the butter tray in the refrigerator from this winter. I forgot they were there. I just saw them on monday when I did the grocery shopping. I needed to make cookies for OCS so I bought real stick sweet butter and when I went to put them away there were the seeds lol.
I hope they are alright in there.
* * * * Plants: 8557 | From: triangle, virginia | Registered: Mar 2005
| Seeded: 4.249.189.129
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