Fresh Corydalis seed

[Robert]

I live in California, U.S.A. and have difficulty finding fresh seed of Corydalis sp. that will germinate well. Fresh seed always works well for me, older seed rarely. I'm looking for easy to grow species such as C. solida, malkensis, nudicaulis, etc., simple open pollinated seed. Nothing fancy. Any ideas?

[Maggi Young]

Hi, Robert!  I suspect most of us in the Northern Hemisphere have either already sown our Corydalis seed or have sent it into the Seed Exchanges..... but in a few months you may get some offers.

[Robert]

I'm patient. I'm just trying to get a head start on this project.

[Gene Mirro]

I have had good luck germinating dry Corydalis seed that is not too old, or that has been stored dry at 0 degrees F (freezer temp).  But you need to give them a few months of warm temps after you sow them, followed by a few months of cold temps (but not below 25F).  I have had difficulty with some lots of moist-packed Corydalis seed.  It may be that they need a few months of dry storage to break dormancy.  They may also be damaged by high temperatures during the dry storage period.  In nature, if they are exposed to sunlight after they disperse, they may die.  If insects carry them underground, they may survive.  I suspect that the requirements may vary from species to species.  In the case of the western US species like C. scouleri, they definitely will germinate after a few months of dry storage.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1442-1984.2012.00380.x/abstract  You can't read the entire article unless you are a member.  But the abstract gives you some good information.  If you had unlimited amounts of time, you could do side-by-side experiments and find out what all the variables and requirements are.

[Robert]

Mr. Mirro,

Thank you for the feedback. Yea, I haven't had good luck with the moist pack seed either. As a matter of fact, I've never had germination from seed exchange seed, however I do keep the seed pans around for a number of years to see if anything might come up. I also experiment with "creative ideas" such as soaking or watering the seed with terminal willow shoots soaked in water. i.e. a crude form of growth hormone. This seems to have helped with lily seed that had been in the freezer for a few decades. I didn't have a control, so who knows. Anyway, I get good germination with Corydalis flexulosa types coming up around the existing plants. This is a new project for me. I enjoyed the challenge and the learning experience. Thank you again for information!