Cold germination

[Bjarne]

I have some seed needing cold germination. The problem is that winter will soon be over, meaning the germination period will be to short. Can I use the refrigerator or maybe the freezer? Is it the low temperature itself that triggers the germination or does it need fluctuating temperatures?

[Martijn]

Dear Bjarne,

I always use the refrigerator. Try this: sow the seeds in a pot with free draining soil, like normal. Soak the pot and leave it at a temperature around 10-15 degrees Celsius for two weeks. After this, place the pot in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks. Sometimes germination starts in the refrigerator. You should check regularly.

Good luck!

Greetz,  Martijn

[Diane Whitehead]

It depends what the seeds are.  Silverhill Seeds recommends fluctuating
temperatures for many of their seeds, and when I visited South Africa in
early spring, I understood why.  One place was - 8 C at night and + 20 C
in the daytime, a 28 degree difference within 12 hours.

If you have only one lot of seed, you can put them in a pot in the fridge.
I think Europeans have small refrigerators, though, so several pots may
take too much space.

If you have many, you may do what I do:

I sow large seeds (like bulb seeds) in a small amount of damp soilless
mix in a small plastic ziplock bag.  I can put lots of these in a larger
plastic sandwich bag or a small plastic box.

[gote]

It depends upon what the seed is Bjarne.
I think most are OK in the fridge as described. Very few are known to need fluctuating temperature.
Do NOT use the freezer. Things are happening in the seed at fridge temperature. In the freezer they just stop.
Göte

[Bjarne]

Thank you for good advice  I will try to grow seed from five species of rosulate violas and seed from one of my favorite flower; Silene uralensis ssp arctica. I attach some pictures of S.u. ssp. arctica taken by a friend of mine. The pictures are taken in Spitsbergen (Svalbard) summer 2007.

[Gerdk]

Thank you for good advice  I will try to grow seed from five species of rosulate violas and seed from one of my favorite flower; Silene uralensis ssp arctica. I attach some pictures of S.u. ssp. arctica taken by a friend of mine. The pictures are taken in Spitsbergen (Svalbard) summer 2007.

Bjarne, beautiful close-up picture!

To rosulate violas: they germinate best in a fridge at about + 4 - 5 ° C after GA3 - treatment. There is a strange method by Norman Deno, who recommended GA 3- application with a toothpick (it works!) -
part of this method see:   http:theseedsite.co.uk/seedsowing.html
If I remember well this method was mentioned in this forum also.

Gerd

[Lesley Cox]

So Spitzbergen is Svalbard. I didn't realize this. Spitzbergen was a favourite place since reading the Swallow and Amazons books a hundred years ago (and more recently, just last year in fact). Their Spitzbergen was at the north end of one of the lakes in the Lake District but the name always conjured up great pictures in my mind.

Svalbard I only know as the home of brilliant arctic alpines and wonderful polar bears. A friend's daughter and her husband were crew on a ship which toured there regularly and gave a talk to Otago Alpine Garden group, simply glorious pictures, a magical - if cold - place. An item on TV last week talked about the problems Svalbard is currently facing with global warming etc. The polar bears are endangered now. Tragic if they were to go altogether.

[Susan Band]

Lesley, Have you not been reading your lastest SRGC mag. There is a whole article by Joanna Leven on her trip there

[Lesley Cox]

Yes I have Susan and wildly envious I am too. A great article which captures it all superbly.

[Kristl Walek]

Bjarne,
Thank you for the lovely picture of the Silene---some day when you have it established in your garden, I would love to beg a few seeds.

I have germinated rosulate Violas with GA-3---but then did not manage to have them survive in the garden.