LATE Pulsatillas

[cohan]

hi all--i have various pulsatillas to sow--i know it should have been done long ago, but some of the seeds i have not had that long (others much longer!)..anyway, i am behind on everything, it seems!
i was slightly encouraged to read that mark was sowing pulsatilla in november of last year..
i will be fine if germination is not great, as i have more of each species/form than i need, but it would be nice to have at least a few of each!

so, now the question, what is best to do with them? in most cases i have enough for more than one pot, so i might try different things-- i though to simply put some outside--it is warm right now--mid-high 20's for a few more days, but normal high is nearer 17, and we could have frosts any day now, and will have frost every day very soon..
alternatively, i could keep pots inside, A) til they germinate then start hardening immediately
B) indoors all winter, putting them on a cold window in mid winter for a bit of chill
C)put leftover seed into fridge or  freezer and wait til late winter to indoor sow

any thoughts, any hope?

[Lori S.]

Sure, lots of hope...
At this time of year, given my experience with our climate, you are probably best off waiting until February or so to start them.  I've only grown a few pulsatilla species from seed, but Deno's work suggests that stratification is not generally required for the genus.  (If some species are exceptions to this, that is, requiring stratification/seed conditioning, it would be great if someone would point out which ones.    
There is the risk of lost viability due to dry storage (again, Deno) but what the heck... it's no worse than having received dry-packed seeds in January from a seed exchange - ya pays yer money, and ya takes yer chances.  
Since stratification is not required B) would be unnecessary, and a good set-up of fluorescent lights (or even better, those horrible HD/halide lights), are really required to keep full-sun plants reasonably healthy through an entire winter with our low light conditions.  
Within option C), freezing is pointless (as freezing of dry seed doesn't accomplish stratification anyway, if that was the intent).  Simple dry storage or dry storage in a fridge until late winter is fine.
Or if you have plenty, direct sow now.

[cohan]

thanks for the encouragement, lori
having a few extra of several, i may try a couple of things...
someone elsewhere was just encouraging me to freeze some as a way to preserve viability, rather than stratify...
 
on that note, the Ontario Rock Garden (and HardyPlant)Society has a section of their site devoted to germination;
 [here's the link , but its not loading for me right now- look for 'germination guide' in upper right, if this doesnt bring the exact page- http://www.onrockgarden.com/ ]
 they list a couple of species as wanting stratification or fluctuating temperatures; esp P pratensis, which i have some of; however, Kristl offers a form of that species and calls it 'easy warm germinator' along with the others.. maybe she will read this and have something to say on that... i will probably put some of that out for winter anyway..

i also came across another article from ORGS where the writer makes the same point you made--exchange seed is often dry stored, and the writer had germination from most batches sown...

[Kristl Walek]

Cohan,
I normally dry-store all Pulsatilla sp. in the freezer, because I have a seed business and have to take more care, but short term viability in open storage is really not an issue with this genus. The idea that the seed will be dead in short order is simply not true (and mid winter or longer in open storage will not kill seed).

I always test all Pulsatillas the same way --- I first assume they will be long, warm germinators (which most are)---and I keep them in their petri dishes for 6 weeks (3-4 weeks is the normal time for germination of most species). By the 6 week point, any that still look sound (firm and healthy) but ungerminated,  are given GA-3 (known to stimulate germination of species such as P. alpina and the subspecies apiifolia), which will also germinate after a standard cold treatment.

I have never tested wild collected P. pratensis seed before this season. A member of this forum sent me wild P. pratensis nigricans---and it sprouted in 80% averages in 3 weeks. I am assuming it was identified correctly.

One thing I discovered quite early on is that spearing Pulsatilla seed into the growing medium (pointed tip into the medium) helps tremendously with germination and health of the growing seedlings. Perhaps this has to do with the moisture available to the entire seed.

If you have ever speared the seed in a pot, and left the tails sticking up---you can observe the seed actually spinning itself into the moist growing medium!!!!!

There are always a high percentage of seeds of this genus that are empty (normally able to detect with the naked eye). Don't bother with seed that doesn't look chubby and rounded in the center. It will not have an embryo. Friends have sent me seed that has been 90% just fluff tails with empty ends.

[shelagh]

What a pity you didn't post this earlier Kristl I already sowed my Pulsatilla seeds, they came from the same source as yours I think.  Ah well!  I shall wait and see.  Do you think I should put the pots into the fridge for a week or two or just leave them in the garage with the rest of the seed?

[Kristl Walek]

What a pity you didn't post this earlier Kristl I already sowed my Pulsatilla seeds, they came from the same source as yours I think.  Ah well!  I shall wait and see.  Do you think I should put the pots into the fridge for a week or two or just leave them in the garage with the rest of the seed?

Do you mean the P. pratensis nigricans seed?
But these germinated quite readily at warm......no cold needed.

[cohan]

Cohan,
I normally dry-store all Pulsatilla sp. in the freezer, because I have a seed business and have to take more care, but short term viability in open storage is really not an issue with this genus. The idea that the seed will be dead in short order is simply not true (and mid winter or longer in open storage will not kill seed).

I always test all Pulsatillas the same way --- I first assume they will be long, warm germinators (which most are)---and I keep them in their petri dishes for 6 weeks (3-4 weeks is the normal time for germination of most species). By the 6 week point, any that still look sound (firm and healthy) but ungerminated,  are given GA-3 (known to stimulate germination of species such as P. alpina and the subspecies apiifolia), which will also germinate after a standard cold treatment.

I have never tested wild collected P. pratensis seed before this season. A member of this forum sent me wild P. pratensis nigricans---and it sprouted in 80% averages in 3 weeks. I am assuming it was identified correctly.

One thing I discovered quite early on is that spearing Pulsatilla seed into the growing medium (pointed tip into the medium) helps tremendously with germination and health of the growing seedlings. Perhaps this has to do with the moisture available to the entire seed.

If you have ever speared the seed in a pot, and left the tails sticking up---you can observe the seed actually spinning itself into the moist growing medium!!!!!

There are always a high percentage of seeds of this genus that are empty (normally able to detect with the naked eye). Don't bother with seed that doesn't look chubby and rounded in the center. It will not have an embryo. Friends have sent me seed that has been 90% just fluff tails with empty ends.

thanks kristl! your site is always one of the places i check for seed info, as i know you are very conscientious about caring for the seed; when i noticed you didnt mention the seed of this genus being short-lived, i was encouraged..lol

i did already sow some, so now i have to decide what to do with them, i was originally going to put them outside, but if they are slow to germinate anyway, i may keep them inside under lights... i'll see how they do, and i have more seed i will sow in late winter..

[cohan]

i forgot to add: i did spear the seeds into the soil, and they were very active! it varied between batches, but many started rotating as soon as the seed touched the soil, and when i sprayed them after (even some time later) they moved more; again, it varied between various batches (diff species/forms, don't know if thats the factor or just age/dryness?) but some of them after a few hours barely had tails left showing, and even tails that are sticking up seem to have tightened themselves, so that the hairs are not that noticeable...

[Sinchets]

I had a lot of old seed (4years old) from 'P.georgica'- too much for sowing in pots- so I scattered some last autumn in the rock garden and I now have about 20 small plants in the surrounding area. The seeds I sowed in pots never grew.  

[cohan]

I had a lot of old seed (4years old) from 'P.georgica'- too much for sowing in pots- so I scattered some last autumn in the rock garden and I now have about 20 small plants in the surrounding area. The seeds I sowed in pots never grew.  

hmm, i wonder why?  another canadian gardener told me he gets germination in pots, but the seedlings always die, so he now direct sows also....
 for sure i am going to direct sow the seed i took from my own plants-- garden centre vulgaris....

[Lesley Cox]

I almost wish the seedlings in pots WOULD die. I always sow some from each colour I have and because they germinate so well, the pots are crowded. I tend to put off potting them up because there are so many and it's easier and more interesting to do all the other things of which there are fewer so I have multiple pots of pulsatilla seedlings, especially vulgaris, sitting around waiting and going nowhere. Other species are not so prolific though, but still germinate well in seed pots and subsequently grow on all right.

[Sinchets]

I wonder if weather conditions here prevent some plants from germinating well in pots. I have no problem germinating plants which need cold to germinate- they come up like cress after the snow melts. Plants which don't need a cold period seem to be better direct sown. They come up that way in flushes after the various rain storms we have in spring and summer. Whereas their kin in pots struggle to cope with the heat and dry weather, until they reach a size when I can plant them out. I'm learning to adapt to the conditions here in a new garden and to stop forcing my will on the plants I am growing. 

[cohan]

I'm learning to adapt to the conditions here in a new garden and to stop forcing my will on the plants I am growing. 

good advice for all gardeners, i think
of course i dont know what that is for here, yet, but i will find out over time

[Sinchets]

The biggest clue for me was seeing what came up from selfsowings and how well they did compared to pot sowings. Hopefully as you complete more of your garden there, it will become more apparent which way to go with it. 

[cohan]

The biggest clue for me was seeing what came up from selfsowings and how well they did compared to pot sowings. Hopefully as you complete more of your garden there, it will become more apparent which way to go with it. 

whenever i have more than a few seeds of something, i think i'd like to try different things--indoor/outdoor/direct sow..
and i expect as many different results as there are species...lol;
besides climate, i think different approaches need also be matched to gardening 'styles' eg--i know i'm a bit of a bad waterer--so an approach which minimises need for watering (baggies, direct sow, mulching, etc) will always be better for me than any approach that requires daily misting, for example...

now speaking of that, i've had a coffee break, (maggi may like to know i had a quite nice chocolate chunk muffin with almond flakes on top i got in town today..) and i think i need to go plant some things!