Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 20:22:16 +0100 From: Clarke Brunt <clarke@brunt.demon.co.uk> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg669$foo@default> Subject: Re: stratification of D.californica
On 17 Feb 97 at 0:44, Russell Elliott wrote:
> was just wondering if stratification of this species in a
> freezer for a few weeks would help in increasing germination
> rates. I normally only do seed in the fridge, but several books
> I have read mention that stratifying Darlingtonia in the freezer
> is beneficial. I would have thought this would kill them after a
> month or so.
Usual answer: I don't really know. I'll trot out my usual story that
my own home collected Darlingtonia californica seed always germinate
within a few weeks if sown relatively fresh from the plant, even if
it is Autumn at the time. A few years ago I tried several packets of
D. californica from seedsmen, and never succeeded in germinating even
one, so doing *anything* different might be of benefit.
I doubt that the freezer will kill them though. I've stratified
Sarracenia in a freezer and still had them germinate (though I now
think this was a waste of time - the fridge works fine). I've sown
fresh Darlingtonia in pots outside (in England) - they must have been
well frozen several times, but germinated in the Spring (whereas the
ones sown inside only took a few weeks). Am I right in thinking that
Darlingtonia doesn't get frozen in habitat? Nevertheless the plants
aren't troubled by the occasional freezing we get here.
-- Clarke Brunt (clarke@brunt.demon.co.uk) http://www.brunt.demon.co.uk/ Seeds, Cacti in Mexico, etc.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 17:30:59 PST