Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1998 17:22:30 -0000 From: "Adrian Arnold" <acarnold@acis.co.uk> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3816$foo@default> Subject: Seed Germination - stratification
Last winter I made some fairly crude germination experiments with a view to
finding out what type of stratification was the most successful. I used some
Sarracenia Leucophylla seed which I had harvested the year before (i.e. it
was a year old) and placed 50 seeds in a variety of different regimes: a
heated propagator (no stratification), outside (natural stratification),
moistened in fridge for 4 months and freezer both for 3 weeks continuous and
two weeks of switching the packet from room temperature and back to the
freezer once a day.
To cut a long story short, to my surprise, the worst results came from the
freezer treatments and natural stratification (no germination at all),
second best from the fridge (about 15%) and best of all from the heated
propagator (about 40%). A control pot in the greenhouse showed only one or
two germinated seeds. (One weakness in my method was that treatment
commenced at the same time meaning that actual sowing times varied.)
Some other Sarracenia crosses of the same vintage which I also put in the
fridge showed considerable variation in germination - some much better, some
worse.
I don't have enough seed to repeat this this year so perhaps someone else
may care to try something similar?
Comments?
Regards, Adrian Arnold.
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