Mike423

Hey everyone, I have a bunch of seeds I need to cold stratify for next summer and was wondering if there was a quick easier way other than placing them in containers with moist vermiculite over winter in the fridge, cause I would have a fridge filled with seed containers

I heard I could place the seeds in a cold glass of water and place that in the fridge, changing the water every day for about 4-5 days and that would remove enough of the germination inhibiting chemicals in the seeds to allow a good germination rate???? Just wondering what the forum group had to think about that and if they had any better ways? Like I said I have a lot of different seeds to do but on a few of some variety. Thanks

-Mike

Mattbonsai

Hey Mike,

The easiest, and by far best way to cold stratify seeds is to pot them on and stick them in the garden and let nature do its job. Of course this depends on the seed, as I know in Chicago where you are, can get very cold in winter which wont suit some species.

Another alternative is to place them in between layers of moist kitchen / toilet roll, and put that in the fridge, this way you can get multiple varieties in each container (I use those plastic Chinese dishes) in the fridge saving space. Leave for stated time (usually 6 -12 weeks), then remove the seeds from the kitchen roll and pot up ready to go.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

-Matt-

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Phil

I would follow Matt's advice. I'm not at all into seeds but I know that you DON'T place them in water to stratifly them. Moist yes......in water, NO.

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centaura

I agree, I've been told about soaking seeds in water overnight to see which ones are viable (the viable ones sink), but I do not believe that they would sprout underwater. I'd go with Matt's advice - a cool, humid environment is often best.

-Centaura

Mike423

No they definitely wouldn't sprout under water. I was just wondering what people on this forum thought since someone told me that if i soaked the seeds for 4-5 days that I could then plant and grow them without having to cold stratify them since the inhibiting chemicals that have to be removed by cold stratification could be removed this way instead.

I would think soaking them in water for 24 hours and then placing them in a closed tray with moist vermiculite in the fridge would work. I was also told by another source that I could soak them in a bowl of water for about 2-3 days, strain the water, then place the seeds in a ziplock baggie and place in the crisper drawer in my fridge till spring.

centaura

As far as I understand germination, its a crap shoot whether they'll sprout with or without the cold stratification. You can try with a few, and they may or may not, depending on the species. I would wait, and keep them cold for a bit - partly because I believe that will give you better results, and partly because at this time of year in the northern hemisphere, there's not much that you can do with fresh sprouts indoors. I wouldn't want them to start now, since they'd have a long, dim winter ahead of them where their first growths will be weak and spindly. Unless you've got a greenhouse, or use high intensity lighting in your set-up. In our climate, starting them around Feb. or March would be better - then you could get them outside within a few months of starting, to help have their first year of growth be strong growth.

-Centaura

dankone

what kind of seeds are they? knowing what kind of seeds you have will help in determining what to do with them.

Mike423

Cranberry Cotoneaster
Japanese Cherry
Weeping Cherry
Trumpet Vine
Crab Apple
Misc. Japanese Maples

Do Chinese (Sinensis) Wisteria have to be cold stratified as well? I would guess so

Mattbonsai

Hey Mike, out of them, the only ones not to need it would be the Trumpet Vine. The rest would enjoy a good spell in the fridge, although tbh, the only one I would do in the fridge is the Japanese maples, the rest I would do in the garden, under a makeshift polythene / glass shelter. Keeping an eye on them for premature germination if theres a warm spell in late winter.

Cheers

-Matt-

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Mike423

I was told that stratification in the fridge would work better in aspects of germination rate since I live in Chicago and the winters get really cold. I was also told I could soak the seeds in warm water for 24-48 hours and then either place the seeds in a zip-lock bag wrapped in a moist paper towel or place in a tray with 50/50 peat and vermiculite moistened for about three months???

I was also under the impression that the wisteria seeds don't need be stratified but have a better germination rate if done so for 30 days.