They need warmth and soil now to germinate. I usually put seeds in the refridgerater as you have for 6 weeks then I plant them in potting soil and put them on the window sill. After that sometimes they take a long time to sprout.

Mendicino's is right, they need to be planted now. I stratify mine in the fridge also but I start checking for germinations at about 4 weeks. If they're going to germinate in stratification they usually will do so at between 5 and 8 weeks. That's when I get the most germinations on mine. I'll keep checking to about 12 or 16 weeks at the most. After that they go into soil and usually outside by then. Sometimes more will germinate, sometimes not but I give it a try.

By the way, seeds from ebay are not always what they say they are . Most roses don't grow true from seed but some species roses will. I don't know if Rosa Brunonii does or not.

Thanks Mendocino & Seil.

Is it Ok, if I plant them in peat pods in a zip lock?

This way the moment I see growth, I can pot them up.

Some rose species seeds are much harder to germinate than the typical rose hybrid seeds.

" Straw cellulose-decomposing microbes and Sporotrichum Thermophile agent can break seed dormancy of the specie R.brunonii. at a significant level with the maximum germination rate of 13.3%. Humus soil plus activated carbon is most suitable for seed germination of Rosa brunonii with germination rate of 76.7%"

H Kuska comment: Activated carbon is probably needed to remove the germinating inhibiting chemicals.

I recommend organic enzyme household drain cleaners to break down the seedcoat

Use of Household Enzymes to Improve Germination

One often reads in the rose hybridizing literature that the tough seed coat of the rose seed is probably weakened in Nature by the passage though the digestive system of an animal or bird when the hip is eaten. This can now be simulated by soaking the seeds in common household enzymes. That this effect does work has been determined by a published scientific experiment which is supported by my own experiment. Recently another paper has been published in a reviewed scientific journal that found that the enzyme treatment works on other seeds.

Soak the seeds (or, if the blender was used, seeds and remaining pulp) for two days in a enzyme drain cleaner solution prepared by adding about 1 tablespoon of enzyme to 150 ml (about a half cup or 5 oz) of water. The enzyme drain cleaner should be one that states on the label that it will dissolve paper or includes cellulase as one of the ingredients. From my having poor germination from seeds that were treated with a liquid enzyme drain cleaner product that contained something that turned the solution blue, I recommend solid products that do not have a color additive. After the enzyme soak, rinse the seeds using a small mesh wire kitchen strainer. The rinse is important as longer contact with the cellulase containing enzymes may kill the seed or result in the seed being put into secondary dormancy if the enzyme drain cleaner starts reacting with your germination media and produces heat (this is another reason I prefer sand as my germination media, sand is inert).

Here is a link that might be useful: link for above first quote

This post was edited by henry_kuska on Wed, Jan 28, 15 at 16:42

Henry that's very interesting.
Bob I'm not sure that the ziplock is a good idea. I'm afraid the seedlings might get damping off disease. I don't know this for a fact though.

Henry thank you so much for the link and explanation.

Is the enzyme drain cleaner the only way to go, or could one use other ways to simply remove/ loosen the seed coat:

Such as sanding or nicking the seed/ hydrogen peroxide / beer/ contact lens solutions etc.

Mendocino, I'll try sand then....

- Bob

Sanding or nicking has been tried and (from memory) does help if you do not kill the embryo.

I tried H2O2 and it helped but another tried it and said that it did not. I think the different results were due to the use of different concentrations but since this is from memory, I cannot tell you the concentrations involved.

Many on the The Rose Hybridizers web page appear to prefer a nitrate soaking.

The link below found nitrate worked and coconut milk also worked (for a different type of seed).

http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0713/ijsrp-p19124.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: link to referred coconut milk experiment

Thanks Henri.

I think I'm going to soak 1/2 of the seeds in a H202 2:10 solution. and the other batch in a 15% coconut milk both for 24 hrs.

And then plant them and see what happens and post results if any....

- Bob

I hope you have luck in your germination activities. One caution is that if you are successful, I question whether you can successfully grow R. brunonii in Canada since it was not hardy here in Washington DC with Climate change. I may be wrong and you may have a great microclimate where you intend to grow it. Good luck and let us know about your success. Best