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| I might stratify some tree seeds (acorns mostly, & some maples) in the refrigerator - I've heard that ethelyne from fruit in the fridge can kill embryos...is this true? Are there safeguards I can take to ensure this doesn't happen? Due to critters I'd prefer not to stratify outdoors. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| "ethelyne from fruit in the fridge can kill embryos"...no, not a concern. Put your seeds in a tiny zip lock with just a small amount of sterile moist sand or sterile moist vermiculite, date them. When the suggested number of weeks has passed, take them out and sow them. |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Sat, Nov 23, 13 at 11:45
| Is "play sand" OK to use if I sterlize in the oven first? I'm just thinking that since I have 2 kids and a HUGE supply of that. |
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| Yes, if that is the sand you have it will be fine but it must be clean, no bacteria or debris in it. Damp, not slurry wet in the bag. |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Sat, Nov 23, 13 at 21:40
| OK - thanks. I'll bake it dry (it's wet from sitting outside) - then moisten it, maybe let it sit a day to drain/dry out a bit before doing it. Another question - what do I do with acorns from the white oak group? They sprout right away, but I don't want them to - I don't have anything to do with them over winter (no grow lights, too little natural light in the house). They don't NEED stratification, but can I delay germination w/o them trying to sprout or die on me? |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Thu, Nov 28, 13 at 10:52
| OK - red oak acorns (the whole group, Red, Scarlet, Pin, etc) - will they start sprouting roots when they're "done" stratifying? Or should I just go w/the suggested number of days and take them out? I've seen anything from 30 to 90 days stratification for just about all of them. |
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| While some plants will begin to germinate while still at the colder temperatures, most will not until they brought back to warmer. These are suggestions from the Clothiers site for different types oak and the information there is reliable. Understand that they are not the only method to encourage germination but methods that have been tried and have worked. You may be finding different stratification times as not all types oak are the same. Where he is suggesting planting outdoors in Fall, it may be because a warmer period before the chill is helpful, and some seeds will respond better to fluctuating temps like those found outdoors (changing weather, day night differences etc). Clothiers: Oak (w=week, M=month) Quercus acutissima , Sawtooth oak ,zone= 5 , direct sow outdoors in the fall |
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| Not all "sand" is made from silica. Most is, but I'd still check the bag or source documentation to be sure. Otherwise, pH could be a problem. |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Sun, Dec 8, 13 at 0:05
| Is perlite OK? I have a bunch of that, but I'm concerned it won't hold enough moisture. |
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- Posted by jocelynpei 10 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 8, 13 at 18:22
| Hairmetal, oaks are not all that fussy to start. Even used tea bags will do for stratification medium. Damp soil, damp sand, damp dead leaves, used tea bags, damp peat moss. The big thing is just damp. Too wet and they may go mouldy, but just damp, you can use just about any media. Damp paper towels even.... I've been starting oaks for years for our woods, and it's pretty easy. If you have a good site, they'll grow fast . We cut some of the ones I planted to make saw logs to sell for money when the kids got married...nice logs too. Jocelyn |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Sun, Dec 22, 13 at 23:13
| Here's another question. I have some Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus flava) in the fridge in a perlite/peat mix I ended up settling on. Instead of a bag, I used a washed to-go container that soup from the Olive Garden came in - about the size of a typical soup bowl with a clear snap-on lid with a tiny hole in the middle. The small ziplocs were too small to hold more than a couple buckeyes and the freezer-size bags seemed overkill (per my wife). A - would that be OK or will it dry out too much and/or possibly cause ethylene contamination? |
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- Posted by jocelynpei (My Page) on Mon, Dec 23, 13 at 6:45
| Aesculus is pretty easy too. You can try a damp paper towel in your take away container so they don't shrivel, or a used tea bag that has sat out to dry for a day so it's just damp. The crack near the blunt end can mean it is slightly damaged, not enough to worry, or that it wants to grow now. The sprout usually comes out the end opposite the attachment scar, but if the shell is thick, it will run around the inside of the shell till it finds a place it can break through. |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Mon, Dec 23, 13 at 7:04
| OK - thanks! They all sunk except for one when I did the float test, so I'll venture to guess that one with the crack is probably OK. I threw out the floater after dissecting it (it was white inside, but hollowed out). |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Tue, Dec 24, 13 at 9:25
| I tore a paper towel to fit the size of the container, wetted it, then wrung it out to where it is just moist - then gently pressed it on top of the seeds/peat mix. I'll just check occasionally to make sure it stays moist, and if it starts getting dry, maybe hit it with a couple sprays of water from a spray bottle. Is much harm done if I occasionally dig around in there to check for any signs of root emergence? This would go for any seed I'm stratifying of course. |
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- Posted by jocelynpei (My Page) on Tue, Dec 24, 13 at 19:57
| You can dig around gently, but the root tips are fragile and may break off, so careful. If they do break off, the seed will often send out new ones, but it will cost that seed energy..meaning a smaller seedling. There is also the risk of rot from a broken root, so don't dig too often or too much. You can start tipping the whole batch gently out on a plate to check for germination any time now. Some species will start about January, some wait till March. Pot whatever has germinated, return the rest to the fridge. |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Tue, Dec 24, 13 at 23:44
| My concern about "dumping" like that, is that I've read that, at least for seeds that have Hypogeal germination, that the root starts "knowing" it's direction before emergence, and turning it over after that point can cause it and the emerging stem to make a curly-q and therefore a poor/useless plant. I'm not sure what to "do" with them if they germinate too early - I can't really put them outside before around late March at the earliest, and my house has really nowhere with enough light that is safe from children, pets, etc. I do have some fluorescent lights. I suppose that could be a makeshift solution. Too bad I no longer have my MH HID light ballast & reflector. |
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- Posted by jocelynpei (My Page) on Wed, Dec 25, 13 at 13:48
| Don't dump them unless you can pot them. Pot with the little white sprout in a hole made with a pencil in the soil and pinch the soil around it. They will hold for a while, once sprouted, but the end of the root will rot off if you hold them way too long. Check on them, and see if you can set up something alternate if any grow roots about an inch long or more. You will be Ok till that point...after an inch, they need to be potted. If grown under low light conditions, all is not lost. You can put the spindly little fellows out in a shady spot with no wind for a few hours once things warm up. Each day, give them a little longer in the shade till they have about 3 hours. After that, move them to less shade, stronger sun. They thicken up fast. |
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- Posted by hairmetal4ever Z7 MD (My Page) on Sat, Dec 28, 13 at 8:38
| One of my buckeyes keeps getting a white fuzzy mold on it. It wipes right off, and the seed seems sound and not rotted. Is it doomed? What fungicides or even home remedies could I try? |
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- Posted by jocelynpei (My Page) on Sat, Dec 28, 13 at 16:53
| Wash it under the tap and repack the whole batch in new, drier, medium. The stratifying medium is contaminated with mould, so you need a new batch. use a little bleach and wash the container before putting all back in it. |
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