[pbs] Allium seed germination
Antennaria at aol.com
Antennaria at aol.com
Sun Mar 9 21:57:11 EST 2003
Diane Whitehead wrote about wanting a chart that would better summarize seed
germination requirements of various Allium species. I too would like to see
such a resource, but must admit to being personally negligent over the years
keeping any germination records. So I will generalize.
I find that those species that have thin flake-like seed, or angular
crescent-shaped seeds, generally germinate readily when exposed to cool,
moist conditions outdoors, after 2-6 weeks.
Those species that have hard, round, pellet-shaped seeds, generally require a
longer cold period of stratification, and may require a year before
germination. The Melanocrommyum alliums (giganteum, karataviense, etc) fall
within this catagory, as do a large percentage of the western American
species.
A few comments on Diane's Allium germination records:
1.
>A.flavum ssp tauricum - 10 days. A couple which
>germinated in March 1998 flowered in summer 2002.
I'm going to guess that you held the seedlings in pots. I have a similar
experience with plants in seedling flats or pots, taking 3 or 4 years to
bloom. I have found that if the seedlings are planted out in the garden the
first year they germinate, they will flower the following spring. Regularly
I have beds of 1-year old flowering seedlings. The inflorescence size is
typically under-sized the 1st year, but in the second year you'll get full
sized blooming inflorescences. It might take 4-5 years to determine the
growth characteristic of each seedling, whether a good prolific clumper or
not.
2.
Please note, the following are almost never available true from seed:
anisopodium, forrestii, and suaveolens.
The first species is grown frequently (it's no great beauty) so it's
surprisingly why this species is always misnamed in the seed exchanges. I do
not believe that A. forrestii is in cultivation. After a dozen or more years
trying to get the true A. suaveolens, I was sent seed of the true plant from
wild-collected source years ago and still grow it to this day. It is very
likely that plants you've grown from seed are not true... typically A.
senescens usurps the name.
3.
>A. siskiyouense - 10 days
That sort of short germination time for this species surprises me. I've only
had it germinate after a much longer time, and have yet to bring a bulb to
flowering stage.
4.
A. splendens v. kurilense - 3 weeks
There is no such thing as splendens v. kurilense. I was very interested in
this name because it shows up all over the place, so I wrote to a couple
botanists involved with the genus Allium, botanists who have worked
extensively in the russian, mongolian, siberian, and asian flora, and they
claim that there is no such species. One such botanist that has studied the
"splendens/lineare/strictum" group more than any other; Dr. Friesen, confirms
that there isn't anything by this name. So it's any one's guess what the
seedlings will turn out to be.
Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
antennaria at aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5
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