North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[John Smith <friendly27sw@yahoo.com>]

After I have dried apricot pits, I've put them in a
sealed plastic ziplock in a cool spot 65 degrees? so
maybe that prevents drying further and too much
drying.  I will admit I don't get 100% germination in
the spring by planting them in the fall, so if every
seed is important fall outdoor planting may not be the
best, it just saves a me a lot of bother when you
don't care if every seed grows. Of course I would
imagine climate could be important too, my central MO
zone 5 winter has been quite mild last few years and I
hill up my row 1 foot or so to improve soil drainage
away from the seed.

--- Dean Kreutzer <deankreutzer@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello all,
> 
> In my experience, storing the apricot pits dry until
> you wish to stratify 
> them is not a good idea; as the seed inside dries
> out as well.  
> Interestingly, the drying of seed seems most
> prevelant in larger seeded 
> varieties.
> 
> I cold stratify right away since I have some grow
> lights in the basement and 
> I am just way too impatient to wait!  What I would
> recommend is storing them 
> with moist peat moss until ready to cold stratify. 
> Mold and fungus do not 
> like to be jostled, so every few days move the pits
> around in the bag they 
> are being stored in.  Before placing them in cold
> stratification, clean the 
> seed and use a new bag & peat moss.
> 
> While planting seed in the fall is much more
> convenient, I have had very 
> poor results with germination and I have put too
> much time & effort into my 
> crosses to have them left to chance.  Actually, I
> baby my seedlings for 2 
> years in pots, then plant them out and let mother
> nature have a go with 
> them.  I have found that it isn't a fair assessment
> of hardiness by planting 
> out seedlings in their first year; as an extremely
> harsh winter may take 
> them out due to their juvenlity and not their
> inherent hardiness.
> 
> Dean Kreutzer
> Over the Hill Orchards
> www.overthehillorchards.ca
> Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
> USDA zone 3
> 
> 
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