North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Sarah Kehler Ewing <skkewing@yahoo.com>]

I'm wondering if any NAFEX members might have some advice on starting plums  
and Arctic Kiwi from seed.  I'm not sure if the Kiwi seeds need to be cold 
stratified and I'm wondering what others have experienced.  These Kiwis are 
the smooth skinned grape-sized ones with the tri-colour new growth.  And I 
recently met someone at our local fruit growers festival that had cracked 
their peach, cherry and plum seeds in a vice before planting them out in the 
fall to cold stratify over the winter.  I have grown 100's of chokecherries, 
Cherry Plums, and Nanking Cherries by just planting them in the fall so is 
all this cracking really necessary for the other stone fruits?  Ironically 
enough, I have had very little success growing Peaches and sweet cherries 
from seed.

Thank-you,

Sarah
Zone 3b, Edmonton, AB