North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[<jelie@new.rr.com>]

Hey Lee,

Sure, no problem with sending some seeds your way.  Just send your address to 
me outside of the listserv and I will get them in the mail.  

I have to admit that I got the idea to order some igde/senjed fruit from the 
Plants for a Future website.  There was some discussion on whether they were 
actually elaeagnus or some other fruit so I decided I would check it out for 
myself.  I found they were in fact elaeagnus and knew I would plant out a 
few.  The soaking regimen was roughly that recommended for apple pippins by 
Phil Forsline of the USDA.  I soaked the seeds for about 4-6 days (sorry, 
wasn't keeping records) while repeating water changes.  I then placed them in 
with a damp paper towel in a plastic bag and monitored.  I periodically 
disinfected them with a 1:10 bleach solution as needed.  At around 3 months I 
started planting them out but had no germination in the refrigerator up to 
that time.  A few that remained were germinating in the refrigerator at 
around four months.  I transplanted the rest of the seeds outdoors and have 
had good success with the seedlings coming up with no noticeable signs of 
disease or pests so far.

My Trebizond Dates from One Green World seem to be holding their own so far.  
I transplanted all of them into larger containers after dividing some of the 
trunk sections.  They seem to have had a decent year.

Enjoyed your Uncommon Fruits

Jim Elie
Green Bay WI
zone 4/5



---- Lee Reich <lreich@hvc.rr.com> wrote: 
> Hi Jim,
> 
> Any chance that I could get a half-dozen or so seeds of igde from you  
> for planting? Years ago I got some from the USDA but they never  
> germinated.
> 
> In my book about uncommon fruits, I wrote that the seeds did not  
> germinate readily, often waiting until the second season unless they  
> were nicked, soaked in acid, kept warm and moist for a few weeks,  
> cracked out of their seed coats, or washed for 6 days to leach out  
> inhibitors. Sounds like you found none of this to be true. (Maybe I  
> read my own book too closely about how hard the seeds are to germinate!)
> 
> If your seedlings are growing well, you're probably home free.  
> Whenever I've put in plants of King Red, they've always collapsed  
> before the end of their first season, something Hector Black, in  
> Tennessee, also noted.
> 
> Lee
> Lee Reich, PhD
> http://www.leereich.com/
> 
> Books by Lee Reich:
> A Northeast Gardener's Year
> The Pruning Book
> Weedless Gardening
> Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden
> Landscaping with Fruit
>