North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>]

I followed Sarah's stratification instructions to the letter: I planted the 
seeds in pots, watered, and put them in the fridge for 6 weeks. Took them out 
for a couple weeks, nothing happened, so I put them back in the fridge. In a 
couple more weeks, they started sprouting in the fridge.

I wonder if this stratification is necessary only with stored seed. These 
things ripen their fruit so early in the season, they could get most of a 
season's of growth in if they started as soon as a bird planted them. Maybe 
cold-stratification is necessary only with dried seed, but really fresh seed 
can sprout immediately.

Oh, and Sarah mailed out "Honeyberry" seed, not "Haskap" seed.

Melissa

--- On Thu, 3/25/10, Matt Demmon <mdemmon@gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Matt Demmon <mdemmon@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Haskap seed
> To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Thursday, March 25, 2010, 8:42 AM
> Ernest, I've heard that Haskap does
> need cold stratification to
> germinate. And from your experiment, it sounds like they
> are
> germinating well after cold treatment. What information are
> you using
> to draw the conclusion that they don't need cold to
> germinate? I've
> had many stone fruits germinate in the fridge while being
> cold
> stratified, and chestnut too, while they won't germinate
> without cold
> stratification. I've just taken this to mean that they
> don't need to
> be returned to a warm environment to germinate like many
> seeds, they
> just rely on the length of time at a cold temperature to
> tell them
> when to germinate. Interested in your thoughts, because my
> haskap that
> I stratified in the fridge are showing no signs of
> germination after
> several weeks of being potted up at 60 degrees.
> 
> -matt
> z5 se MI
> 
> On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 11:30 AM, Ernest Plutko <ernestplutko@wiktel.com>
> wrote:
> > I obtained a variety of haskap seed last autumn.  I
> put then with
> > moistened peat in a sealed one quart jar.  Buried the
> jar in my
> > garden over winter.  Dug up the jar last week with
> the aid of warm
> > water to thaw dirt.  A few of the haskap seeds are
> germinating.
> > Turns out that haskap seed does not need cold
> treatment to germinate.
> > Just plant them when you get them.  I didn't do
> enough research.
> > I'll baby the sprouting seeds.  I usually have a
> black thumb when
> > starting seeds.