At 04:57 PM 4/30/03 -0400, lou E wrote:
i stratified some seeds for alittle ofer 3 months. the acer palmatum have
started coming out, however the tridents not one has sprouted. after the
cold treatment i sowed all seeds into a flat. Does it take longer for
tridents? other thatn the possibility that i had dry and/or bad seeds.

Lou

Some species will germinate at 40F after the cold moist pretreatment,
others need to be raised to 70F for a few days to a few weeks before
germinating. Acer palmatum will germinate in the cold, but I can't remember
if A. buergerianum will, it's been a while since I started any. A friend of
mine does them for me. In any case, after three months in cold moist
environment, move them to 70F, there is no point in leaving them at 40F. If
you don't have any germination after 3 months at 40F, you probably have
dead seed (for A. buergerianum). Some species requires mulitple cold/dry
pretreatments, but I don't think this species is one of them. You can cut
open some seed coats and examine the kernel. If they are bright creamy
color and solid, they are sound. If they are dark or mushy, they are dead.
Sometimes the seed capsule will be empty and thus worthless. Concave
cutters are a very good tool for doing this without cutting the tips of
your fingers off.

Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++