Germinating tree peony seeds
 

Anyone got any good tips for germinating tree peony seeds? I picked up
some that were lying on the ground at Bodnant the other week, felt
slightly guilty but thought "well they will only get eaten by
squirrels or some thing". !-)

Im guessing they may require leaving outside over winter but any
advice for ensuring success would be welcome. Would the growing medium
be an issue?

Thanks in advance

Mark

Anyone got any good tips for germinating tree peony seeds?

Info from a recognized expert on the PBS list:

Germination of peony seeds has more mystique than hard fact,
but I'll toss out some observations. Imitate nature. Peony seeds
ripen in early fall/late summer and fall to the ground. They
germinate the next spring in the shade of their parent or nearby. The
best, easiest and laziest method is to follow this lead with NO seed
storage. Plant seed as soon as ripen (the seed pod splits open) and
allow them the warmth and moisture of mild fall weather, followed by
winter chill. Seeds germinate after a warm moist, then cold period.
Germination is in two stages, the first a primary root/radicle after
the warm moist and the embryo after a cool period i.e. spring warmth.
If seeds are stored warm, dry or cold, this cycle is interrupted and
germination will be delayed. In a prime situation seed planted in
fall can bloom in the third spring following.

Expect much variation in species in regard to demand for
warmth, cold, duration of each etc. Seed can take as short as 1 month
or over 6 months to complete their germination requirements and if
delayed expect another year or longer.

On 31 Aug 2004 06:03:16 -0700, Mark Fawcett wrote:

Anyone got any good tips for germinating tree peony seeds?

Plant them *now* in a pot and put it in an unheated coldframe for
the winter.

My impression (a weasel word which means I might be
hallucinating) is that peony seeds need winter chilling to
germinate. If you sow them too late in the fall, germination may
be delayed a year.

Moreover, if they go dry for very long, they may go into a
dormancy that takes years to break. I had some wild-collected
seeds of Peonia obovata, collected near Vladivostok, that took
five years to germinate.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]

"IntarsiaCo" wrote in message
...
Anyone got any good tips for germinating tree peony seeds?

Info from a recognized expert on the PBS list:

Germination of peony seeds has more mystique than hard fact,
but I'll toss out some observations. Imitate nature. Peony seeds
ripen in early fall/late summer and fall to the ground. They
germinate the next spring in the shade of their parent or nearby. The
best, easiest and laziest method is to follow this lead with NO seed
storage. Plant seed as soon as ripen (the seed pod splits open) and
allow them the warmth and moisture of mild fall weather, followed by
winter chill. Seeds germinate after a warm moist, then cold period.
Germination is in two stages, the first a primary root/radicle after
the warm moist and the embryo after a cool period i.e. spring warmth.
If seeds are stored warm, dry or cold, this cycle is interrupted and
germination will be delayed. In a prime situation seed planted in
fall can bloom in the third spring following.

Expect much variation in species in regard to demand for
warmth, cold, duration of each etc. Seed can take as short as 1 month
or over 6 months to complete their germination requirements and if
delayed expect another year or longer.

In my experiance they germinate and you get a root but its often a year
later befor you get a shoot, plant seeds out side and make sure pots are
rodent proof! then be patient.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)