Rock Garden Quarterly Summer 2012 - (Page 215)

seed, or collect something in my garden, I will sow it right away, or give it up to some well-deserving seed exchange. It does matter, however, when you start to build your expectations on how well a particular batch will germinate for you. RECAlCITRAnT SEED There are four basic types of plants that produce recalcitrant seed: bearing nut crops, riparian species, tropical species, and spring-fruiting plants. Don’t forget that these are general rules, not absolutes like change, death, and taxes! Seeds that can’t handle dry storage need to be sown right away – even if they still require cold periods. If the embryo dries out inside the seed coat you can almost feel the germination percentages drop. ORThODOx SEED The great advantage of orthodox seed is that it gives you time to work things out, sometimes only a little time, sometimes even decades. Cool dry storage is a prerequisite for some plants before the germination cycle can even think about starting. Some will tolerate periods of dry storage, but still germinate much better if you start on them right away. So how about a few examples? The first example that comes to mind are the Quercus species – their seeds, acorns, germinate almost as fast as they fall off the tree. The way I handle them is to float off any seed that would not be viable and put the rest in lightly moistened vermiculite for around 30 days in a refrigerator. At home it is safest in my beer fridge – you know, somewhere it will get looked at regularly – not in the vegetable crisper. Another classic example is among some members of the Ranunculaceae. If you get their seed into cold, moist, stratification within the first couple of days after harvesting, you are going to find that you are really doing something right. Germination is quick and easy. But, if you don't do this, germination can be very slow and very difficult. This can also often be observed in groups of alpine-loving plants. Think about it – these plants have some of the shortest growing seasons, and have to capitalize on every moment they can. I find that if you can get many of these plants collected, cleaned and sown in less than a week, you will be very surprised at how well they germinate. If they are forced to wait too long for the right germination conditions, then they can lock themselves into complex physiological dormancies. So here is where I find most of my fascination. This is the point where the propagator has to figure out just what you are working with – physical or physiological dormancies. There has been a lot of research devoted to just this point. Here is where all the magical tomes of guarded secrets are born. There are seed societies and preservation organizations working to crack all the secret codes and find ways to publish them. Here is one truth I have learned in my many years of study: there is no absolute. Keep good notes, and always try again. When I try to decode germination protocols, the first place I start is in researching what natural conditions the plants are exposed to. Do they come from areas where there is a predictable fire cycle? Do they have to survive long periods of cold? How about if they are delicious treats for some foraging animal? All of these questions are relevant when making Rock Gardening from Scratch 215

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rock Garden Quarterly Summer 2012

Digital Quarterly
Expanding Panayoti's Axioms
Photo Contest 2012
Photographing Alpine Plants: A Landscape Point of View
NARGS 2013 Election Timetable
Rock Gardening from Scratch - Seeds
Kim Blaxland and the Violets of North America
Viola pedata
Violas, Kim, and Us - A Celebration
Cooking Native Japanese Plants
Carl Gehenio Memorial Trough Show
Fire in the Hole: Phlox across Colorado
Rebuilding a Rock Garden in Pittsburgh
A Remarkable Garden: David Douglas and the Shrub-steppe of the Columbia Plateau
Bookshelf - Reviews
Swedish Dreams
Treasurer's Report
Bulletin Board
2012 - Eastern Study Weekend: October, Pittsburgh

Rock Garden Quarterly Summer 2012