These mixed seeds have been in the fridge for a couple of months. I remember putting them in the fridge in late August. Are any of them germinating? To me the two bigger brown seeds look like they might be germinating? Should I leave them in the fridge or plant them in pots?
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Not yet to my eyes. However in the first photograph the clump of 7 seeds at the top left hand corner, might want gently move far right seed and have a look as it shows a protrusion that is cut off by another seed in photo.
Might be nothing but l would have a look.
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They have been in the fridge since late August, so they have had about ten weeks there, so today, 10th November 2024, I decided to plant them in small labelled pots outside. Hopefully any stratification that still needs to happen will be done by actual winter outside, and I will just leave those pots and see what happens. In the past I have planted rose seeds a bit randomly without labels or date records and then been surprised later on to find small rose plants growing. The main problem is not remembering where the seeds came from, although with my Rosa rugosa and Rosa arvensis it was obvious what they were when they flowered.
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Hopefully they will get the needed stratification while it is cool still. As it warms to the optimal temperature they should start to germinate: a lot will depend on the seed parents and how well they normally germinate.
For future reference about seeds germinating in the fridge: you will see a small protusion that is somewhere between white and palest yellow or green. (Those brown protusions are not germination, at least in any seeds I have had.)
Also, if you check them often when they are getting close to germination, you will see the seeds crack shortly before germination. It is a visible crack along the line down the edge of the seeds where the two halves join. This means it is about to germinate. You can plant it then, or watch for it to germinate and then plant it.
I will often take larger batches of seed and plant them once I have seen the first seed germinate. If I have a smaller batch of those seeds I may plant them one at a time as they germinate.
Also, some seem to germinate more readily in the fridge than others. If you think it has been long enough and they aren’t germinating you can take them out of the fridge and put them in a cool place (I use windowsills without sunlight). Often they pop like popcorn when brought up to the right temperature.
I will often bring them out for a few days and collect all that germinate and then place back in fridge for a few days, then redo. All depends on the time available and work willing to do. Like I said I just plant large batches in a tray and put them at optimal temperature.
Duane
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The circled seeds are all mature, while other small seeds that are not mature will basically not germinate and are ineffective. Rose seeds need to grow on the plant for more than 100 days to mature, and seeds need to be refrigerated for more than 2 months to germinate. Some seeds that look good are destined not to germinate. In my case, large-scale germination usually occurs in February, and even if you sow in August, the seeds germinate in batches with different germination times.
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I don’t know what “winter” looks like where you are, but be aware that seedlings need to harden off before they can sustain a freeze. Stratifying is mother nature’s way of holding off germination until after winter, for this very reason.
I am too late to weigh-in, but would have suggested keeping your container at room temperature 2 to three weeks, and pulling /planting those that were showing signs of germination during that time. Then you could have returned the rest to the cooler for a few more weeks if they needed it.
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It has been very cold here on the South Coast of England for the past week or so, but we haven’t gone below freezing yet (0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit). I think we have hit 1 or 2 degrees Celsius at night. We are due a warmer but wetter spell from tomorrow, about 12 degrees Celsius daytime.
Where I am it almost never goes below freezing, and when it does it is very briefly at night for a few hours. Most years it isn’t cold enough to snow. This is a mild part of the UK, considered a zone 9 for its mild winters, but without very hot summers as a zone 9 would be in the USA. Maritime climate warmed by the Gulf Stream, and Urban Heat Island effect. I think winter proper in its coldest time here the daytime temperature will be between about 5 and 8 degrees Celsius and night time between about 5 and 1 degree Celsius. Occasionally and briefly it drops to -1 degrees Celsius, and that is usually quoted with wind chill which we get being coastal, but I rarely see any frost on my plants. My garden is well sheltered from wind, and I don’t think my plants notice the wind chill factor, though we humans do. We just don’t get the freezing winter temperatures of a continental European or American climate.
This batch of seeds was only part of what I have planted this year, and the tiny ones were from hips that weren’t really ripe but I tried them anyway, I put them in with some from riper hips. Next time I will remember your advice to bring the seeds out of the fridge after a couple of months and keep them at room temperature for 2 or 3 weeks to see which germinate and return the rest to the fridge. It would be more fun to actually watch them germinate at room temperature rather than wait until next spring to see what comes up in pots outside.
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