I’ve decided to try Kim’s method on my current batch of hybrid persica seeds. I like the idea of short term drying the seed, and then popping the dry achenes into the sealed baggy… Wish me luck!
Good luck George! I’d think the dry storage would be appropriate for the Persica seed. Mimicking Nature should provide decent results. Kim
Kim,
I have thought hard about the whole thing, over the last 2 years or so, and read/considered lots of great info about this topic shared by y’all on this site.
Added to this are my own “back yard” experiments and observations with dry embryos in embryo culture. This embryo work suggests to me that maybe very prolonged drying of achenes is detrimental to quick germinations therafter. A kind of “super dormant” state results (if not irreversible embryo damage to some of those super-dried embryos??).
My hunch is that, (as a few others have also alluded here), brief drying of the achenes (like one day or so) may do no harm and even possibly shift the balance towards desirable microbial colonization.
I feel these may possibly be valid assumptions, but in any case, again thanks to y’all for offering your observations… I mean, right or wrong, how else can we perfect this art/science!
Hi George,
FWIW, I had seeds of ‘Tigris’ and ‘Tiggle’ that were forgotten for a year in the bottom of our refrigerator. The hips were hard and dry. The seeds did not look viable after extraction, but germination was about 30%.
Jim Sproul
Jim, based upon your experience and best guess, had they been fresh and treated with damp storage, what would you have expected the germination rate to have been please? Thanks! Kim
Hi Jim!
That is great to know!!
This adds further weight to the hope that some dry rose seeds, placed in the fridge (but not under damp or wet conditions), do ok!
Also…maybe the cultivar type makes a difference as well… presumably persica being from more arid regions is better suited to such pre-germination conditions as those refrigerated/dried persica hybrid seeds… hmmmm
Hi Kim, I think germination would be about the same. I should say too, that when these seeds were finally exracted from the dried hips that they were put in damp paper towels as per my usual routine at the time. Also, I should say that the newer fertile Hulthemia seed parents that I have been using are treated just like roses (moist cold storage), and germinate very well.
Jim Sproul
George,
I would like to combine your mad baby food jar experiment with the charcoal experiment linked by Henry.
My idea is to put the seeds into japanese cotton tea bags and these bags into a 20 liter container filled with water in a fridge at 5 degrees Celsius for 10 weeks.
In the container there is an electric aquarium water filter with charcoal and additional air supply.
Hm - crazy…
Cool and clean aquarium for rose seeds.
Rene
Hi Rene.
Yup, I had some fun with some nuts ideas last year!
In all seriousness, I still find it rather remarkable, even almost unbelievable to me, that some rose achenes have survived chilled underwater immersion for like 8 weeks and went on to germinate! (OP Iceberg)… I was testing extreme conditions, and it proved that some achenes can withstand such adversity. I imagine a lot will drown. It can be fun to mess around with such things if you have time and motivation, but if it were me, I would only use spare “unwanted” seed…have fun and let us know what happens!!