Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Ian Young's Bulb Log - Feedback Forum => Topic started by: annew on August 20, 2008, 10:55:46 PM
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That's a good tip for cleaning trillium seed, Ian. Thanks. :)
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Thanks for another fascinating account. Gorgeous Trillium seed pods. I wish the slugs and snails would leave my trilliums alone long enough for them to set seed >:(.
Are there really no ants in your garden :o ? I was assuming ants were pretty much omnipresent in this country.
Best Wishes,
Craig
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Yes, agree with Anne, good idea with the sand and trillium seed pods, I always seem to get in a mess or resort to tweezers which is a bit slow. But is it OK to remove the whole pods and complete the ripening off the plant, to stop whatever takes the seed?
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Craig in all the thirty plus years we have been in this garden I have only ever seen the odd loan ant, I know other people not far away have ants.
Diane, you raise a fascinating question about removing the seed pod early and I do not know the complete answer.
I do believe that you can remove seeds from many plants before they look ripe to our eye. We generally assume seed is not ripe until it looks to be going brown as it dries out and refrain from picking seed in the green.
The seed must be ready to part from the parent before it starts to go brown and the browning process is caused by the parent shutting down as the seed dries and prepares to be shed.
(There is a good research project here for someone with several years on there hands!!)
Having said that I also believe that certain if not all bulb seeds continue to go through a development process after dispersal. I used to place all my garden collected seeds into a fridge as soon as I collected them and I got an OK germination now I store most of my bulb seeds in a shady potting shed for the few months until they are sown and I get a better germination.
The conclusion I draw from this is that the cooler temperature of the fridge inhibits this continued development.
I do use a fridge for long term storage of seeds.
Back to Trillium seeds I sowed them as soon as they were cleaned and they are outside taking the weather as I write.
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Beautiful C. hederifolium album ! :o :o