Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Iris => Topic started by: JPB on May 03, 2010, 04:26:37 PM
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Last december I've sown this species (wild collected Central Asia - Kurt Vickery) and it has been outside since including a long period off frost. There is no germination yet. I read somewhere here that the seeds need to be treated to help them out of their "coats". Is this necessary for this species? Will it happen naturally f.i. next year of later when the coating gets permeable?
Thaks, Hans
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Wim, I am no great expert but before sowing I soak all my Iris species seed in water with a little washing up detergent added for about one week, changing the water each day. This is supposed to help to disperse the germination inhibitor that nature adds to the seed coat. I would not throw your seed out as it may well germinate next year.
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Dykes, the great iris specialist, somewhere mentions that he had one pot of iris seed that took 19 years to germinate.
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Wim, I am no great expert but before sowing ...
David, I realise all these Dutch first names can be confusing, but Hans is not me... ;) ;) ;D
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Hans i had the same seed from Kurt and no germination here yet either maybe next spring.
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Wim, I am no great expert but before sowing ...
David, I realise all these Dutch first names can be confusing, but Hans is not me... ;) ;) ;D
Are yes, the old eyes are going! I did mean Hans, sorry to you both.
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Wim, I am no great expert but before sowing ...
David, I realise all these Dutch first names can be confusing, but Hans is not me... ;) ;) ;D
Are yes, the old eyes are going! I did mean Hans, sorry to you both.
That's okay, David. I'm not sure if something like that has to do with old age (and btw, you're not that old, live starts at 50 they say so you're only 17 ;) ).
Anyhow, you should see me trying to remember names of people, even those of persons I've just spoken to... I always have trouble remembering names (and I'm only 29)
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I have had very good results with Vickery's seeds last year. Most of species germinated at high percentage after 3 months, one month outdoors reciving frost, and the rest in the greenhouse in absolute darkness. I think most important is to sow fresh seeds, old seeds could explain Dykes comment...
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I understand Kew now treat all juno seed with smoke as a matter of course. the waterd seed pots are coverd with a cardboard box with a small hole in the side. a bee smoker is used ( normally with eucalyptus leaves) to fill the box with smoke and the hole taped up. The box is left in place for a couple of hours. I have yet to try this but it is supposed to yield good results
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Maybe I can adapt Roger's fish smoker. If junos, why not oncos, as well as all protaceae and the Australian members of the pea family though many of those, especially Acacia germinate at the drop of a hat anyway. And why not try ANYTHING difficult to germinate? Astragalus coccineus for instance?
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I understand Kew now treat all juno seed with smoke as a matter of course. the waterd seed pots are coverd with a cardboard box with a small hole in the side. a bee smoker is used ( normally with eucalyptus leaves) to fill the box with smoke and the hole taped up. The box is left in place for a couple of hours. I have yet to try this but it is supposed to yield good results
One nursery propagator here always had great success with seeds of Romneya coulteri, causing dismay among all the other nurseries laboriously trying to propagate it by root cuttings. She would sow the seed in a shallow flat, then put (iirc) torn up newspaper on top, and set that alight. Same thing: compounds in smoke (possibly ethylene) help germination of Romneya.
Clean straw is another fuel I've seen mentioned in The Literature.
No bee or fish smoker required.
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Dykes, the great iris specialist, somewhere mentions that he had one pot of iris seed that took 19 years to germinate.
Including four years needed to get flowering plants, I invite you to watch this forum in the year 2033 for some great photos of this Iris ;D
Anyway, thanks for your suggestions. The seeds are in pots now and harvesting them for a "treatment" is not an option.
I know that ripe fruit produces ethylene. If I put a few apples in a bag together with the pots, the seeds (covered by coarse grit so the ethylene will permeate I suppose) may have a chance to germinate?
Hans
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I suspect one banana produces more ethylene than a few apples :-\
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(http://www.SmilieCenter.de/smilies/bananen/bananen_smilies_0010.gif) (http://www.SmilieCenter.de/1/bananen.html) (http://www.SmilieCenter.de/smilies/bananen/bananen_smilies_0010.gif) (http://www.SmilieCenter.de/1/bananen.html) (http://www.SmilieCenter.de/smilies/bananen/bananen_smilies_0010.gif) (http://www.SmilieCenter.de/1/bananen.html) ;D
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Hans, don't be too bothered about your seed yet. It would have been reasonably fresh from that source and it is quite likely I think that you will have some germination in your current spring. I find juno seed, even of rarer species takes a matter of months rather than years and if it is from my own plants, it is usually just a couple of months with high percentage germination.
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Lesley, indeed they are under pressure to show a fast-germination-trick. Together with some frits (F. collina and F. pallidiflorus) from Central Asia this is my first Iris to sow and I can't wait to grow these species (F. collina has germinated a few days ago! Yes!).
Maggi, I once put a bag with apples around a Nerium oleander that refused to flower (Ethylene also induces flowering). Nothing happened and when I removed the bag a week later, all leaves fell off :o
Ethylene, like other plant hormones, apparently has many functions depending on concentration. I didn't know that then...
Hans
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This seems an appropriate place to share my experiment on Iris magnifica seeds.
[attachthumb=1]
Hopefully you can see eight pots in the picture. The four on the left were 2007 seeds (stored in fridge over winter) on the right, fresh 2008 seeds, all sown in October 2008.
The four back (top) pots were a soiled based compost, the front (bottom) peat based (previously used, no prizes for spotting the cyclamen that has decided to germinate now).
The two pots on the left in the year groups had part of the seed lightly cut off the others did not, none of the seeds were soaked. Is that all clear as mud ?!
The number of seeds germinating in 2009 were :-
11 2 5 1
13 8 11 5
This year I had :-
11 7 5 7
12 9 11 14
So I had no new germination from the seeds that were cut (I actually lost one) but the uncut seeds have germinated more and this is also true of seeds I planted in 2007 as I have had new germination in these pots which were again uncut.
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I need to read that one through a couple more times to find out exactly what it means. :)
I think if I were to put a bag of apples or bananas under a bush to encourage flowering, the possums would eat them. "Oh great, she's putting out pudding for us." ;D
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I'm sowing all Iris seeds immediately (~1 week after) harvesting. Older seeds or those received from others are soaked 24 hours in water and after that I scrape with sharp knife small spot on seeds coat, opening white endospermus at minor spot. It helps excellently, otherwise germination really happens during first 5 years (by G. Rodionenko during 15 years) making quite difficult replanting as in pot coexist seedlings of various age (1 - 5 years) and still seeds which not started germination.
Janis
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Janis the next time you do this to your iris seed can you take a photo of the seed after your operation please.But on a better note my iris lactea var lactea from kurt have germinated.