Rubus chamaemorus

[Lesley Cox]

OK so probably mine weren't chamaemorus at all. I have the male clone which is present here and it's a great groundcover and it's likely we aren't cold enough for fruit anyway but I'd like to try.

[Hoy]

Hello all! I'm a newbie here but boldly jump into this discussion of cloudberry (molte)!

Like all seeds of berries Rubus chamaemorus seeds germinate well if you first eat the berries and then let the seeds travel all along your digestive tract before you collect them in the other end!

Some people are very fond of cloudberry and some can barely stand the smell! Anyway, the berries have to be ripe when picked and eaten (or made jam of), unripe berries are not good at all. Overripe berries are neither anything to boast of. You can't pick unripe berries and let them ripe indoors either - that don't work. The seeds are usually rather big - bigger than raspberry seeds.

[Maggi Young]

Hey Trond! Great to see you here!

I'm not sure your advice for best seed germination for the Cloudberry seeds is going to have too many enthusiastic followers ..... 

Plum jam, anyone?? 

[Hoy]

Hey Trond! Great to see you here!

I'm not sure your advice for best seed germination for the Cloudberry seeds is going to have too many enthusiastic followers ..... 

Plum jam, anyone?? 

Hello Maggi and thanks. I have been lurking in the forum for some time while reading many of the interesting posts here!

The advise works, I can tell! With other plants too. My first tomato plants grew on the dung! (We used to have and actually still have the old kind of toilet at our cabin.)

[cohan]

trond, funny that you mention that technique--i was thinking that was what they were likely adapted to...
first eating the berries is likely to 'nick' them, then some acids in the rest of the process (have there been any studies of some digestive acids used for germination?) i have  harvested modest amounts of some berries which have cleaned by eating--including rubus, cornus, maianthemum, amelanchier, etc--as long as i was not harvesting large amounts...lol
don't worry anyone i am sending seeds to-i spit the seeds into a bag after, i didn't follow trond's method and i washed the seeds after...lol

perhaps this technique would be more 'palatable' if the berries could be fed to some small pets (with dry not smelly droppings!)--birds or guinea pigs or something, and then their 'leavings' could be sown in situ!

[Hoy]

cohan, I think some research have been done regarding use of acids on germination. Hydrochloric acid is obvious and improve germination of some seeds at least. GA3 (gibberellic acid) - a plant hormone and no digestive substance - also improve germination.

I have to say I do not use the method I described! I do like you cohan, eat the pulp of berries (if not toxic) or, more often, let the berries rot naturally and then rinse the seeds.

[Lesley Cox]

Well many fruity seeds germinate well after passing through birds, and my larger dog is very fond of blackberries straight of the brambles. Not sure of germination rates there though. I'd rather not contemplate that.

[cohan]

Well many fruity seeds germinate well after passing through birds, and my larger dog is very fond of blackberries straight of the brambles. Not sure of germination rates there though. I'd rather not contemplate that.

lol--yes, i think bird or rodent poop would be better for sowing than dog
of course anything edible here is already being sown by birds--you have to race them to harvest anything at all, but no guarantee of where they will sow it! do budgies eat fruit?

[Hoy]

Cohan, is budgie the same as budgerigar?

(From Wikipedia)
I had one when I was a kid. That bastard ate everything, even my prettiest stamps!

[cohan]

Cohan, is budgie the same as budgerigar?

I had one when I was a kid. That bastard ate everything, even my prettiest stamps!

lol..yes, that's the one..i don't have one, but maybe for the sake of germination, i should get one  
or find someone who has one, and give them some berries in summer, get some fertiliser in return