Iris species

[Hans A.]

Hello Fred,
welcome to this great forum.

If I have very few seeds I normally let them germinate naturally,  it will need more time ( sometimes there is some germination the first autumn) - but you do not have the risk to loose them.
Also when I should have more seeds of a species and use other germinationmethods I always sow about 5 seeds in a pot as a backup.

[BULBISSIME]

Great !
many thank's to all of you for help.
I'll leave my seeds in their pots, but as I still have I. barnumae to seed, I'll try half in pot, half with cutting 
Wait... and see !

[Hans A.]

Hello Fred,
this just as an example for a "backup", the photo I took today.
I sow 6 seeds in october 2006 - four of them germinated in autumn 2007. the embryo culture of six other seeds failed and I lost them -  and so I am glad I have sown half of the seeds in pots - i think the left two seeds still will germinate.

[Rafa]

I aslo had a big disaster this year with my seeds experiments, and I lost most of them.... I enclose pictures from John Lonsdale to show how to germinate correctly, not like me!!!  

[Rafa]

more pics

[Lesley Cox]

Oh God!!!

[ChrisB]

Very impressive, Rafa.  This year was my first to try iris seed, and one or two germinated, but nothing like this.  Wow.

[BULBISSIME]

rafa,
your pictures are my dream,
this one is my reality ....

[JohnLonsdale]

A bit of background to the images that Rafa kindly posted.

The seeds are all Onco pure species from a variety of sources and most have been refrigerated since I got them – sometime between late last fall and this summer.  Seeds were:

1) Soaked for 4 days in water, sterilized and cut on September 3rd
2) Refrigerated at 4ºC in Perlite in bags until September 21st
3) Kept in the dark at about 16ºC until September 27th.  This was the date the pictures of the germinated seeds in the bags were taken. 

4) On September 27th each seed was placed into individual cells in the trays you see.  Every seed was sown, even if the embryo was very short or not yet visible.  Most were 72 cells per tray; the one shown is 60 cells per tray.  Each cell contains compost (50:50 BioComp BC5: Perlite) up to about 1cm below the surface.  The seeds were ‘sown’ onto the surface of a 1cm layer of sterilized coarse sand on top of the compost and then covered with a 3mm layer of granite grit, put in the greenhouse in filtered light and soaked from overhead with a sprinkler.  They were then kept moist. 
 
Pictures 153, 154 & 157 were taken on October 5th.  The first green shoots had appeared 3 days after ‘sowing’.  The other pictures of the trays were taken on October 17th or so, nearly 3 weeks after sowing.  None of the seedlings have been fed yet, but I’ll start weak liquid feeding in early spring when they wake up after their winter ‘dormancy’.  There are still a good number of seeds which are making leaves and are not quite visible in the photos.  Based on what I see now I expect to get plants from at least 65% of the seeds I originally cut – about 350 seedlings from 550 sown, so far. 

The other pictures are of more mature plants, including many seedlings that were germinated last year and were potted up into 6cm or 10cm pots in late September.

Last year I left the germinated seeds in the bags longer, where they are more prone to fungal and bacterial disease, especially if they are continually being opened and closed.

Best,

J.

[Rafa]

John, thank very much you for posting this valuable information. 
You have precisely mentioned one of the possible causes of my failure this year, I left the plastic box opened many times to get rid of the excesive moisture of the Vermiculite (which retains a lot of moisture ).

I definitively won't use Vermiculite anymore, and I will keep using Perlite, like I did last year as it gave such good results.

As I told you in my last e-mail, in spite of your good advice it seems that it was all too late and everything was contaminated... just 5 or 6 seeds survived.

[Paul T]

Oh God!!!

Lesley,

That pretty much summed up what I was thinking too.  Where would they all go when they grew on!?    And then reading some of the names a green haze started to descend.... some treasures in there, that is for sure.  John, that is some set up.  Well done!! 

[Hans A.]

John, it is fascinating to see your results of forced germiation - I doubt it can be done in a better way! 
This pictures animate me to try it this way - even if I think the pictures 6,7 and 8 of rafas first mail do not show results of FG of this year .

Fred - even it is fantastic to get many seedlings in a short period of time by using embryo culture or forced germination - the losses I have are (still ) much higher than in using natural germination - you just may need (sometimes a lot of) pacience...

[arillady]

John what a fantastic system you have - you have certainly mastered the art of germination. So glad that Rafa posted your photos and you outlined the method you used. I will definitely be trying your method next season. Your excellent presentation should be included in the next ASI Yearbook. It might also entice some SGRC forum members to grow arils and maybe join the ASI. If we can get more members who can grow the aril species there will be much more likelihood of a "backup" of sorts for some of the species.
Pat T

[Maggi Young]

This is precisely the sort of photo record and info that is fantastic to see..... to assist and inspire others to get sowing and growing... thanks to Rafa and John!! 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

So much skill and knowledge gathered in this little thread !! 
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to show this Rafa and John !