Germination Page

What it means…? – translations for terms used in our Seeds Shop

Warm germinators: are species that will germinate in a few days to a couple of weeks, when adequate moisture and temperatures of +/- 20-21˚C are provided. These are mostly annuals, species from warm climates, and also various perennials. In general (but not always), such the seeds require a few months of dry storage before being sown in order to germinate well (post-maturation). There are some species which will actually germinate better at lower temperatures, around 15 C.
We provide a list with such  ‘easy to germinate’ perennials for those who want immediate results and beginners.

Moist-cold stratification: this is the most common requirement for germination of many temperate species. In nature, such seeds would germinate in the spring after passing through the winter cold. When we sow in a controlled environment, most of these seeds will germinate after being exposed to 1-3 months of cold-moist storage.  For many species, a short period of cold-moist stratification (1 month) even if not absolutely necessary, will improve the uniformity of germination. So, it is always a safe way to start any seeds.

Warm-moist stratification: is needed as a first stratification cycle by most temperate species that are flowering early in the spring and form their seeds by early summer (like Sanguinaria, Erythronium, Trillium…actually, most of the species with recalcitrant seeds fall in this category). Some Lilium and Paeonia species also need first a warm-moist period to form a bulbil/rootlet. Other species need first a warm-moist period for the development of an immature embryo (Hepatica and various other Ranunculaceae).

Multiple cycles of warm-cold stratifications: are needed by species that have combined dormancy ‘problems’, which may include immature embryos, very hard seed or fruit coats; most often there is a combination of various types of dormancy.

For the hobby gardener that lives in a temperate region, the best and easier way is to sow these species as soon as they are received/or at the recommended time, place the pots in a safe spot outside, water regularly during the warm season, and… be patient! Some species will germinate in the first year, but there are cases when germination will occur in the second or even the third year. Recommendations for precise lengths of time needed for each warm-cold cycle cannot be given in fact, because we can have huge variations depending on the seeds source, mother-plants locations, and various other factors that may influence the dormancy breaking.
Sowing and growing plants from seeds cannot be treated like other very precise (boring) activities. 

Moist storage: is not actually a treatment for germination, but a requirement by various species which have what’s called hydrophilic seeds, which means they do not tolerate dry storage, at least not for long periods of time. So, they either have to be sown after collecting, or kept moist until sowing. The moist storage requirement can also be coupled with other treatments.
There are many lists of species that requires moist storage but not everyone agrees 100% on them. We have tried from the beginning to provide moist storage for the most commonly accepted species. The moist-packed seeds category is quite extensive by now! and there are many writings on our blog about these species.