Topics:  

• Dealing with Temperature Extremes
• Enhanced Germination Techniques

Participants, in Order of Appearance
<danab> is Dana Brown
<ChristyAnn> is Christy Hensler
<Elsie> is Elsie Harrow
<SharonMcA> is Sharon McAllister
<barbj> is Barb Johnson
<judy> is Judy Eckhoff
<Jan1> is Janet Natale
<SterlingO> is Sterling Okase

Dealing with Temperature Extremes

<danab> does anybody else have a problem with MTB's, as in getting them
started

<ChristyAnn> Haven't had any problem with MTBs
<ChristyAnn> A few of the arilbreds have tried to croak on me

<Elsie> Mine are struggling in the heat this year

<danab> they are always really slow to start for me and Frosted Velvet
has just died for the fourth and final time

<Elsie> I have 2 in pots under the lights so far and they are slow to
start

<SharonMcA> right up there with Muhlestein & Peterson, to name a couple
of oldtimers

<Elsie> Sharon are you in New Mex?
<danab> oops where is Sharon?

<Elsie> The iris under the lights are picking up fast

<Barbj> We're definitely planning on putting the potted irises in the
basement with the lights on again this year
<Barbj> They grew really well when I planted them in December

<Elsie> I don't have a basement

<SharonMcA> have to use shadecloth to grow anything except arils &
arilbreds.

<ChristyAnn> Sharon, even spurias?

<SharonMcA> and always used shadecloth for the commercial beds.

<Barbj> Sharon, we should have used that when it was 100 in August,
after we potted up some things
<Barbj> mostly little ones
<Barbj> about half made it
<Barbj> but we didn't keep them watered

<ChristyAnn> I was wondering if they might do well in the sandier areas

<SharonMcA> haven't grown spurias for many years, but they predated
shadecloth so I don't know how well they'd do without it.  Would guess
they'd be O.K.
<SharonMcA> soil here is so porous that it's hard to get enough water to
anything

<ChristyAnn> same with our lower garden
<ChristyAnn> almost pure sand

<Elsie> Can you put any clay in the base of a bed Shron?

<SharonMcA> don't add clay, but dig each bed pretty deep and pack in
layers of vegetation and horse manure, then use a mixture of native soil
[aka sand] and potting soil for the top 6 inches..

<judy> Sharon-- I sure enjoy reading your post, I've learned alot

<Elsie> Me too Sharon thanks for sharing really!!

<judy> Dave was talking about the chemical used on the seeds to change
their makeup
<judy> and thanks to you I understood what he was saying

<SharonMcA> Well, the whole point of the web site is to share
information with next generation -- pollen-daubers, hybridizers, &
"just" aril-lovers.  So I hang around for your questions!

<judy> thank you !!!! I've shared your web sight with others wanting to
learn

<danab> the ab's I got from the source in Amarillo are finally coming up

Enhanced Germination Techniques

<Jan1> hey, should I be giving seeds some cold treatment already?
<Jan1> before planting I mean?

<danab> a lot of people give them refrigerator time Jan

<Jan1> think we need to here, Dana.

<SharonMcA> Mine would be getting cold stratification now, if I'd had a
seed crop.
<SharonMcA> seeds usually start sprouting in October, then I carry them
under lights until Feb. and line them out in seedling beds

<danab> Sharon, do you use embryo culture or other methods?

<SharonMcA> never stepped up to embryo culture because the simpler
enhanced germination techniques gave good enough results.

<danab> Sharon, what is your procedure that gets you seeds sprouting in
October

<SharonMcA> remember that October is fall here.  seeds naturally sprout
when the established clumps are breaking dormancy.

<danab> but when do you start your cold treatment and what type do you
use?

<SharonMcA> but I shell seeds into moist perlite and give them a warm
stratification treatment for a few weeks until it gets so hot they'd
cook.
<SharonMcA> by the 4th of July, the dishes are in the refrigerator.

<SharonMcA> When ABs break dormancy, the dishes would graduate to
diurnal cycling under growlights.
<SharonMcA> first seedlings would usually sprout in Oct.  Once in a
while, in Sept.
<SharonMcA> Nov. would be the biggest month.

 
<Elsie> Sharon do you use petri dishes?

<SharonMcA> Would dry any seeds unsprouted by New Years' Day, because
later germinating ones wouldn't be big enough to make the transition to
outside.
<SharonMcA> [lined out between Lincoln's & Washington's birthdays]

<Barbj> Sharon, what zone are you in?

<SharonMcA> No, just square freezer dishes.

<SharonMcA> zone is arguable!

<Barbj> ok, ballpark then...

<SharonMcA> winter minimum often drops below zero, yet there are many
days in jan where it's comfy to work outside in shorts.

<danab> a little warmer than here, then

<SharonMcA> summer temps often go above 110

<Barbj> Sharon, you're colder than us, we rarely get down to zero

<SharonMcA> not at all unusual to have 40 degrees difference between
daily high & low

<Elsie> us too what altitude are you Sahron

<danab> that is normal here too

<judy> same here

<SharonMcA> 4000 feet. 

<danab> I have messed around and not got mine in the fridge

<Barbj> High desert?

<Elsie> explains a lot

<SharonMcA> few nights get that cold, but it happens almost every winter
even though it isn't supposed to!

<Barbj> 30 degree difference is unusual here

<danab> I usually put them in October first and take them out
Thanksgiving

<SharonMcA> most maps show us with a 10 deg minimum

<danab> ours is -10

<danab> doesn't happen often but it does

<SharonMcA> In NM, high desert means quite a bit higher.  They call us
the southern desert.

<SharonMcA> even though nights can get quite cold, overall we don't have
enough chilling hours to promote good germination.

<danab> maybe that is what I ought to do this weekend while Vern is down
with the crud

<SharonMcA> we found it also helps to do the cold stratification on
seeds that are to be planted in-ground in January.

<danab> so if you have enough chilling hours naturally then you can skip
the fridge time

<SharonMcA> Right -- cold stratification is necessary only if the
natural method doesn't work!

<SterlingO> I tried stratifying some seeds in the fridge, it didn't help
too much

<Barbj> I'm giving them the bleach bath treatment first, and it's
killing all the aphids and they look great!


<SharonMcA> Sterling -- did you just stratify the seeds in the frig or
do the full diurnal conditioning bit?
<SharonMcA> I've found that cold stratification alone doesn't help much.

<SterlingO> huh? what is that sharon?

<SterlingO> I just kept them watered and refrigerated

<SharonMcA> The refrigeration cycle conditions them for the simulated
fall/spring cycle.
<SharonMcA> Whether you then plant them in the ground or process them
inside.
<SharonMcA> it's during the diurnal cycle that most sprout

<SterlingO> yes, I kept them refrigerated and watered but I didn't chip
the seeds or anything.
<SterlingO> They were IB crosses

<SterlingO> what is the diurnal cycle

<danab> we did the cold stratification, then planted them in pots and
set the pots outside. Most of our germination was in Feb-Mar


<SharonMcA> If you have a marked difference between daily high & low
temps, just putting the seedlings outside will do the trick.

<danab> we get the same kind of swings you do Sharon, 30-40 degrees

<SharonMcA> I use grolites in an unheated room because I don't want to
subject the babies to our extreme low temperatures.

<SharonMcA> that gives them until early spring to grow big & strong.

<SterlingO> wow, everyone goes through so much trouble to make seedlings
sprout. I just use prayer....

<danab> once they sprout I move them into Vern's unheated shop, which
has one wall of fiberglass to let in light

<Barbj> that would work

<Linda> Strange here, hard freeze last weekend and snow, tonight its 70
degrees and breezy.

<Barbj> (prayer AND fiberglass)