FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

With some great guidance from the forum I think I have a basic grasp of seed stratification. I've still got tons to learn, but...I'm getting there. Thanks!

I plan to shoot for an 8-week stratification period. From what I understand this should cover my sundew and sarr seeds. I will be using the paper towel method for my sarr seeds. For my sundew seeds I'm debating between the water method or sowing "in situ" and putting the pots in the refrigerator. I like the idea of not having to worry about mold when using the water method.

My question and desire for info pertains to excessive length of stratification using the above methods and seeds. "OCD Me" is figuring things down to exact days (of course! ). We have some things going on in the family that may cause me to be me away from home and cause a delay in moving the seeds from stratifying to germinating conditions. I'm taking it that a couple of extra weeks, maybe ten to twelve weeks which would be pushing an entire month longer, will be ok for the seeds to stay in stratification conditions? I mean, nature isn't exactly on a precise schedule itself and spring comes early and late some years.

I don't want the seeds to start deteriorating from going too long in cold, wet conditions. So, going from an 8-week strat to a 10-week or 12-week strat, if needed...any (major) problems with that?

Bonus Question #1: Would a spritz of Bayer 3-in-1 on the damp paper towel where the sarrs seeds will be hurt them any?

Bonus Question #2 : In nature the seeds fall to the ground beneath and around the mother plant. They go through stratification laying in the damp debris field surrounding the mother plant or either are washed a distance away along with the miscellaneous debris from its small environment. The seeds basically stratify in sphagnum or in peaty soil...acidic conditions. Would it hurt to add a piece of live sphagnum moss to create a slight acidic environment? A pinch of peat moss? I've read a *little* about Gibberellic acid but I'm not going there and it seems that it used at germination time. I figure if I could toss a pinch of moss in with the seeds and it not hurt anything but might create a semblance of the plants natural environment it might be worth trying. Of course, that would add another possible source for mold/algae to start growing from. Crazy thinking?

Thanks for your patience and help, and I appreciate whoever subscribed me to the shock treatments at the local mental health office...they're great!!!!

Ed

I sow Drosera seeds on soil because getting these tiny seeds onto soil seems miserable. It would also be challenging to make sure they don't clump together. (A question of my own, is it OK if Sarracenia seeds touch while in strat?)

Question #1: If it's close to the 8 week mark, I would take them out early (6-7 week mark) if you go somewhere for a few weeks. You don't risk damaging the seeds and you might see germination when you get home, if you're lucky.

Bonus question #1: I don't know, sorry.

Bonus question #2: I would do it later because it could croud the seeds and choke them out. I would just add it when they reach a reasonable size and they are bigger than the moss

Hope that all made sense!

I've strongly considered planting my sundews directly in their pots and stratifying "in situ". The thought of mold problems tend to make me a bit shy. It would be great to take the pots out of the fridge and simply sit them under some growlights. There has been so many people touting the success of water-stratification that it's hard not to consider it. I figure you could take it a bit further and simply move the water containers beneath the lights and into the warmth and then water germinate the sundews. I dunno. I go down one rabbit trail and suddenly I come to another intersection or think "this trail looks familiar!" .

So you think it would be better to cut the strat a little short rather than letting it go extra long? I kind of agree with that. "Some" seeds will germinate without being stratified, so it seems that any stratification will enhance the percentage of successfully germinated seeds. It seems that going too long, though, could "drown" the germs, though....but, these *are* water-loving plants .

I don't think the sphagnum moss would grow much, if any, under the cold conditions (I could be wrong, though). My visualization (akin to hallucinations!) is that they moss might impart a bit of acid that may help erode the seed coat or plump the germ up in preparation for germination. Maybe even do something as simple as using a bit of water from my sphagnum moss trays in with the stratifying seeds. But, am I just inviting mold/rot in with the impurities? Again...I may be a bit whacky in my thinking.

Yeah really it's up to you, that's just my personal opinion. When I stratified my sundews, I barely had a problem with mold. As long as I check every few days, and open the bag to let fresh air in, they're fine. Now I've never tried water strat so it could be easier than I assume, but idk.

I'm not really sure if the moss would grow when it's cold or not. I don't grow my moss outside when it's cold and even if I did, I wouldn't see it because the snow would be in the way.

Yeah, I'd like to get them stratifying in the next week or so. But really, it's kind of hard to plan ahead right now so it will be kind of like throwing darts after being blindfolded and spun around a half-dozen times. It'll all work out.

Oooohhh, you said a four-letter-word. SNOW.

Unfortunately, I've got sarracenia seeds that have been languishing in the stratification chamber for far to long. Hopefully I can get them planted and under lights this weekend. I'll have to let you know how their germination goes.

Thanks John, that’ll be some good info.

I'm in zone 5, and I usually stratify Au naturel, so we are talking a good 5 or 6 months with no problems, except possibly mold. Assuming fresh seed, germination is always very good to excellent, so I doubt a few extra weeks would matter much, if at all. Treating with 3 in 1 is a great idea. No need to do the peat thing, but if you really want to increase acidity, mix a little vinegar with the water, and you should be good to go and no need to risk mold.

Thanks for the feedback, H!!!!! That all sounds good. I may just forget about trying to acidify the environment...it seems that folks have good results without it. I wonder, though, that in your situation you may have some hard freezing that halts stratification for a while.

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Sat Nov 05, 2022 2:42 am Thanks for the feedback, H!!!!! That all sounds good. I may just forget about trying to acidify the environment...it seems that folks have good results without it. I wonder, though, that in your situation you may have some hard freezing that halts stratification for a while.

Oh, I've used the fridge too (no freezing) and the garage (some freezing) and had the same result, as long as mold doesn't get into things anyway. That is the problem I've had esp. in the fridge, but that was before I used fungicide, I wouldn't anticipate those kinds of problems now.

Thanks for the added info! With this I'm not going to sweat it too much if I go a bit past my intended time frame. So, a preventive spritz of fungicide has helped thwart mold invasions...cool!