Long time readers of this discussion list will perhaps remember that I have posted what follows in the past; a lifetime of growing plants from seed has provided many bits of information. Here are several highlights. All of the seed mentioned has been stored in a household refrigerator (which used to be the family beer fridge). Seed of commercial Dianthus barbatus purchased in 1994 and stored at room temperature for several years before being transferred to a refrigerator has been tested several times (most recently last year I think) and each time has given prompt germination of nearly every seed. A jumbo packet of culinary dill, Anethum graveolens, of about the same age provided hundreds of seedlings last year. Seed of garden nasturtiums and Tropaeolum peregrinum, some more than twenty years, gave at least some germination; the resulting seedlings varied in strength, some strong, some weak. Morning glories, Ipomoea, in general seem to last for decades. Welwitschia mirabilis, from seed received in August 2008 and thus at least eight years old, was tested last year and this year and both lots began to signs of germination within a week. I generally try to sow seeds at what corresponds to the beginning of the growing season in their natural haunts. Another remarkable germination event occurred years ago when I disposed of a decades-old seed collection by tossing it out onto the garden. The seeds in that collection had been stored at room temperature in paper bags and were subject to the fluctuations in local humidity.Among the seeds in that collection were those of Gymnocladus dioicus. Legume seed is notably long-lived, but that one surprised me: one of those rock-hard marbles germinated and has grown into a 15 footer by now. Frozen lily seed seems to last indefinitely. Taxa with so-called double-dormancy, such as Hamamelis, in my experience cannot be rushed by storing them frozen. If you know of exceptions to any of the above, please speak up. I'm running a garden here, not an experiment station, and all of my sample sizes are small. Jim McKenneyMontgomery County, Maryland, USA, zone 7, where freeze-tender plants near the house are still hanging on; out in the open garden, Camellia sasanqua is in full bloom had has been joined by a yellow-flowered Hamamelis and the remaining blooms of Elaeagnus pungens - three potently fragrant species which add so much to the autumnal garden. _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/