old seeds
Shirley (Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:25:17 PDT)
I suspect the seed companies wanted us to buy new supplies each year and
inferred, by dating their packets with a particular year, that fresh was
needed for germination. Not only geophytes but also perennials and annuals
maintain their viability longer than we expect. You may get a smaller
percentage of seeds germinating, but you still may be pleasantly surprised.
So at least give them a try.
Last year at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, CA, I saw some 40
year old seeds they had germinated after being stored in a deep freeze.
Almost 100% came up. They were part of the Center for Plant Conservation
project to save endangered plants and restore them to their natural habitat.
Shirley Meneice
----- Original Message -----
From: "piaba" <piabinha@yahoo.com>
To: <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2008 2:03 PM
Subject: [pbs] old seeds
marguerite,
i wouldn't try this, but i read that some scientists a
few years ago germinated seed from a magnolia tree,
that was a few thousand years old (the seeds, that
is). so yes, some seeds do maitain amazing viability.
I found a package of seeds, including some old BX
seeds, while
cleaning this winter, and decided to try some of
them before I threw
them out. Good thing! I planted 5 pkts of
Romulea species and 2 of
Lachenalia from BX 5, sent in August, 2002. They
all germinated and I
have full pots of small seedlings growing strongly.
I was amazed at
the excellent germination rate from seeds so old.
What a miracle
geophyte seeds are! Now to try the remainder.
=========
tsuh yang
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