tulip seeds and germination
Jane McGary (Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:08:50 PDT)
Kathleen wrote,
This summer I decided to sacrifice 100 Tulipa sylvestris seeds to
science:
Group 1 had visible embryos in dark, nicely shaped seeds, n was 25; 2
had dark, nicely shaped seeds, but no visible embryos, n was 25; 3
had smaller, misshapen, clear light-colored seeds, n was 50.
...Three months later I now have germinating seeds in groups 1 & 2; 100%
and 50%, respectively; and no germination in group 3.
My conclusion is that for this species, and perhaps for most tulips,
it is worth sorting out the light colored, small, misshapen seeds,
and keeping the larger, darker seeds.
This is true of many liliaceous plants that produce seeds with flat
papery wings. You don't have to be as scientific as Kathleen was and
sort them under a dissecting scope. It works pretty well, once you
get used to it, to place them in a bowl with straight sides, about 2
to 3 inches deep (such as a small mixing bowl, and it should not be
plastic because the seeds will cling to plastic), and blow very
gently on them. The seeds without embryos will easily fly out, and
the heavier, viable seeds will remain in the bowl. Do this outdoors
or over a cloth, or you will get chaff all over the room. Start
carefully with just a faint puff of breath until you discover what
works. You will find a few species that have seeds so small that this
isn't an effective sorting technique, but it works for most tulips,
lilies, and fritillarias.
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA