In my previous post, Plant Seed Basics, I described the germination process in very general terms. A seed lands on the ground, absorbs water, and germinates. It is all so simple – or is it? In this post I will have a closer look at something called seed dormancy. What causes it and how do you overcome it so the seed germinates.
Baptisia australis, also called false indigo or false blue indigo, is a native of North America and a great garden perennial. In addition to this species there are a number of other species in the genus Baptisia that are suitable for the garden. Some grow as herbaceous bushes while others are vines.
Germination of the genus seems to be difficult, at least in my hands. A single seedling might germinate, but in many cases none of the seeds germinate. This article summarizes a study conducted to better understand the germination of Baptisia australis seed.
In a previous post, Seed Dormancy – Explained, I discussed different types of seed dormancy and briefly discussed various seed pre-treatments. In this post I’ll provide you with a series of steps that you can follow to germinate just about any seed.
In a previous post, Seed Dormancy – Are Seeds Really Dormant?, I discussed Seed Dormancy and presented a new way for gardeners to look at seed development and seed dormancy. Today I would like continue the discussion by looking at double dormancy and ask the question, does it really exist?
If you plant some peony or trillium seed in the fall you won’t see any green growth until the second spring – if you’re lucky. This is routinely described as an example of double dormancy – the seed needs two cold periods before they germinate. The two stratification (cold) periods overcome two dormancies, hence the name, double dormancy.
But is this really true? Do seeds like peony and trillium have have double dormancy? Does any seed have a double dormancy?
