stratification

[zainbintariq]

Aslamualikum to all my brothers,
i have bought some seeds from abroad like
Boston ivy,
Black rose,
Blue rose,
Bonsai etc
and now as u know summers is going on so i cant just put them in soil and wish to germinate
i have to do a process called stratification
i dont know how to do that properly if anyone have any experience about that please share with me
and i heard that i need peet moss or something to have sucessfull stratification
is that true or just nehri bhal will be fine ?

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

Sorry have no idea.

[KBW]

Zain sb
In areas with cold weather where trees and shrubs normally flower in summers, the seeds which are usually covered by a hard shell fall on ground in autumn or before it and stay in the ground, half covered with leaves and soil, until they germinate in next spring. During the winters, seeds are subjected to a treatment of cold and moist environment in nature which slowly prepares the hard shell / seed for germination in springs. This is how the process takes place in nature.

Seeds of such plants once germinated outside the natural environment require the same treatment of cold and moist conditions to be replicated artificially. This process is called stratification. The requirements / procedure differs from specie to specie. However, simply put, seeds are placed in peat moss or sand or any other suitable medium in a slightly (not very) moist form and then placed in a refrigerator for 2-4 months, depending on the specie, maintaining a temperature of 1-5 degrees usually (again, differs from specie to specie. Some species may have to be kept in freezing temperatures). The whole idea is to replicate the treatment that a seed gets in natural environment during winter period .

I have no personal experience of doing seed stratification myself but have seen my friends doing it in Canada.

BTW, Bonsai is a condition of a plant once subjected to a specific treatment that retards it growth / size and not a plant itself. Many bushes / trees can be converted into a Bonsai. So the seeds will be of a specific plant and will produce the same plant in natural form and not a Bonsai of that plant. It will have to be conditioned to become a Bonsai. So in my view, the term Bonsai seeds is incorrect and what you will get from these seeds would most probably be a normal plant of that specie and NOT A BONSAI. Anyway you can give it a try for your satisfaction

Growing roses from seeds is a tough ask and normally a process that will take 3-5 years. The quality of roses grown from seeds is also very doubtful, specially in case of modern hybrids. In many cases, rose seeds sold online or in few garden shops are a fake, specially if they happen to be something like a Blue Rose (which doesn't exist). However, mostly it would mean a lavender or deep purple colour rose and NOT a Blue Rose per se. Similarly, a black rose would actually mean a dark maroon rose. You will have to be VERY VERY patient if you want to grow roses by seeds, that too if the seeds come from a authentic supplier.

Best of luck but it would be a hard work. You would be far better of buying all these plants in grown up / prepared form from a nursery instead of growing them from seeds.

regards

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

KBW thank you.
Now I have the idea but is of no use to me.
Regards