Cold Stratification Techniques

We are now a month into Autumn and this is the perfect time to start germinating many different seed varieties!

To be prepared for the warmer months coming, now is the perfect opportunity to work out and prepare for what you may want to be growing. Be sure to check the propagation notes before starting any processes so you are well informed and will get a better strike rate rather than being frustrated when seeds are reluctant or slow to germinate.

Many seeds will stay dormant until the proper time for them to start sprouting, often cold stratification is required and this is basically the process of simulating a cold damp Winter to push the seeds into sprouting at a time that better suits you, the grower.

The time needed to stratify the seeds is dependent on species and conditions but in many cases 8 weeks is sufficient.

There are various ways of doing a cold stratification on seeds that require it, using a few different types of media to get the same effect – breaking seed dormancy.

Materials required