Questions about seeds from hot and dry summer areas

Mary Sue Ittner msittner@mcn.org
Wed, 18 Jun 2003 10:07:59 PDT
Dear John,

I have had the experience of having seeds of Mediterranean things in seed 
pots germinate the second year in the same pot that I have left dry over 
summer. Some come up the first year and some come up the second. I usually 
move the seed pots that don't come up at all into the shade and let nature 
take over so that means dry unless you count the fog drip. I don't think my 
percentage of second year germination is very high, but some things do come 
up. I suppose to be really scientific you'd have to have two pots and water 
one and let the other one go dry.

I agree that there are species like Trillium, Scoliopus, Disporum, etc. 
that need to be planted right away and kept moist until they come up. At 
least it has been my experience that if I let them go dry they never came 
up. But many of these are woodland plants where it is cool and perhaps they 
get fog drip too or as Jane points out the ants have moved the seed 
underground.

Mary Sue


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