soil temps - bulbs

Richard richrd@nas.com
Wed, 20 Nov 2013 16:26:14 PST
Hi Ian

I'm working with 15 Lilium columbinum seed collections sea level to 3500', Washington  to California. Hope to get another set of samples on northern and eastern extent of range next year. Just beginning stratification now and I noticed an interesting trend of stronger early germination at 28 - 40 days of higher elevation and northern latitude collections. Although pre-settlement ethnobotanical usage may make interpretation difficult. It will be interesting to watch these and other adaptive features as these plants develop. 

Finding these trends is specially relevant to restoration of natural populations with fragmented distribution.

Even though the species is native to my neighborhood typically direct sown seed does not show until second year. Now that I understand temperature needs for germination, Gastil's data loggers would help me find a time line for successful fall planting. Although initiating germination and then planting now seems to be a better strategy if I was going to field sow. 

Rich H


On Nov 20, 2013, at 12:45 PM, <iain@auchgourishbotanicgarden.org> <iain@auchgourishbotanicgarden.org> wrote:

> Pursuing the Heat Sum process I have been calibrating the Heat Sum requirement needed for initiation of growth in some 95 species in the genus Lilium and 
> they even, within a species grown from seed provenances north - south and / or uphill - downhill, there are exhibited in several species a clear cline in the timing 
> of the onset of growth e.g. L. martagon w




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