Tropaeolums

Jean & Brian jeanbrian@earthlink.net
Sun, 05 Nov 2006 19:26:28 PST
I am attempting for the first time to start various Tropaeolum 
species: T. polyphyllum, T. sessilifolium, T. tricolorum and T. 
brachyceras. From what I understand, they all develop large tubers 
after about a year and was told that once the seeds are planted, they 
should not be disturbed until the tuber has formed.
Now here's my problem: I live in San Francisco, where winter 
temperatures are mild, and apparently this is fine for T. tricolorum 
and T. brachyceras. I put them in two-gallon pots and set them 
outside. It's the T. polyphyllum and T. sessilifolium I'm concerned 
about. They need to be stratified, so I carefully planted them in 
six-packs enclosed in plastic bags and put them in the refrigerator. 
However, the person who sold them to me was concerned that I would 
greatly damage them once I take them out of the refrigerator, because 
they need a lot of space for the tubers to form--and should not be 
moved once they start growing.
So what do I do?  Call me old-fashioned, but I don't have enough room 
for 2-gallon pots in my refrigerator...
Does anyone have experience in successfully stratifying these two 
species in mild climates? Can they be transplanted? Can these plants 
be saved? Or even started? (she cried despondantly, beating her 
breast in dismay...)

Thanks for your help.

Jean Moshofsky Butler
San Francisco, CA


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