To add to what Paul indicates here about longevity of certain bulb seeds, I've found that some small, hard seeds like Massonia and Lachenalia will remain viable a long time under normal household refrigeration. Good germination rates (30-50% or better) after 10 years are not unusual. Within five years the rates are higher. Soft-seeded bulbs such as Ornithogalum. Drimia, etc., tend to lose viability sooner. In terms of the seed planting window for winter growers, in SoCal there is a real heat risk before November and a negative day lengthening effect after January. The months in between are an ideal sowing time for most species. In a given year the unique climate conditions are probably more important than exact calendar timing. Dylan Hannon *"Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all."* ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 12:14:34 -0000 > From: "Paul Cumbleton" <cumbleton@yahoo.co.uk> > To: <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > Subject: Re: [pbs] South African Bulb Order > Message-ID: <001301d5a51c$3b9d0070$b2d70150$@yahoo.co.uk> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > I keep seed received from Gordon Summerfield until the fall. Also, I would > not keep it in the fridge but at room temperature - many of the South > African Bulbs require a warm period after they have been shed before they > become fully ripe (imagine in the wild the seed is shed in late Spring or > early Summer and then has the warm summer to go through before the autumn > rains and cooler temperatures arrive that stimulate germination). Once kept > warm for the summer, surplus seed not sown in the autumn can then be stored > in a fridge; old seed of many species maintain at least some viability when > stored - I have for example had some germination from 4 year old Massonia > seed. > > > > Paul Cumbleton > > (Chairman of The South African Bulb Group, U.K. - see https://www.sabg.tk/ > ) > > > > - > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…