Seedex sprouting and 1st dormancy

[Bonaventure W Magrys]

Thanks for the nice note Ray! You've encouraged me to send more
observations. I have little time this time of the year (and gardening now
makes me more and more late to work in the mornings!)

When I get outta here, off of the computer at my workdesk and out the door
and go home, I gotta check the seedpots under lights. These run at night to
take advantage of cooler temperatures (and gives me more time after my
commute) . The seedling pots need constant watching at first. Drying out is
not such a problem but sometomes the plastic film covering has to be lifted
a little for venting as they may be too slow in drying out a bit, like in
the days right after a good watering. Candidissimum was the first to start
putting out roots, but suddenly now after more than 2 weeks yunnanense just
shot up in just a couple of days, the root-shoot (official name please?)
lifting the seed body up off the moist substrate.

I had another observation/concern to write about. Some previous seedexes,
various species,  sprouted nicely, and were kept in leaf about 3 months or
so until the leaf started to fade. They were then dried out a bit (varying
degrees of that tried) and refridgerated (both in pot, or in dryish peat or
moist sphagnum. Most fared well in any condition after 3 months, but when
taken out to room temperature failed to sprout after months and mostly died
a lingering death. Lost all tortuosums that way. Ones taken out after 5 or
more months often sprouted and surpassed them. Second dormancy
consanguineums that made it that far only suvived if left outside. All
previous baby cands died that way and I was careful with 1st dormancy
taiwanense by keeping them refridgerated 6 months, all survived, but now
have to wait at least 3 more months to take them out again and again grow
them over the winter here. Now, I don't understand how to get 2 years of
growth into 1 year or 3 into 2  if they persist with this behavior.

Bonaventure Magrys
Cliffwood Beach, NJ USA
zone 6-7

magrysbo at shu.edu

PS I still have unsprouted, but soaking in damp towel for several weeks,
Podophyllum hexandrum seed. I would send them to our seedex hub in Leiden
but its too late and they've been soaking. PRIVATE e-mail me
magrysbo at shu.edu  with your snail-mail address and I will send some moist
in a padded envelope for, lets say saxatile or urashima replacements for
me, or just the postage amount.