I have found that the dryness of the seed is the most important factor for preserving seed of lilies. Barton, in Seed Preservation and Longevity reports the results of experiments in this regard. Dry (4.5% moisture) and minus 5 degrees C was the most favorable. Open or sealed at room temperature, lily seed at 9.9% moisture was dead by the third year. Dry retained viability for over 5 years at RT, and this is in accord with my experience. We dry lily seed down to very low moisture content and store sealed at ambient temperatures, and get many years of high germination.
Most long term storage in seed banks is at low moisture and low temperature, but this is often not necessary. Many seeds are harmed by low moisture and/or low temperature. It is also true that many seeds do best stored open at ambient temperatures and humidity, and Bob is quite correct that they increase in germination for a number of years. We often store seed for several years before distribution, to insure high germination. And also true are the persistent seed-banks in soil, even in the humid tropics. Storing seed in the refrigerator, while useful for some species if done correctly, should not be a rule of thumb. Treat each seed according to its needs. Over the decades I've come to accept that seeds will always surprise me and behave in unexpected ways - as soon as I think I have a particular species figured out, it is likely to disprove whatever rules I have formulated. An empirical approach is best. For example, Citrus seed has long been considered to be impossible to store dry, but I have a credible report that it has been stored dry and cold after removing the seed coat. The Compendium of Information on Seed Storage Behavior, by Hong, Linnington, and Ellis has some useful information, but shouldn't be taken as gospel. For good, empirical reportage on germination, see: Handbook of Seed Technology for Genebanks - Volume II. Compendium of Specific Germination Information and Test Recommendations. - it used to be available online, but seems to be gone now. A couple of hours spent with this book will disabuse one of a lot of beliefs. Take everything with a grain of salt - the database at: http://nativeplants.for.uidaho.edu/network/ has lots of useful information, but some of the entries are clearly by people who have not done the empirical work, but are making suppositions based on their experience with other species. Use the methods that work for you, and share them with others! David Theodoropoulos/Sheri Calkins On 1/14/2011 1:05 PM, Jim McKenney wrote: > Bob Nold wrote: “The idea of storing seed in the refrigerator makes no > sense at all.” > > The idea might not make any sense, but experience shows that the > practice does. > > I think there are seeds for which cold storage makes a difference. > > Most old books made the claim that seed of culinary onions and lilies > was only viable for a year. And I’ll bet that everyone who kept seed of > these plants from year to year at room temperature found the old seed > difficult to germinate. > > And I know from personal experience that lily seed kept in the > refrigerator germinates freely when many years old. And lily seed kept > in the freezer germinates when over 10 years old. > > What I don’t know (and would like to know) is if lily seed stored dry at > room temperature for years will germinate after an additional period of > storage at low temperatures. > > Jim McKenney > > > > _______________________________________________ > Alpine-l mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l _______________________________________________ Alpine-l mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
