How to cold stratify Trident Maple seeds?

BigAbs321

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Hello, I recently acquired some Trident Maple seeds from online and was wondering if others could check my process. I scarified them with hot water, and currently have them in sealed plastic bags at 39 degrees F in the fridge. However, I was worried about mold and other stuff growing on the seeds when I'm stratifying them for 90 days in the fridge. Is there a way to prevent this? For some of the bags I poked a couple of holes or left the bag slightly open for circulation, but wasn't sure if this would work. Thanks!
 

Pitoon

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Wrap the seeds up in a damp paper towel and place it inside a ziplock bag and zip it closed. Place the bag in the vegetable drawer and wait. Check the seeds at least once a week and if the paper towel starts to get mold, change it out with a new one. You have roughly 60-90 wait so plan the stratification wisely.
 

Potawatomi13

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What a bunch of unneeded baloney! Just put in pot with soil, cover with screen and put outdoors. In Spring instant trees😂. Yes, just that easy if not killed by hot H2O. Nothing fancy needed!
 

penumbra

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I've also used chopped sphagnum moss, but it's a pain to pull seeds that germinated as well as being messy.
I have learned to chop my sphagnum finer and I mix it with perlite. This helps a lot to separate the seeds. Then I saturate with my peroxide/water.
 

leatherback

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What a bunch of unneeded baloney! Just put in pot with soil, cover with screen and put outdoors. In Spring instant trees😂. Yes, just that easy if not killed by hot H2O. Nothing fancy needed!
agreed. It is what I do. I do a warm soak and warm stratification in winter, if I get seeds from unknown source, as seeds often are very far dried out.

 

Dav4

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Thanks for the reminder 😉… palmatums and tridents steeping in the kitchen at the moment. They’ll get a spritz of peroxide before going back into the crisper for a few months- that’s where I store the dry seeds before stratification.
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BigAbs321

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Thanks everyone for the input! I'm continuing the stratification process in the fridge, but switched out the original paper towel with a paper towel moistened with a 50/50 solution of water and hydrogen peroxide. I'm hoping that will prevent the formation of mold and other things in the bag.
 
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BigAbs321

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^ Is that okay? For some of them I left it with just water but gonna monitor the seeds weekly regardless.
 

sfeagan

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Can you just plant the seeds in a container and leave them outside through the winter until they germinate? Seems to be a more natural way to do it.
 

Zelrod

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Can you just plant the seeds in a container and leave them outside through the winter until they germinate? Seems to be a more natural way to do it.
True but winter is over in Florida so you use the fridge or wait until November to start the process outside.
 

Zelrod

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Yes, unless you missed winter with the seed order, then you only have the fridge until spring of next year.
 

HorseloverFat

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Just use peroxide straight from the brown bottle... This has worked two years with no mold issues, for me.
 

Ininaatigoons

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Anyone ever try green spagnum in a blender and strainer?
 

Arlithrien

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Last fall I forgot about the peroxide mix so I used diluted mouthwash, originally made the solution to keep powdery mildew at bay. It worked but I diluted it quite a bit out of fear it might damage the seeds.

When I prep the seeds I put them in apple cider vinegar for a few minutes to sterilize them. That usually allows them to get halfway through stratification before mold starts forming.

I also like to soak them in lukewarm water (in a yeti) for a day or so before bagging and putting them in the fridge.
 
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