Some cold stratification help

[jwrivers]

Hello BNuts,

This is my first winter as a Bonsai Nut and I have started several different types of trees from seeds (yes, I am crazy, I'm hooked) and everything seems to be going ok. To my surprise I have some seeds that are starting to sprout already. The Japanese and Tatarian Maple seeds. They have only been cold strating in my fridge for 2 months and all the info I have read says they should strat for 120 days which would not be until May.

Here is my question: What do I do?!!?

Do I leave them alone and wait?
Do I plant them and put them outside.( I live in northeastern Ohio)
Do plant them and put them under lights?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

John

 

[Bill S]

If they have sprouted they need light and water, and at that stage warmth. If you plant them keep from freezing.

 

[Zappa]

I've seen a wide range of "suggested" cold stratification times for JPMaples. Ranging from 60-120 days.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I stratified Japanese Maples last year for 90 days which in my opinion was too short. I only got about a 25% germination rate. In my opinion you should keep the entire lot in the fridge until they start germinating - the seeds themselves will tell you when they are ready. Don't move the seeds until they start to pop.

In your case, if you have seeds already germinating it is a little more confusing. As the prior poster mentioned, any seeds that have begun to open need to be removed and planted. However I am not sure if your whole batch are ready. I know at one point someone on the boards had mentioned that he kept ALL his seeds in the fridge and just removed the ones that started germinating.