Trees from Seeds.

TheSeed

Hello everyone!

We need some help with the trees' seeds. We have "Paper Birch"s seeds and we will send them out with our items to some of our customers.
We know, that we need to prepare the seeds first, by keeping them in the fridge for the 6 weeks.
The problem is, we don't know:

1. What medium to use.
2. How do we know, that 6 weeks is enough? Should the seeds start to grow while in the fridge?
3. How can we pack them, when we send them to our customers. Will they need air or they will be fine in an airless bag for some days?
4. Should they be wet, or it is fine to be dry for some days?
5. Should they be watered after sowing and how actually to sow them?

 

Sorry for so many questions!

With Regards

nutcutlet

http://www.djroger.com/paper_birch_seed.html

This may help but I sow tree seeds fresh and leave outside rather that faff around with bags of stuff in the fridge

TheSeed

Thank you Nutclet, 

 

so you just insert seeds into the ground and that's it?? How exactly do you sow?

 

Thank you!

TheSeed

Does anybody know whether seeds can live without the air for a few days? Can they grow through the sheet of tissue paper and can we compress the seeds with the soil a bit? 

We're still looking for the way to pack and send the sprouted seeds...

 

Thank you

nutcutlet

I use pots and plant out when they're big enough.

I've no experience of sending or receiving germinated seeds by post though I know this is done.

Forester2

I was sent some germinated astrantia seedling by another forum member last year which she had dug up from between gravel where they had germinated.   She put them between damp kitchen paper, wrapped them with cling film and put them in an ordinary envelope in the post.  They arrived a couple of days later and now are merrily growing in the back garden.

I know that they weren't tree seedlings but it could work the same.  Perhaps you could experiment with sprouting some seeds and send them to someone you know to see how they get on.   

Dovefromabove

Maybe you could commission Kew to do some research on behalf of your company

TheSeed

Hello guys!

Thank you for the answers.  

Dovefromabove Could you please tell me who is Kew and where can I find him? It would be very handy, as it is impossible to find all of the information on the internet and even when we have the information, we can't be sure that it is correct.

 

Thank you

Dovefromabove

Kew is Kew Royal Botanic Gardens - they're contactable here

http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/people-data/science-directory/teams

nutcutlet

There is no info on your profile TheSeed. Can you explain who 'we' refers to. Where are you based, who are your customers and what are the items being sent out to them?

Clarington

Anyone else a little concerned that TheSeed seems to be selling seeds to customers (and thus perhaps a company charging more than just postage costs) but has so little knowledge about their product?