Perennial Seed Germination Made Complicated (or rather easy)

Perennial seeds, which often have several mechanisms for delaying germination until the timing and conditions are just right, can be difficult to get going. Here are some tips and tricks to wake them up. Also included is my working list of those seeds that like cold stratification, along with general methods for that time-honored "Baggie-in-the-Fridge" method.

Cracking the Seed Germination Code

To get your seeds to germinate, you might have to "think like a seed." Many folks in the Pacific Northwest are starting seeds indoors this month for transplanting later, but some seeds germinate better with a period of cold or fluctuating cold/thaw cycles. They might be better planted directly in cold ground.