Study Plan: Observe germination differences between different species in varying conditions.

- Conduct seed germination test and collect data on seed beds outside in near native conditions(controls).
-Conduct seed germination test and collect data on seed beds outside in varying native conditions and treatments.
-Conduct seed germination test and collect data on seed beds inside on wet paper towels at 70deg. in varing lab conditions and treatments.
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Study Findings: (In Process).

• Wet Paper Towel Test:
  • GA-3 treated and untreated T. reliquum seed germinated well in 90-120 days (95%) without any cold treatment. GA-3 treated T. reliquum seedlings were 2 weeks faster than untreated seedlings and had longer roots.
  • T. cuneatum, T.c ."aff ludo", and T. flexipes seed germinated equally well in 90-120 days (80-90%) with 80-90 days cold treatment(<40deg F.).
  • T. luteum and T. decipiens seed germinated less well (40-60%) in 90-120 days with 80-90 days cold treatment(<40deg F.).
  • Germination containers with GA-3 and Cytokinins treated seed had 3 types of crud growth also (mold?, fungus?,etc?). I dont know if GA-3 and CY mixture was contaminated or if they encouraged the crud growth. At 120 days I judged the crud growth had some small negative impact on germination and seedlings.

I find John Gyer's comments below on areas of confusion in Trillium seed propagation on the Trillium List very relevent and useful.

Varied germination %
seed rots, particularly from fusarium sp., can take a severe toll, particularly if the germination medium is too moist. These rots generally attack the seed through the chalazal cap or, if the seed coat is damaged through any breaks in the outer coating. Immature seed is particularly prone to this for the chalazal cap has not yet "hardened". David Mellard's technique of drying seed a bit can speed chalazal cap "hardening" and reduce the tendency to rot. But even for seed that needs moist conditions, wet conditions will produce problems. Germination can proceed satisfactorily in 100% humidity and normal room temperature fluctuations. The 50% moisture content of fresh seed seems sufficient to produce germination.

Rhizome variation in the same seedling tray.
Two possibilities come to mind. First prompt germination of some seed and delayed germination of dormant seed in the same batch. (see discussion of immature seed below). This gives seedlings of two growth ages in the same pot and hence rhizomes of different size.
Second differences in their genetic endowment. Just like some people are large and some small, it may just be a matter of what the individual rhizomes inherited. Alternatively, there may be an effect of the seed/seedling micro environment and the seedling's inherent resistance to root rots.

Seedling rhizomes tinier than the seed.
This observation follows as a direct consequence of the skotomorphogenic nature of trillium seedling growth ( see my previous posting about skotomorphogenesis). The endosperm energy (stored sunlight) is used for respiration during growth and to build the seedling's cotyledon, roots and rhizome. The new rhizome has about 40% of the seedling dry mass. The roots and cotyledon share the remaining 60%. Thus even if ALL the endosperm were used to produce seedling tissue, the seedling rhizome would be smaller than the seed i.e. about 40 to 50 % of the seed.

The same treatment creates differing results.
This is a matter of detailed knowledge - the area where the devil usually lies. To be the same one must know the seed age (see above) and the germination conditions must be rigorously controlled. The best way for such control is through sterile culture - something most gardeners do not want to bother with. Without rigorous control over conditions, variation must be expected.

Immature and dry seed
Regarding variable results on immature seed. Based on T.grandiflorum, the important factor is the time from pollination (measurable) or more precisely the time from fertilization (not measurable without destroying the berry). According to Aury Blaine's thesis pollen tube growth takes a long time. A surrogate that I have used and written about is the growth rate of the ovary (berry). I've reported only data for T.grandiflorum. The same sequence holds for other species, but with a variable induction time which seems to correspond to the pollen tube growth time. Also in T.G. the slow pollen tube growth is a mechanism for seeds in the same berry that do not all start life at the same time and hence are not at the same maturity stage when the berry is ripe. Imposed on this pattern are the environmental adaptations of the various species. As a generalization I suspect that the large seeds of the sessile trillium are less bothered by drying - an adaptation to summer dryness in their immediate environment. They are probably - again as a generalization - more likely to germinate promptly. For instance this year relatively immature seed of T.maculatum, T.cuneatum, T.luteum, and T.decipens have all germinated and are well on their way to produce cotyledon growth above ground next spring. The erectum group seem to prefer more moist habitats and ripen a fleshy berry much later than T.G. These species have small seeds that have dormant embryos when ripe. They generally require a cold period to break dormancy. Because of the small seed size, drying is bad for them and in nature limits their habitat to perennially moist places. Also because of small seed size, seed immature enough to germinate promptly does not have enough "stored sunshine" in its endosperm to produce a strong seedling.

John Gyer Clarksboro NJ USA

Test Name: Trillium Germination Test Outside.
Test: Seeds planted in beds and pots in varing mulch/sand mixes and in ProMix-BX mix. Seed planted were cleaned and uncleaned, some H2O2 soaked, some cold treated, and IBA, CY, and GA3 treated and untreated
Location: HTR Trillium Beds commenced in 2003 and repeated annually.
Description: Pictures below show test beds of different Trillium species in outside germination experiment. These pictures show first year blade leaves in beds and some 2-3 year pots with 1 and 3 leaf plants.Picture on left shows a trillium Pusillum var. Alabamicum seed 4 months after planting.

Photograph: Harold Holmes

Test Name: Trillium Germination Test Inside.
Test: Thirteen sealed containers with H2O2 soaked, cleaned seed planted on wet paper towels at 65-75 degrees in 2005. Some were treated with GA3 and Cytokinins in side by side experiments with untreated seed. Observations were recorded monthly.
Location: HTR Basement Lab.
Description: Pictures below show side by side test of different Trillium species in 70 deg moist paper towel germination experiment. These seed were cold treated and put in 70 deg. test on 20 Sept 2005. Initial observations show high percent of most species seed germinate in 90-120 days. Picture on left show 13 different species in side by side germination test.

Photograph: Harold Holmes

Test Name: Trillium Germination Test Inside: January 2006 Results.
Test: Thirteen sealed containers with H2O2 soaked, cleaned seed planted on wet paper towels at 65-75 degrees in 2005. Some were treated with GA3 and Cytokinins in side by side experiments with untreated seed. Observations were recorded monthly.
Location: HTR Basement Lab.
Description: Pictures below show Results on 2 January 2006.

Photograph: Harold Holmes

Test Name: Trillium Germination Test Inside: More January 2006 Results.
Test: Thirteen sealed containers with H2O2 soaked, cleaned seed planted on wet paper towels at 65-75 degrees in 2005. Some were treated with GA3 and Cytokinins in side by side experiments with untreated seed. Observations were recorded monthly.
Location: HTR Basement Lab.
Description: Pictures below show Results on 19 January 2006.

Photograph: Harold Holmes