Trying to grow a damson

[newbieveggie]

I am trying to re-establish a mixed hedgerow to include damsons. I have popped some stones from last years crop and also bullaces in compost over autumn/winter but nothing has happened, no life, nowt. What am I doing wrong ? I don't really want to go out and buy a load of damson trees it would cost a fortune. Any suggestions ??

[FB.]

The stones need a winter chill to start the germination process. Hopefully they've been outside all winter. If not, then you may not have enough winter chill remaining to be able to keep them cold enough for long enough, to cause them to germinate.
A drastic (but possibly necesary) measure might be to put them in your fridge for a week, then into your freezer for a couple more weeks, then back into the fridge for a week, then up to room temperature/outdoor temperature.

If they have had their winter chill, germination will then proceed slowly inside the pip, but the pip probably won't show signs of sprouting leaves until mid-March - maybe even later, because we've just had a really hard winter.

The winter chill is part of the plants strategy to avoid coming out of dormancy too soon and getting the soft young shoots bitten by frost.
If they've been kept above 5'c all winter, then they will still think that it's autumn, and won't germinate until they've had months of near-freezing temperatures.

[Jeanied]

I wonder if this technique would work with sloes too? I've had some sloes in the deep freeze since October (waiting for the gin!) and three fell out so I am tempted to try growing them. What is the purpose of the fridge treatment though?

[FB.]

Most fruit trees go dormant for the winter.
To prevent them waking from their deep sleep in mid-winter (which could cause sap to freeze and their water transport system to rupture and kill the tree - like frost can cause a burst pipe in the loft), they use a chemical process that is triggered by temperature fluctuation.

Basically, it's like a safety stopwatch to count their dormancy. Once they have spent enough hours below a certain temperature, they are ready to awaken, as soon as the temperature rises for a sustained period.

Since winter gets gradually cooler towards January and then gradually warmer into March, it is best to simulate this by moving them from room temperature to the fridge for a few weeks, then to the freezer for a few weeks, then back to the fridge for a few weeks, then up to room temperature to start them growing.
The gradual stepping down of temperature is good for them.

Their mechanism works something like:

1000 hours below 5'C to satisfy them that winter is mostly over.
then......
1000 hours above 10'C to persuade them that spring has arrived.

Without something like 1000 hours below 5'C, they usually won't germinate because they are programmed to expect a much longer period of cold during the winter and it prevents them from germinating until winter is guaranteed to be over.
For that reason, you often can't grow apples in hot countries - because the apples go dormant for the winter and never wake up because they never get 1000 hours below 5'C to trigger the end of their dormancy.