Refridgerator Germination?

[OverWyreGrower]

I've got some seeds for some Lavender Multifida, Lavender Hidcote and Meconopsis Betonicifolia

However, they all say that after sowing, they should be put in a plastic bag in the fridge for 6 weeks

Since my fridge isn't this big, can they just be left in the garage for 6 weeks, given that it's not yet very warm?

[Two_Sheds]

I've never fridged lavender before ... you could always put them in a plastic bag (or Tupperware) with a bit of compost, in the fridge?

[Kristen]

I think they need colder temperature than your garage.

For seeds that need "stratifying" I put a piece of folded kitchen paper in a zip-lock plastic bag, put the seeds between the two sides of paper, close the paper (so the two paper-sides are together, but there is a gap between the paper and the plastic bag), and then spray in some water to just make the paper moist (not wet). (You won't get the kitchen paper into the bag if you moisten it first).

Then I put the bag in the fridge for the relevant time period, take it out and (personally) I leave the bag to germinate like that in the warm and then sort the seeds out as they start germinating - a fiddly process involving tweezers! but another approach would be just to take the moist kitchen paper [which will be mush by that time] and put it onto the surface of the pot, cover with vermiculite or similar, and then let that germinate.

Plan B would be to mix the seed with some damp vermiculite in a small container - e.g. an old 35 mm film cannister - pop that in the fridge for the appropriate length of time, then tip the whole lot out onto the surface of the pot / seed tray you are going to them germinate them in (and put a clear plastic bag, or propagator dome, over that)

But, yes, putting actual pots into a fridge is going to require a butcher's walk-in fridge for anything other than one or two pots!

Here's a site with some pictures (he uses Coffee Filters, which are better if you have them - they don't fall-to-bits so much as kitchen paper)

Starting seeds with baggies and filters

I bought my Lavender Hedge as plug plants, some pictures on my blog - they don't appear to have Hidcote at the moment (pretty sure I got Hidcote from them) but they are 14p each for 125-off from van Meuwen:

Lavendula angustifolia Munstead - Van Meuwen

[Alison]

I never bothered with any of this when I did lavendar but did leave them out in the unheated greenhouse for a bit, not sure if it made any difference but they did OK.