freezing seeds?

[Tigerella]

Hi

I have heard it on here that, maybe parsnips or some seeds need to freeze before they will germinate.
Are there many seeds that need to do this.

The reason I ask, not sure which forum I should have used, is that I planted about 20 conkers in pots and none of them germinated.
I kept the conkers indoors so they did not freeze.

T

[TinyT]

I froze strawberry seeds before sowing, the instructions mentioned it and I've also heard it helps the plant acclimatise to outdoor conditions. The seeds appear to be coming up okay. Guess you could give a few of your conkers a try and see what happens .

[sewer rat]

I'm not sure about having to freeze seeds but there are some seeds that respond to a cold period / chilling and this aids germination - the correct term for this is "vernalisation".
As for your conkers, no idea, sorry

[rustylady]

Hi I planted about 20 conkers in pots and none of them germinated.
I kept the conkers indoors so they did not freeze.

T

I would leave any hardy tree seeds outside to germinate. The conkers that fall onto the lawn at work germinate fine, as did the sycamore "keys" my children used to bring home and plant in my borders. This year I've managed to germinate a couple of cob (hazel) nuts in a pot left out on the patio. Don't think they actually need to freeze but if they're kept too warm and wet they will probably rot instead of germinating.

[gojiberry]

I have heard that some people put parsnip seeds in the fridge for a couple of weeks before sowing. Never tried it myself but with parsnip being so difficult to germinate it has to be worth a try.

Ian