Sowing seeds with a short lifespan

Some plant species have seeds with a very short lifespan. You can find some of them in my offer. These are, for example some genera of family Papaveraceae, Ranunculaceae, some bulbous and tuberous plants and many others. Probably the biggest extreme is the family Salicaceae, for which the lifespan of the seeds left to dryness starts rapidly decreasing after merely a few days, after two weeks they are already dead.The seeds with such a short lifespan must be sown into the humid soil as soon as possible. There they either germinate immediately (e.g. already mentioned genus Salix) or they wait for the suitable conditions for germination. Many of these species need to go through the cold period and germinate only with spring warming (e.g. genus Corydalis). If you order such seeds, it is necessary to sow them immediately, regardless of the season. For seeds, which need the cold period (freezing), it is necessary to expect a longer time period for germination. For example if sown at spring, they will germinate in spring of the following year. If you sow immediately germinating seeds in the autumn period, it is necessary to protect the young plants from the severe frosts. If you sow immediately germinating seeds in the winter period (at low temperatures), they will germinate only with spring warming.The procedure is similar for the subtropical species, many of which germinate already with autumn or winter cooling (Mediterranean species). All of the tropical species germinate almost immediately after the sowing, however, they often experience a problem with storage (they cannot be frozen). Therefore it is impossible to store them for a long period, and this is why the offer concerning them is largely time and specie limited.I store all of the seeds with the very short lifespan (if their character allows it) and after a previous special treatment in a freezer at -18° C, only this can guarantee their successful germination (lifespan). Each species of the seeds with short lifespan has this fact stated in the catalogue. The information about the need for immediate sowing is written on the seed bag as well.