feeding cherries to chickens to promote germination

[centrarchid]

I am trying to germinate some cherry seeds to start trees. Just planting seeds does not work well since they need to be scarificatied by an animals digestive tract to promote germination I have just eaten two large bags to pass seeds through to promote germination but I suspect time in my tract is too long. Collection of such seeds is also nasty. I want to use a chicken for same purpose since passage time through gut much shorter. Anyone try this?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Don't you think the gizzard would grind it up? I know wild birds spread a lot of seeds, but not all birds use gizzards like chickens do.

Are you sure they need to be scarified, not stratified? Scarified means to be scratched, like you could do with a nail file. Stratified means to be stored at low or freezing temperatures to break dormancy. I did a quick look using google and found plenty of talk about stratified, none on scarified.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
I did mean scarification which can also be chemical as well as physical in your definition. I am seeing the stratification (cold induction) on internet as well but seeds / pits we have germinate volunteer seem to be generated from fruit of same year. I do not know if gizzard processing by chickens to extreme.

In my initial search on cherry life cycle, scarification was of concern with wild cherries and natural seed dispersers (birds that consumed whole fruit).

 

[impis]

The cherries that fall and rot from my tree have no problem germinating at all!! I'm forever pulling seedlings out!

Maybe they need to go through a period of cold first before germinating. Alot of seeds need that. Some have a double 'winter' need programmed in. [Some primroses for example] - so they'll only germinate after going through the conditions of 2 winters.
You could try keeping the cherry stones in a fridge for a few weeks before trying to germinate them. You could even try freezing a few to see if that works.

Seeds that have dormancy built in, in this way, are a real pain in the 'you know where'.

 

[luvinrunnin]

I found this...

Peach and cherry seeds require one to two cold periods in order to germinate. Plant the seeds in pots and set the pots outside for the winter. Many seeds will germinate in the spring provided winter temperatures are consistantly below 40 degrees F. If they don't germinate, they may require another winter. You can fool Mother Nature by placing the pots in the fridge sealed inside a plastic bag for 90-120 days then return to the warm weather outdoors. Make sure you keep the pot watered when placing outside. I hope this helps. One other thing. The resulting plants usually don't resemble the parent plants nor will the fruit because most fruit trees are hybrids.
Tom

 

[Chris09]

1- Clean off the pulp with a paper towel.
2- Put seeds in a jar of warm water overnight.
3- Place them in a handful of moistened potting soil in a plastic bag and into the refrigerator.
4- After a 2-4 months, check on them every 3 weeks for any germination.
5- Carefully transplanting to its pot.

Side Note
- Start with at least a dozen seeds; some will take some will not.
-- Some Fruits and Vegetables that you get from the store are sprayed with a agent that keeps them sprouting/ germinating a good example are potatoes.
If you are going to try to start some seeds I would recommend using seeds/pits from organic Cherries.

Chris

 

[Medicine Man]

I can't help but think this is a troll thread. Who on earth is admitting to eating cherry pits and sharting them out to save them? People do that with balloons of heroin.

 

[redhen]

I'm sure theres GOTTA be another way to grow a cherry tree...

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
There is, you buy the tree and plant it.

Most fruit trees (99.9% of them) will not produce true offspring by seed.
In reality, if you collect seed from a fruit grown on a plant, the seeds will produce plants that will be a hybrid of two plants. The new plant will be the same kind of plant, but its fruit and vegetative portions may not look the same as the parent because the plant is “heterozygous.” Therefore, all fruit trees must be vegetatively propagated by either grafting or budding methods.

Chris

 

[centrarchid]

Cherry trees I am sourcing for seed / pits are themselves derived from seed. I think they are not hybrid. Cherries themselves are relatively light in color. Orchard they are found is more than 100 years old. They are also of the sweet cherry species and do not bear heavily like the store bought trees.