JBP Seed Prep

[Aaron S.]

I have some seeds for Japanese Black Pine. I got them early so that I can prep them for winter using the best suggestions found here in the Bonsai Nut House.
From what my little feeble mind can come up with, you pop them in the fridge next to the southern sweet tea (Ok don't hate on me, its unsweetened, I'm a diabetic but still need the tea. It is cold tea though) and let them chill out for the winter for stratification (Yes I had to look that word up for spelling, I probably couldn't pronounce it without giving myself a concussion).
Right now they are in a small plastic zip loc bag that they came in. I did put a few of them in a heated seedling tray with a humidity dome to see if any will grow for me over the winter as a little experiment.
I've heard that you just put them in the fridge, put them in moist soil and different methods. Remembering that we had that awesome JBP from seed contest, I'm sure that more than a few of you know just how to treat those little seeds. We are in the middle of November and I'm still wearing shorts, got the AC going and wondering when fall will finally arrive. But here in Oklahoma our fall is usually just a day. 80 degrees one day, ice storm the next day.
Anyway I would like to plant them outside sometime between February and April. So what can I do over the winter to help these little seeds grow into jaw dropping bonsai (besides giving them to someone who knows what they are doing)

 

[Nybonsai12]

when you know exactly when you want them to sprout this is what you do. Soak in warm water for 24 hours. Move em to a plastic ziplock with a damp(not soaked) paper towel for about 30 days. Make sure they aren't soaked but don't dry out over the 30 days. Monitor the baggie to see if they start sprouting. Once they do you can plant em and give em full sun.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I think you can just keep them cool and dry. I had my first JBP seeds in a paper package inside one of those "bonsai seed kits" and who knows how long they were in there. My second batch sat in a ziplock for a year in my garage.

JBP doesn't really need stratification, as I've had nearly 100% germination rates each year that I sowed JBP seeds. The only thing I did was soak them in water for 24 hours before sowing. I have read you can increase germination rates if you stratify, but it's hard to improve on 100%.

 

[Pitoon]

JBP don't need to be stratified. Just a 24hr soak starting off with hot water. Stratifying them for a couple of weeks will help them to germinate more uniformly.

 

[Shibui]

My experience also - JBP germinate well without the hassle and possible fungal infection of stratification in the fridge.
If you are determined to stratify it seems much more reliable and fungal free to sow seed in pots or trays and leave them outdoors for natural stratification. They will know when to pop up. Remember they've been doing it for millions of years before fridges were invented.