Temperature required to hold dormancy--is 37 degrees enough?
- Thread starter crust
- Start date
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
- Messages
- 11,488
- Reaction score
- 23,838
- USDA Zone
- 5b
Okay, I had a long talk with my blueberry grower neighbor. It turns out he did use a Cool Bot Walk In Cooler Controler sold by Store It Cold LLC, right now $329 on Amazon, and they did buy it on line.
His cold room is actually 24 x 16 x 8 ft. insulated, with typical house insulation R24, nothing fancy, and the air conditioner is a Menards purchased Haier, one from the list on the website. They chill 10 pallets of berries to 34 F in about 5 hours in middle of July. They do have to load the cold room, then close the door and keep it closed as much as possible, but it does work. This is in 80 & 90 F Michigan weather.
I had thought they had found something at Grainger or Tractor Supply, but not so, it is the same unit you mentioned.
David, I'd calculate your cubic foot volume, look for an air conditioner rated for roughly that volume, and go with it. I don't think you need to buy a special cooling unit. Likely you could get away with an off the shelf windo unit.
The expensive part is the Cool Bot. I guess you disconect the internal thermostat, and use wire the Cool Bot in its place.
Crust you insulation sounds exceptional, I doubt you would need much more than a standard window airconditioner.
His cold room is actually 24 x 16 x 8 ft. insulated, with typical house insulation R24, nothing fancy, and the air conditioner is a Menards purchased Haier, one from the list on the website. They chill 10 pallets of berries to 34 F in about 5 hours in middle of July. They do have to load the cold room, then close the door and keep it closed as much as possible, but it does work. This is in 80 & 90 F Michigan weather.
I had thought they had found something at Grainger or Tractor Supply, but not so, it is the same unit you mentioned.
David, I'd calculate your cubic foot volume, look for an air conditioner rated for roughly that volume, and go with it. I don't think you need to buy a special cooling unit. Likely you could get away with an off the shelf windo unit.
The expensive part is the Cool Bot. I guess you disconect the internal thermostat, and use wire the Cool Bot in its place.
Crust you insulation sounds exceptional, I doubt you would need much more than a standard window airconditioner.
AlainK
Imperial Masterpiece
Most non-tropical species need a period of dormancy, but it depends on the species, for instance:
- Most larch species don't need stratification, the seeds are just kept in a dry, cool environment (cool= 3°-5 ° Celsius degrees, for those who are still in the 18th century, 37°-41° Farnenheit)
- Most maple species need cold stratification : 3-4 month in a moist medium at 3°-5 ° Celsius degrees
- Some maple species need 2-3 months warm stratification (18°C to 21°C), then 3-4 months cold stratification (e.g. Acer japonicum)
- Some maple species don't need stratification, for instance Acer truncatum, when the seeds have been kept in a cool, dry environment, need 10°C at night to 20°C during the day to germinate.
When I order seeds, I stratify some from a packet in the fridge and put about a third directly outside in a growing medium since I live in USDA zone 8. For instance, some Acer buergerianum that I stratified in the fridge got sthg like 80-90 % success, while those that were kept outside got about 70% success. A 5€80 packet ($6.376) contains over 100 seeds, so...
A bag of seeds that I stratified rather late this year:
And when you collect seeds, especially Maple seeds, you can have the surprise if a hybrid. Acer palmatum is one of the most mutagenic tree species, that's why there are hundreds, if not thousands of cultivars. Thrilling, innit?
- Most larch species don't need stratification, the seeds are just kept in a dry, cool environment (cool= 3°-5 ° Celsius degrees, for those who are still in the 18th century, 37°-41° Farnenheit)
- Most maple species need cold stratification : 3-4 month in a moist medium at 3°-5 ° Celsius degrees
- Some maple species need 2-3 months warm stratification (18°C to 21°C), then 3-4 months cold stratification (e.g. Acer japonicum)
- Some maple species don't need stratification, for instance Acer truncatum, when the seeds have been kept in a cool, dry environment, need 10°C at night to 20°C during the day to germinate.
A bag of seeds that I stratified rather late this year:
And when you collect seeds, especially Maple seeds, you can have the surprise if a hybrid. Acer palmatum is one of the most mutagenic tree species, that's why there are hundreds, if not thousands of cultivars. Thrilling, innit?
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
Seed dormancy (and stratification) and plant (tree) are so different from each other in their needs...
Thanks Leo--this is further confirmation the system works.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Ok. I'll make sure I put stuff in a paper bag next time...rockm, Um, OK. How often does the soil freeze in Riverside, Cal.?
Well, tricky question!
Trees that stay in the shade remain colder than trees in sun.
Agree.
The trees in partial to full sun break buds much MUCH earlier than those in shade.
Agree.
That's because the soil and mulch around the trees in the shade stay much colder than the soil and mulch around trees in sunlight.
Well, this conclusion makes me feel uneasy!
Bonhe
