Poor germination in Rosa has hinDered breeding programs for years. Several methods have been proposed to increase germination of rose seed. Unfortunately, no consensus exists on the best method, or if any one method is best for all rose genotypes. In the first experiment, open-pollinated rose seeds from a R wichuraiana Crep. 'Old Blush' hybrid were leached with constant filtration and aeration at room temperature for 0, 3, 7, or 14 days. After leaching, seeds were placed in either moist milled sphagnum moss or agar and stratified (2.8C 0.4C) for 8 weeks. The combination of no leaching plus stratification in moist milled sphagnum moss gave the greatest germination. In the second experiment, fresh rose seeds from various hybrids were stratified (2.8C 0.4C for 10-12 weeks) in moist filter paper, milled sphagnum moss, perlite, sand, or vermiculite. Seeds germinated best when stratified on sphagnum moss. The third experiment used 9 genotypes and compared stratification directly in the growing flats and stratification in small containers followed by transplanting small germinating seedlings combined with variations in the stratification media (sand, perlite, sphagnum moss and Sunshine Mix #4). Over all stratification media and genotypes, germination was not influenced by whether the seed was stratified directly in the seedling flat/bed or in a small container. However, the process of transplantation of the delicate germinating seed from the small container to the flat/bed resulted in greater mortality of the germinating seedlings. The stratification media affected the germination of the rose seed. Sunshine Mix #4 gave the best germination as compared to the other media types tested. As expected the germination of the genotypes varied greatly, ranging from 0.7 to 37.1%.
