“treated seeds
have been exposed to
an antifungal agent,
pesticide, preservative,
or other treatment to
aid in sprout survival.”
Pelleted
Pelleted seeds are mixed with an inert material for ease in
handling. This is commonly done with small seeds to facilitate
planting. The resulting larger size is easier for planting machin-
ery and is less prone to wind drift.
Perennial
Perennial plants take more than one season to complete their
life cycle. Some flowers don’t produce blooms until the second
year after they’ve been planted, and some fruit trees can take
several years before fruit production starts.
Stratified
Some seeds (including many Northern woody perennials)
need to go through a process of stratification before germi-
nation. In nature, these seeds are exposed to cold wet
conditions during winter which softens the seat coat and
allows for germination in the spring when conditions
improve. While commercially bought seeds generally
have this emulated by having spent time in a moist
refrigerated area before packaging and sale, home
gardeners may have to take special measures by
either leaving seeds exposed to outdoor conditions or
simulating winter with a refrigerator before using
certain garden seeds.
Treated
Treated seeds have been exposed to an
antifungal agent, pesticide, preservative, or
other treatment to aid in sprout survival.
Understanding common terms associated
with seeds can be helpful in planning
gardens and deciphering seed packet
descriptions. In general, if the seeds aren’t
marked with a particular attribute, then
it either doesn’t apply or is considered
standard (i.e. coated seeds are marked
coated, but uncoated seeds usually
bear no mention of the topic, and
seeds needing stratification usually
are assumed to be stratified-marked
or not). These terms are useful to
gardeners who save seeds for
planting the following year.
Maximum Yield
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