Better Late Than Never

I did some more reading about seed propagation over the summer and discovered that rose seeds will only germinate when the weather is cool.  I got kind of a late start on the stratification process for the 2011 seed crop, so by the time they'd been in the fridge for eight weeks, it was nearly March of 2012.  San Diego is no longer cool in March, so nothing sprouted last spring.  I put the seed tray on a shelf in the backyard, let it completely dry out, and forgot about it as we experienced one of the longest, hottest summers I can recall.  The heat finally broke in November and we started to get some cool nights.  I saw the seed tray and figured, "What the hell".... I soaked it with water and low and behold in a few weeks nine little seedlings had popped their heads through the soil.  Who knew?!  I guess it goes to show that a rose seed will sprout when it's ready.  Granted, my germination rate was pretty lousy at 9 out of 100+ seeds, but I'm having fun coddling my new babies of 2012.  So, if you're having trouble getting seeds to germinate, keep trying.  You'll succeed eventually.