How to Cold Stratify Raspberry Seeds

Raspberries will not produce fruit until the second year. Once the plant grows raspberries, the fruits produce small seeds that are used to grow more plants. Before you can plant raspberry seeds, they need to go through a cold stratification period. Cold stratification involves combining the seeds with a moist medium and storing them in a cold location. This process allows the seeds to overcome dormancy so they will germinate and grow into new plants.

Sphagnum moss
Bowl
Plastic storage bag
Seed flat
Sterile potting mix

Instructions

- 1
  Soak sphagnum moss with cold water in a bowl for 30 minutes. You will need enough moss to fill a plastic storage bag.
- 2
  Wring the excess water from the moss.
- 3
  Fill the plastic storage bag with the damp sphagnum moss.
- 4
  Sprinkle the raspberry seeds over the surface of the moss.
- 5
  Seal the storage bag and place the plastic bag in the refrigerator for 30 days.
- 6
  Maintain a temperature between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 7
  Remove the storage bag from the refrigerator after 30 days. Take the sphagnum moss out of the bag carefully, and gently remove the raspberry seeds with your fingers. Germinate the seeds immediately in a seed flat with sterile potting soil.

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