🏛️ Class division 🪨 Layering of materials 🌱 Preparing seeds

stratification

8.1

Putting seeds in moist material to help them start growing

noun
/ˌstrætɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

Specialized

: estratificación

Some seed varieties, like lilies, benefit significantly from cold stratification to trigger growth.

Examples

So the reason why perennials need stratification is because they're used to growing through cold winter and then regrowing.
Meanwhile, commercial seed producers try to help seeds germinate quickly after planting through stratification—a wet-cool storage.

Academic text (1994)
To enhance germination, many gardeners use stratification by placing seeds in moist sand for several weeks.
The process of stratification involves keeping seeds in a cool, moist environment to promote their sprouting.

Compounds

social stratification

Specialized

1 7.4

A way a society ranks people by money, education, and work

Surface Forms

stratification singular

stratifications plural

Morphology

stratification = stratify (semi-transparent) = stratify + ation

Derived from 'stratify' but the horticultural meaning (seed treatment) is a specialized extension that may not be obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Stratification comes from the Latin stratum meaning 'layer' (plural strata); gardeners often place seeds in a layer of moist material or give them a period of cold and moisture so the seeds go through the right stages. So, stratification in gardening means treating seeds in layers or stages to help them sprout.