okay well, so far i have tried to get two different sets of these American Sambucus seeds to start. I am using Hydrofarms sure to grow jump start set, the temp inside the terrarium is over eighty degrees and the humidity is really high, but for some reason they just wont start. does any one have any ideas or maybe i just bought some bad seed?
Sounds like a tough seed to germinate. Did you do any prep of the seeds to get through the hard coats? This guide recommends 60-90 days warm stratification followed by 90 days of cold: http://www.nsl.fs.fed.us/wpsm/Sambucus.pdf I did not look up other sites, but imagine something similar will be found.
oh wow okay, so let me get this straight I am supposed to get sulfuric acid and soak them in it then dry them in some mild heat and then chill them just to get them to germinate! I am not totally sure on this. It looks really complicated, when you google how to do this, this forum post comes up second! not a whole lot of information available for this. i am starting to think it would be better to just find a nursery buy some live ones and clone them.
"Elder seeds can be sown in the fall soon after collection, or they can be stratified and sown in the spring. In either case, germination often is not complete until the second spring" Does this mean that it can take a very long time for them to actually germinate?
Yes. A lot of plants require stratification to germinate. Meaning the seeds have to go through "a winter" and some seeds take a few years to germinate. Maybe the best option is to plant the seeds out in fall and let nature do it for you.
Words of wisdom. The temperature of your terrarium may also be a problem. When you think about it, the seeds of a North American woodland/wetland plant like Sambucus would not likely find themselves in soil so warm. Woodland soils -- shaded by taller vegetation, and cooled by evaporating moisture -- are generally on the cool side (when they are not downright cold). The plant has evolved in such a way that its seeds "expect" these conditions. Anything can happen in nature, but the closer you can come to the plant's natural growing conditions, the more likely you are to succeed.
I spoke with the gardener i got the seeds from and they claim the seeds had already gone through this process and were ready to plant. I think however that i have decided to just get one from the nursery.