I sowed Schisandra chinensis 2 times from seeds bought from Chiltern Seeds UK. No germination.

Two months ago I bought seeds from Yuzawa Engei (Japan) and sowed them straight away. Hope for germination spring 2016.

As Schisandra chinensis belongs to the Magnolia family chances are that seeds do not tolerate dry storage for very long and are best sown fresh.

Interesting! I would even buy a plant and then have fresh seed eventually, but in Australia there is only one place and they rarely have them. So you think the key is freshness?

I haven't sown it, but This Article suggests its a warm-cold-cool germinator and will need to be exposed to approximately those temperatures in that order to achieve germination. If I were sowing it, placing prepared pots outdoors now would just about mimic those suggested in my cool damp Z8b. Of course understanding you have reversed seasons from me and are entering Spring now, not Fall/Autumn. If this helps ;)

Long article, but reads approx. 70F for 30 days and that must be moist, sown. Followed by 30 days at about 40F. Then brought to 50F for two months. Sounds similar to hellebore that I sow same timing ;) That 50F range can be difficult for me if not sowing and placing outdoors. It's warmer than my refrigerator, colder than any room available to me.

I found that article too but other sources say that it doesn't need warm moist stratification prior to cold moist stratification. A recent article in Chinese (with English abstract) shows pictures of the development of the embryo inside the seed during cold moist stratification. It appears that seeds of Schisandra chinensis have an underdeveloped embryo that needs to ripen before it can germinate. Germination time was recorded from 60 days up to 150 days.

Schisandra Chinensis Seed Embryo Development

Another factor that might inhibit germination is the hard seedcoat of Schisandra chinensis. Soaking for 1 to 3 days prior to sowing is recommended by several sources.

Freshness of Schisandra sinensis seeds: Found few references for freshness of the seed. FWIW: My gut feeling says seeds should be relative fresh. This is not only based on the fact that Schisandra chinensis belongs to the Magnolia family and seeds from many members of that family do not tolerate dry storage for very long but also on my own experiences with sowing Schisandra chinensis. I keep my sowings for several years (3-4 years, sometimes even longer) to see if germination occurs. Got no germination from Schisandra chinensis seeds bought from Chiltern Seeds after that period. When I search online for information about germinating Schisandra chinensis from seed I find many people that failed with this species. As can be expected many seed sellers keep silent about freshness of their seeds.

gardenprince, had you considered dividing your seed and sowing using more than one method?

I've ordered a wide variety of seed types from Chilterns over many years, and never have been disappointed in what I've received....I recommend them often.

No, I had not considered dividing the seed but now realize I should have. I sowed them 2 months ago in a pot outside in my seed frame and they will be outside all winter unless severe frost is predicted. Let's see if some germinate in the spring of 2016.

About Chiltern Seeds: wide selection of seeds available but I don't order seeds from them that have a short term viability.

My son did a 28days stratification in the fridge and has many seedlings - germination was relatively rapid. Will ask about his sources .

Think Chilterns have gone off the boil a bit and now use Plantworld or B&T World seeds.

Thanks the tip with the fresh seed is good!

I tried warm-cold, cold-warm-cold, cold. From all these experiments had only 4 seeds that germinated. Three of them died from some disease when cotyledons were emerging. One seedling that survived is very puny: after 2 years it is about 2 inches tall. I suspect the seed source was not good. So, I bought a bulk of them from an herb store and just keep sowing them since last spring. No germination yet, some rotted, some look alive. I'll just keep trying.

Thank you for the link to the seed embryo development page.

My Schisandra chinensis seeds started to germinate in the last few days. Seeds were sown on August 1, 2015 in a pot outside. Seeds were bought from Yuzawa Engei, Japan.

Weather: we experienced a very long and warm autumn that lasted beyond the New Year. Winter was mild with only a few nights with some serious frost (lowest temperature was -9 Celsius / 15.8 Fahrenheit). March and April were relative cool (temperature below 30 year average).

It's still not clear to me whether Schisandra chinensis does need a warm moist stratification period prior to the cold moist stratification. Our autumn was warm and sufficiently long to count as 'warm moist stratification'. However, I found a few messages on the German gardening forum 'Garten-pur' of people who sowed Schisandra chinensis seeds late in autumn and these germinated the following year. These seeds came from plants that were growing in these person's own gardens so were FRESH. And this is I think a critical point for having succes with germinating Schisandra chinensis seeds: only use fresh seeds. Only buy from reliable sellers who have a proven record when it comes to selling fresh seeds. The problem for the gardener is that you cannot really tell how old a seed really is, so you can be easily fooled when someone says that their seeds are not old. My advice therefore: only buy seeds that have a short term viability from reliable sellers.

Congratulations! Those are healthy looking sprouts! Absolutely agree, FRESH SEEDS is the key, otherwise, years can be wasted. Here is a picture of my only survivor, it's going on its 3rd year. It is an extremely slow grower. The coin next to it is a US penny which is roughly 19mm in diameter. I hope it is a female plant. Does anybody know if Schisandra chinensis hybrid "Eastern Prince" will pollinate a non-hybrid plant?

Can you pls share the status of the plants, and any advice for seedling growers?

It is only slow for the first year then it positively romps. Makes a lot of foliage but fruit will indeed take a few years. I have a couple trailing out of 'long tom' pots which should reach flowering stage next year - 4-5 years to maturity, As stated, did a 28 day moist fridge strat, then overwintering outside for spring germination - this is in the UK.