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Polemonium chartaceum

Mason's Jacob's-ladder · Mason's Sky Pilot · White Mountain Sky-pilot

Family PolemoniaceaeGenus Polemonium

Small clumps of ferny leaves pressed into pale limestone scree, each carrying a short dense head of lilac flowers.
The whole plantJames MorefieldPublic domain

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
Perennial, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower
LavenderRead from the photograph on this page
Native range
California, NevadaGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Read from the photograph on this page — Deno's Garden; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Mason's sky pilot is a rare plant of high, exposed rocky slopes in California, found in the Klamath Mountains and in ranges east of the Sierra Nevada, just reaching into Nevada. Wikipedia: Polemonium chartaceum

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1998

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around November 10, 2026 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

about 3 months from start to step 2. Germination happens during step 2, in 56 days.

27% germination in 56 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1998 · 2nd Supplement, Polemonium p. 55Public domain
Show the original text
Polemonium (Polemoniaceae). P. chartaceum germ. 70(GA-3)-40(4/15 in 8th w) and 40-70D(1/32). None germ. starting in 70D-40 or 70L-40. .
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement, 2nd Supplement, Polemonium p. 55. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1998

Difficulty Very high Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around December 15, 2026 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  2. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

about 3 months from start to step 2. Germination happens during step 2; time not stated, 21 days assumed.

3% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1998 · 2nd Supplement, Polemonium p. 55Public domain
Show the original text
Polemonium (Polemoniaceae). P. chartaceum germ. 70(GA-3)-40(4/15 in 8th w) and 40-70D(1/32). None germ. starting in 70D-40 or 70L-40. .
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement, 2nd Supplement, Polemonium p. 55. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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