As Calistoga said. But if you want to test for germination after you pull them from the frig use the damp towel method in a close container outside the frig. Check daily but use a germination guide to understand the typical time to germination for that specific seed. These are only guides. I have seen seeds germinate quicker if in a warm moist environment.

If you just let the seeds on/in the ground they will get a natural stratification. And if the seeds are "good seeds" they will germinate next spring. Besides.... I have sown various kinds of Picea seeds the last couple of years (in april), without stratification and they came up well. Only minor disadventage is that some seeds take about three-four weeks before they germinate, others five, six or more weeks. Even in july I had a few that germinated..... One advantage of stratification is that they germinate (almost) all around the same time, and perhaps a few day's or one week earlier (in the case of Picea).

"Sterile does not mean sterilized - it means there is no "dirt/soil" in the mix." I have to disagree..."sterile" means just that...sterile of living organisms. Mix free of real soil/dirt is "soil-less" medium...which is what you want to start seeds. You won't find sterile potting soil, but you can find sterile soil-less seed starting mix. Whether it is in fact sterile is debatable. I use the microwave to sterilize my seedling mix. It's fast and easy...no mess.

First off, I tried the coffee filters and they disintegrated really quickly so I'm back to a good sturdy paper towel. Second, don't worry about the mold. That doesn't mean they won't germinate. There are some studies that show that the mold may even aid in germination. So don't throw them away. Keep checking them! Don't be afraid to really scrub those seeds! You want to get all of the hip material off of them and that's tough. But so are the seeds so you don't need to be gentle about it. I SCRUB mine against the sides of a fine mesh sieve. It's thought that the hip material has some kind of enzyme in it that inhibits germination so get it all off. Mine go into the fridge too but I start to check them at about 2 to 3 weeks because they will start germinating in the fridge. If you wait 2 months you'll lose some of them because that's too long for them to go. After that I check them once a week until I stop seeing germinations. I also rotate the seeds in and out of the fridge a week at a time and sometimes that will jump start germination. The germinated seeds go into starter trays filled with seed starting soil and under lights. When they get 2 sets of real leaves I pot them up into cups and if it's warm out they go outside. If not they stay under the lights until it is warm enough outside but I get them outside as soon as possible. Roses hate the conditions inside most homes. If it's hot outside put them in morning sun only or in a place that gets dappled shade most of the day. Do not let them dry out completely. Keep them moist but not soggy and they should do fine for you.