werner Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 (edited) So my Echinodorus 'rose' has started blooming- here are some pics: Here's the flower spike: Does anybody know if it will be self fertile? I've read that some Echinodorus are and some aren't. I'm going to help pollinate it with a paintbrush and see what happens. I've never tried to get seeds from the flower stalks before, just plantlets. It will be a bit of an experiment to see if I can A] get seeds, and B] sow them and get plants. Since E. 'rose' is a cross between E. horizontalis and E. horemanii "red", I believe fertile seeds should develop into different plants? An interesting experiment here too. The stupid thing has started sending up a second flower spike too. I just got rid of it's last batch of plantlets at the last CAS auction. Looks like there will be more for the spring auction. Edited November 18, 2008 by werner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geleen Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 (edited) Gorgeous! John Edited November 18, 2008 by geleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byte Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Very nice flowers! You should help with a paint brush as indoors we don't have wind and bugs to pollinate. I could find some bees for you to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nighthawk Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Holy Cow! That's an amazing spike! I'm used to the little ones on my ocelots (E. "ozelot"). I think this looks like something out of Little Shop of Horrors! "Feed me!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewels Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 That is truly a spectacular display! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Very beautiful, thanks for sharing the pictures with us. It would be neat to propagate your own by helping them fertilize. Gosh I wish I remembered more from horticulture class Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewels Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Terrestrial plants are often hybrid and will not produce viable seed. Try planting some of the seeds from your corn on the cob, wont work. If this is a mix or a hybrid I really don't know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted November 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 Kasselmann's Aquarium Plants says that this variety is fertile (despite being a hybrid). I'm just waiting to see if it's self-fertile. I have transferred pollen between several flowers, but it's hard to tell if there are any seeds developing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted November 29, 2008 Report Share Posted November 29, 2008 Beautiful plant, I hope it turn out well for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Update: after much paint brush pollenating, there doesn't seem to be any seed development. Soooo, I'm gonna say that this is not self fertile. Got lots o' baby plantlets, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Update: after much paint brush pollenating, there doesn't seem to be any seed development. Soooo, I'm gonna say that this is not self fertile. Got lots o' baby plantlets, though. there is male and female flowers. did you polinate the right flowers. with the male flowers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Thanks for the little plantlet, I'm sure it'll be a huge monster soon enough lol. You do have a point there Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 there is male and female flowers. did you polinate the right flowers. with the male flowers? Have to disagree with you there- Echinodorus flowers are bisexual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 (edited) there is male and female flowers. did you pollinate the right flowers. with the male flowers? Have to disagree with you there- Echinodorus flowers are bisexual. wouldn't they pollinate themselves then? did you let the flower completely dry up? once completely dry you should be able to crumble it and the seeds should be in there? last year i tried pollinating a pumpkin with a zucchini and vice versa. the pumpkin grew long then died! the zucchini was normal Edited February 10, 2009 by fleshgear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 wouldn't they pollinate themselves then? did you let the flower completely dry up? once completely dry you should be able to crumble it and the seeds should be in there? They should if they're self-fertile. At first I pollinated two flowers that were open at the same time (they're only nice for a day then they start dying off). Then once I had more flowers, I mixed between old and new. Then I got another flower stalk so I pollinated between the two. Nothing. The little flower centers just dried up and there was no sign of any seed development. I found a couple pics of E. berteroi infructescences (expanded my vocabulary with that one) at the Vascular Plant Image Library: I expect other Echinodorus species would look similar. I thought I'd taken some pics of mine, but I can't find them. So either: [1] I'm really bad at plant sex or [2] E. rose isn't self fertile Now here's an interesting thought: If I had another plant in flower, I could try pollinating them again. But could a plant be fertilized from one of it's own plantlets? Would they be genetically the same plant and therefore not self-fertile? Or for that matter, if all of Tropica's plants are from tissue culture, could any E. rose out there fertilize another? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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