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Cycas thouarsii when to harvest seeds


Tracy

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I have a pair of Cycas thouarsii which I pollinated with pollen from some of my male Cycas thouarsii back in late 2018.  I am curious how long it takes for the seeds to mature and if they should fall off the plant when they are "ripe".  The photos below are just about 15 months apart with the early photos taken of the plants and seeds in November 2018 and the other shots current from February 2020.  I know it is easy to determine when to harvest seeds from Encephalartos as the cones starts to fall apart.  What is the best indication for Cycas thouarsii and any input on how long that takes?  I assume there also could be a little variation in how long it takes based on climate (faster in habitat and slower in my cooler climate).

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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  • 2 weeks later...

Giving this a bump since I was still hoping for any insights on identifying when seeds are "ready" to be harvested.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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i will get back to you about when to harvest your seed, but you should know that as of now, no one (to my knowledge) has produced viable thouarsii seed in southern california

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I don't know for sure.  I'd put a mesh bag over the whole coning structure and wait for them to fall apart.  I haven't heard anything about these needing to be planted quickly before they ripen naturally and fall off.

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according to a another grower here in southern california, the seeds should stay on the plant a minimum of two years and are orange when ready.

 

 

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11 hours ago, tropicalb said:

the seeds should stay on the plant a minimum of two years and are orange when ready. 

Interesting and thank you.  My experience with Cycas thouarsii is that once they reach maturity they alternate between pushing leaf flushes and megasporophylls, so they will likely still be holding these seeds when the next set of megasporophylls emerge.

33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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  • 1 year later...

@Tracy any updates on the seed development?  

I have access to a female thouarsii that I will be hybridizing as I don't have a male thouarsii.

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3 hours ago, Scott W said:

@Tracy any updates on the seed development?  

I have access to a female thouarsii that I will be hybridizing as I don't have a male thouarsii.

None of the seed was viable from my Cycas thouarsii pollination the last time.  I pollinated again this last go round, so we will see if I have any success this go round.  I would have to look up to see how long the seeds have been on the plants from the most recent pollination, but its at least several months.  Earlier this summer I put Cycas debaoensis pollen on another hybrid female, a Cycas tropophylla x micholitzii.  We will see what happens with that.  Good luck with your Cycas thouarsii.

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33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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@Tracy thanks for the reply. 

I pollinated my multifrondis with pollen from a triple hybrid, making it a quad hybrid.  Did the same cross backwards last year and those seeds are just starting to pop.  Also pollinated two revoluta with multifrondis, a cross I did as well last year from those are just popping now as well.  

For this thourasii female I'll probably put diannanensis pollen on it and hope for the best.

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