Jump to content
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LOGGING IN ×
  • WELCOME GUEST

    It looks as if you are viewing PalmTalk as an unregistered Guest.

    Please consider registering so as to take better advantage of our vast knowledge base and friendly community.  By registering you will gain access to many features - among them are our powerful Search feature, the ability to Private Message other Users, and be able to post and/or answer questions from all over the world. It is completely free, no “catches,” and you will have complete control over how you wish to use this site.

    PalmTalk is sponsored by the International Palm Society. - an organization dedicated to learning everything about and enjoying palm trees (and their companion plants) while conserving endangered palm species and habitat worldwide. Please take the time to know us all better and register.

    guest Renda04.jpg

Pollinating Technique - Sansevieria/Dracaena


DallasPalms

Recommended Posts

I guess these have a new family name? Dracaena!

I've got 4 simultaneously in flower... a Bella Mutomo, a Francisii,  a Cylindrica and also a Ballyi which is a little behind. I brought them in for winter and they coordinated finally!

If you have experience pollinating please share. I found one video - it looks easy... but any information to help would be appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, DallasPalms said:

I guess these have a new family name? Dracaena!

I've got 4 simultaneously in flower... a Bella Mutomo, a Francisii,  a Cylindrica and also a Ballyi which is a little behind. I brought them in for winter and they coordinated finally!

If you have experience pollinating please share. I found one video - it looks easy... but any information to help would be appreciated.

Like most Lily- type flowers, pollinating/ crossing these should be pretty straight forward.. Use a fine tip artist's paintbrush to transfer pollen from the donor to the Stigma of the chosen " mother " plant after removing the filaments on it so it can't try to self- pollinate, then monitor to see if the Ovary starts to swell. Can select a certain # of flowers to work with on each stalk rather than trying to cross every single flower as well. 

..And do post any progress pics. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks it looks easy enough. I prefer to pluck anthers and use them as a brush there are lots of flowers opening any day now... i saw a guy on youtube waving one plant over the other. Looks easy!

With succulents there seems to be a prime time I know some cacti open at night and rely on moths or bats... I guess with these i can pollinate throughout the day and see

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, DallasPalms said:

Thanks it looks easy enough. I prefer to pluck anthers and use them as a brush there are lots of flowers opening any day now... i saw a guy on youtube waving one plant over the other. Looks easy!

With succulents there seems to be a prime time I know some cacti open at night and rely on moths or bats... I guess with these i can pollinate throughout the day and see

I guess you could just wave one stalk over another but you risk self pollinating in doing that.  Someone who is serious about making crosses pursues a  more disciplined technique. I myself would reduce many flowers down to just a handful and work w/ those.

Cacti, even night flowering types are pretty easy ( have a lot, which i cross, -to some degree at least-, each year ) but require the same discipline ( though i rarely strip off anthers, most are too small/difficult to get to w/out damaging other parts ). I'll closely monitor any that are close to opening so i can pollinate the instant they are open, but just before they start shedding pollen. Have a few that are strictly functionally male or female which makes things a bit easier, except when plants that say will produce viable pollen, but are otherwise infertile present the better flowers..   Even when you have done things correctly, some just don't take, or, you end up with a few seeds to work with..  Still fun to do, esp. when you get new plants that may be crossed to work with from your efforts.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Cuticle scissors work to remove anthers they stick long enough to brush... I just used tweezers and carefully bend and twist... I didnt realize they self pollinate! 

I had my names wrong it was Koko who opened first and then bella mutomo a few days after... then cylindrica... still waiting for ballyi.

I think I have fruit development on Koko!

Exciting :)

20210112_133115.jpg

20210112_133050.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I ended up with 6 fruits on Koko and 2 on Bella Mutomo. Then three weeks later two more started forming on koko but I screwed up with Bella. I poured the tiniest amount of water onto the roots of an offset just because it was in my hand and the two fruits on the adjoining mother plant were aborted over a few days...  I poured a little on looks offsets too and nothing changed except more fruits... it could have been other reasons maybe low winter window light but I strongly suspect the water even with gritty mix it's probably to much. 

8 from Koko is really nice. They are mostly double fruits and one single seems to be maturing early...  it is orange already and not even a month has passed.! Someone mention somewhere that their fruits took 3 months? If anyone knows please chime in.

Also on the last two fruits they started off as doubles whereas most of the others started as one, expanded, and then started forming the other... I wonder if this effect can come from having a different pollinator? Cylindrica had flowers open last and I couldn't get any to take but it's possible that the last two Koko fruits were pollinated by Cylindrica.

If anyone has any experience please chime in even if it's 5 or 10 years from now when you come across this post!

20210126_113747.jpg

20210126_114018.jpg

Edited by DallasPalms
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...