I got seeds from Exotic Star but the seeds didn't germinate. I waited and waited but no, no success.

The combinations were ES x Lemon Star and ES x Bogota.

Leena that's too bad. I'll let everyone know what this pod holds and if I have any success germinating,

I currently have papilio x Chico and papilio x Tango/Ruby Star and some of each are sprouting nicely in water. A better rate for the Tango seeds. Several were pock marked but that's to be expected.
I do this mostly for fun and have learned not to take this too seriously when I fail which is very often. It's always a surprise when your seedpod ripens and you finally get to see just what's inside...Donna

Hello Donna!

I hope that you are well and full of your usual good cheer. Your âÂÂExotic Starâ x âÂÂApple Blossomâ pod looks great - well-formed and healthy! Although, I have never been able to produce viable seeds from Apple Blossom via self-pollination or cross-pollination with AB as the prospective seed parent, I have found that Apple BlossomâÂÂs pollen is definitely viable.

The fact that both of your Exotic Star bulbs didnâÂÂt readily accept any of your pollination attempts except for Apple Blossom, with so many flowers with which to experiment, has me scratching my head. However, this has been an odd year for me in terms of producing seedpods; let alone viable seed. I have had failure upon failure. Happily, I finally have several pods that look promising, but they arenâÂÂt as far along as yours is, so I canâÂÂt start celebrating.

I have, with few exceptions, only attempted to cross Exotic Star with cybisters and diploid Hippeastrum species. These crosses have had a very high success rate with Exotic Star as either the seed or pollen parent.

There was a post awhile back offering to trade fresh Lima x Apple Blossom seeds, so it appears that you are not alone as Lima is definitely a pod-fertile diploid (at least it has performed as such for me). The link is included below. If you obtain viable seeds, I will be watching expectantly to see the maiden blooms down the line.

Best,

Blanca

Here is a link that might be useful: Lima x Apple Blossom Seeds

This post was edited by blancawing on Sun, Mar 10, 13 at 22:42

Blanca,

This particular Apple Blossom (I have 2 different clones bought several years apart that bloom at different times) is the plant that I actually set a seedpod ON a few years ago using Lady Jane as the pollinator. I have tried for many years on both of my Apple Blossoms to set seeds and this last attempt 2 years ago was not a thought out cross, merely that Lady Jane was out at the same time.

I have repeatedly tried again with this particular bulb only to fail, even this year's attempts have ended in failure ( so far). I actually never tried Apple Blossom as the pollinator before that I can recall.

I have this special Apple Blossom thoroughly labeled so as not to get it mixed up with the other. There are two good sized offsets in the pot also so I can't really be sure if it wasn't one of the offsets that was the pollinator for Exotic Star.

I am adding the link to the old thread just incase some of you folks that hadn't seen it are interested.

I have more than a dozen hearty seedlings growing and I can't wait to see at least one of them bloom!

Thanks for looking,

Donna

Here is a link that might be useful: Apple Blossom seedpod

Well, Much Ado About Nothing...

This is a pretty poor showing of seeds, I saved a few of them but they don't feel right..Oh well, we just keep on trying! Maybe one or two will germinate but I doubt it...

Donna

I have tried exotic star a few times and only had one success - a few seedlings from Dancing Queen as the pollinator.

Here is the container of seedlings - 5 remain from an original 9 which germinated. They look reasonably healthy, so call back in a couple of years to see what the flowers look like.

{{gwi:391602}}

I too have had only failures with apple blossom as host, but the somewhat similar San Remo did produce a lot of seedlings with Apple Blossom as the pollinator - I have about 50 quietly getting bigger in the garden, and hope that flowers will look something like the parents - probably next year.

This post was edited by HippieZep on Sat, Mar 30, 13 at 3:00