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needinfo001

When will thailand giant seeds pods be ready to harvest?

needinfo001
9 years ago

I have the thailand giant elephant ears and although they did not get very big in my zone 7b(arkansas), it is flowering and one flower is formed and the spath is visible. There are othere flowers that are forming aswell. Anyway, when will it be ready for me to take so that i can get the seeds and start calocasia seedlings?

Comments (18)

  • ctnchpr
    9 years ago

    The pods will first look like this...

    {{gwi:392813}}

    ...then will split open like this...

    {{gwi:392814}}

    You can see the "berries" inside, each berry has maybe 100 seeds. They're very small.

  • petrushka (7b)
    9 years ago

    here's a good link on sprouting them

    Here is a link that might be useful: sprouting seeds

  • ctnchpr
    9 years ago

    Good tutorial. I'd like to add some suggestions.

    Regular Miracle-Gro potting mix will do for a planting medium, and it's cheaper. I've never had any fungus problems with it.

    Instead of the tray with cells, I use aluminum "lasagna" pans. They're sold at WM, and have a clear plastic cover that fits tight. And they're cheap. The seedlings are easy to separate - just get a plug of them and tease apart with a toothpick.

    And the seeds aren't the size of a tomato seed - more like an elongated poppy seed...
    {{gwi:392815}}

    All these came from 1 pod...

    {{gwi:392816}}

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Would they safe in a regular envelope,or would they get all crunched up in the mail without some kinda smoosh proofing? A bubble envelope maybe?

    Growing something that big from seed that small looks like a lot of fun from here.

    What a cool thread!
    Til now,I'd never seen colo seed before.
    Thanks for sharing! :)

  • ctnchpr
    9 years ago

    The seed coats are fairly hard, but if you're dealing with the USPS, they should have some protection.

  • miketropic
    9 years ago

    I have a few large ones I grew from seed I will post pics of them later. I cleaned a few pods of my other colocasias yesterday and there drying out now. Will plant in a day or 2. One thing I can suggest is plant waaay more than you need they have a high death rate. My last thai pod I planted about 100 seeds of it and it gave me 6 good plants. They store fine dry in a envelope cool and dark

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Think a bubble envelope would be enough protection?

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Hey Mike,..we posted at nearly the same time. lol

    I'd be really interested in trying my hand at starting some if you have any seed to spare.

    If not,that's cool too.

    Looking forward to those pics! :)

  • miketropic
    9 years ago

    Cleaned diamond head seed,much smaller than thai giant seed

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Whoops...my bad,Mike...thought you were talking about the thai giant...not that that's a bad colo either.

    Mind keeping us informed with the occasional pic/update as your project progresses?

    Watching tiny seeds turn into massive plants is always fun! :)

  • miketropic
    9 years ago

    I didn't breed my thai this year. It was seed grown over winter and wanted more size before I set it back breeding it. I will have more seed next year your welcome to some then if you like.. there was no real point in pollinating the diamond head but I had no other flowers open at the time so I just went for it for somthing to do. I threw a few in some compost the other day. If I give them bottom heat they should spring up in a week or so

  • miketropic
    9 years ago

    I didn't breed my thai this year. It was seed grown over winter and wanted more size before I set it back breeding it. I will have more seed next year your welcome to some then if you like.. there was no real point in pollinating the diamond head but I had no other flowers open at the time so I just went for it for somthing to do. I threw a few in some compost the other day. If I give them bottom heat they should spring up in a week or so

  • islandbreeze
    9 years ago

    Do Thai Giants need to be cross pollenated or are the seeds in the spathe already viable?
    Another question: If I cut the flower off, will energy redirect to leaf production or will it hurt the health of the plant?

  • ctnchpr
    9 years ago

    Thai giants self pollinate.

    Removing the flower won't hurt the plant, but, IMO, the energy savings will be imperceptible. Those big leaves produce lots of food.

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Hey Mike,..sorry I'm late in getting back to you.

    Next year is better for me too now that you mention it.
    Thanks so much!

    So let me get this straight,..in the same year you germinated that seed,it flowered but you prevented it? Or did I read that wrong?

    If so,that's wild!

  • miketropic
    9 years ago

    Yes I seed grew about 30..started it in Nov. and by July it was in flower. I removed all blooms so it could focus on corm ( they have very little no matter what you do ) and leaf production. If I get it going in April it will start to flower again in June and have plenty of time to get ripe. 30-60 days needed for good ripe berries

  • asleep_in_the_garden
    9 years ago

    Now THAT'S what I call aggressive growth!

    For a plant that grows to such a size and that fast,I have to wonder where you find the room to keep them all!

    Greenhouse?

  • miketropic
    9 years ago

    My colocasia collection is about 25 cultivars strong so they take up a bit of space. the thais get cut back to about 12 inchs and stored cold in the crawl space in pots till spring. they have no had a problem yet

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