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paulzie32

Just Found some seeds.

paulzie32
13 years ago

Hey all,

I happened to be at work and noticed they had a clump of Clivia in one of the plantings on the grounds. There were three spent flower stalks with green seed pods on them. I picked one and then read online that they need to "Color-up" before picking or they are not mature enough to sprout. Well, I guess mine was too young as nothing ever came of it. I've been watching them for a few months now and today I saw two were a purplish color. I picked them and brought them home. There is (like the first one) only one seed inside. Judging by the size of all other pods, they too will only have one seed inside.

But, I have 'peeled' them and they seem pretty clean. There is a small "bump" on both where I'm assuming the root will emerge.

I was going to soak them, as I've seen instructed on a few other posts, but as they are fresh, I don't think it's necessary. So, I'm going to just place them between two sheets of damp paper towels.

Does this sound Correct?

I have no idea of the flower color but am hoping to see them this spring.

I'm also hoping no one else grabs the rest of the seed pods before (or even after) they are ripe.

Any tips or comments?

Here's a few pics... sorry for the quality, but I only have my cell phone :(

{{gwi:571266}}

{{gwi:571269}}

{{gwi:571272}}

Comments (15)

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Some Better pics. One of the seed pods and the other is one of the seeds sprouting a root!

    {{gwi:571276}}

    {{gwi:571279}}

  • monet_g
    13 years ago

    Looking good. Looks like you've figured it out. Now it's the 4 to 5 year wait for the bloom. ;-)
    Gail

  • izharhaq
    13 years ago

    They are cute..

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Yeah... thanks! I broke down and bought a new camera :)
    Well, both of the seeds in the first few pics have roots... the three new ones (two pictured) have not done anything yet. But I figure, I've wanted one for many years... a few more is nothing :)

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Ok, the Mother plant just bloomed. I got a few pics. I got a total of 7 seeds and all have sprouted roots. They are all in a pot of peatmoss and covered.... now I'm just waiting for some green leaves to pop up.

    Is this the "basic orange" clivia?

    {{gwi:571282}}
    {{gwi:571284}}

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Just an update.... I have at least 2 seeds that have tiny leaves that have emerged from the soil/peat. I also went to check on the Mother plant again and there were some new blooms on another smaller plant on the side of the clump. They were NOT solid orange. Are these also common? How long should I wait to go back and check for seeds to collect? I want to get some of these new ones!


    {{gwi:571286}}

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Well, Unfortunately, This is not my plant. :( I have a business inside a theme park here in Orlando, Florida and it's planted around one of the attractions. I have no idea how many years the plants have been there. I know there were seeds last year that had just dropped to the ground before I discovered the plants. Since they could have been there for several years, Who knows how many years seeds have been dropping!? So, I do not know if that is this plants first year or not :(
    As for the Pollen... I think it may be too late as it was about a week and a half to two weeks ago that I took those pics... I just haven't had the time to post them :( I will try to stop by tomorrow to see if there's any open blooms.
    The pollen needs to be stored in the refridgerator, correct? And is good for up to 6 years? Wow! Fingers crossed. If there are any, I'm taking every Anther! :)
    Also, How long does it take for seeds to mature? If the first few flowers were the first week of March, When should I start looking to get them?

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Good News! I stopped by there tonight and collected anthers from 2 flowers. I put the entire anther in a small plastic baggie, Labeled them and put them in the fridge.
    There was another plant there with the same type of flowers!
    So, there's the Center clump with solid orange flowers, Plants to the right with the Bicolored flowers and plants below with Bicolored flowers! I took pollen from a flower on the right plant and some from a flower on the bottom plant.
    Now... Since I only have small seedlings that just emerged from the soil... And they take 7 years to get a bloom, What do I do with this pollen that's only good for 6 years? :)

  • CliviaUSA
    12 years ago

    Who told you 7 years?

    3-5 ;)

    Why didnt you use the anthers you found to pollinate the flowers on the plant in the theme park, then you could harvest the seeds next year. (10 months btw)

    -Jon

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Those were the only flowers open... just the bicolored ones. I'd think bees would do some of that... no? Maybe I should stop by tomorrow and do that? And thanks Jon. I thought someone said 7 years... 3-5 isn't so bad then :)

  • CliviaUSA
    12 years ago

    Well, it would perforce be an "open pollination", since the bees will bring pollen from all over the place yeah. :)

    Just look at the pistil on the plant and see if it looks like theres something on it to the eye, if not I would pollinate just to be sure it makes berries. You can use just one of your anthers for both probably. You might not get what you want from the selfing because the bees could very possibly bring pollen from elsewhere even if you cant see it, but its better then nothin!

    They bloom when they get something around 13 leaves. In our experience thats about 3 years but dad honestly treats these plants better than his children!!

    -Jon

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    LOL They are have to be treated like your Children... don't they? :)

    Well, I went by today and there was only one flower open as it rained ALOT yesterday and last night. The one that was open had brownish looking anthers and pretty bad looking petals. BUT the flowers in the picture above are already producing berries. There were 9 or so. There are no other Clivias in the park though... I asked some of the landscape staff and the Solid Orange flowers were already long gone before these opened. I'd guess they are self pollinated.

    Now that I'm writing this, I'm beginning to think I recall seeing a spent flower stalk on the plant last year. I'll look again tomorrow and see if there's still one on either plant.

  • CliviaUSA
    12 years ago

    I bet if you asked the grounds crew manager nicely they would let you take one of the offsets of that clivia home with you :)

    Taking one off wont hurt the parent plant so long as you dont do damage to the mother. Worse case it blooms orange next year and you are the owner of a very nice orange clivia :) They are really superb houseplants.

  • paulzie32
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Maybe, since they're expanding HP into that section and all those plants will probably be tossed... That's not a bad Idea! They're not usually very generous but I'm going to ask. Thanks. I hadn't thought about the expansion and their future... I'll let you know what happens.

  • CliviaUSA
    12 years ago

    Cool deal :)

    For others reading this I dont EVER advocate just taking a clivia or part of a clivia without asking and especially not from the wild (Or some poor guy's backyard heh I personally lost a daylilly collection once to someone with a shovel)

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