Tropic 7 Plumeria

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This post was edited by Tropic_7 on Sun, Jul 14, 13 at 9:45

Susie,
To answer your question, some varieties produce seeds more readily than the next. Some may never produce a pod at all.

In my experience, I usually notice teeny tiny insects that go inside of the center of the flower and pollinate it. It is believed that "Thrips" are responsible for the pollination, but the insects that I have seen do not match the pictures.

It is possible to hand-pollinate, but IMO very difficult. Some of the most famous varieties were a result of hand cross-pollination, but I am no expert on that.

You can protect the seedpod by putting something like a nylon stocking over the pod once it is nearly ripe. This will prevent it from scattering.

Hope that helps.

Tony

Thank you for your wisdom, Tony !

I have a lot of wasps and bees around my yard and seem to get at least one seedpod or more each year for the last 6 or 7 years. Some plants seem to have them most years but have had a plastic pink one at least every couple of years. Only had one last year and they take 9 to 10 months to be ready. Sometimes after leaves have fallen I spot one that is growing and am always surprised since I look at them at least 4 to 6 times a day. Here is a picture of one that I had about 3 years ago with my youngest grandson holding it. This is the biggest one I ever had and we had fun with the seeds. Barb

That is incredible !

OMG. That is huge..

Laura