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dimples31312

Mandevilla Seeds???

dimples31312
15 years ago

My red Mandevilla has seed pods. Frist time this has happen. I have been trying to read alittle about planting them. Right now they are about 4-5 inches long. Read that they would be a foot long? I do not know if they will have time to ripen. I will be putting it in the GH soon, will that help? And if I do get seeds, how long from seed to bloom?

Anybody, Any help,

Thanks,

Dorothy

Comments (11)

  • s_p8987
    15 years ago

    Are the red ones the only ones that produce seed? I have a pink one (generic from lowes) and I dont see any reproductive structures in the flowers at all.

  • dimples31312
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I got mine from walmart is spring just said "red" I think.
    I read that Mandevilla rarly produce (do not know if its ture) My sister in law also has a red one, she says it has seed pods also. I guess I need to do more reading.
    Dorothy

  • john_ny
    15 years ago

    I've had seeds on pink ones; also on white. I never got many. I didn't get them every year and, when I did, only a small percentage of plants had from two to six pods each. I was told that they need to be pollinated by some kind of night flying moth. They are not common around here, hence few pollinated flowers.
    The pods take several months to ripen. Most of ours were still greem, in the fall, when we had to take the plants inside. They ripened over the winter and, by spring, they had turned brown, and were splitting open. At this time you have to be careful that you don't lose the seeds, as they are quite small, and have a little fuzz attached, like dandelion seeds. The pods I've had were from four to six inches long. I never saw any that were a foot long. (Similar pods, on Oleander, can be a foot long.)
    I have some pictures of the pods, the seeds, and the sprouted seedlings. If anyone is interested, I'll find them and post them.

  • dimples31312
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    John yes I would like to see them.
    Thanks
    Dorothy

  • dimples31312
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    John yes I would like to see them.
    Thanks
    Dorothy

  • john_ny
    15 years ago

    Here are some pictures of seeds, pods and young plants.

    Here are some seedlings. If you look carefully, you can see some of the fuzz still attached to the one in lower left.
    {{gwi:1349962}}

    {{gwi:1349963}}

    Here's what they look like at six weeks.
    {{gwi:1349964}}

  • dimples31312
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Hey John,
    Great photos! Hope my seeds ripen. I will keep the plant in the GH over the winter.
    Thanks
    Dorothy

  • grannysbloomers
    15 years ago

    I just discovered several seed pods on my Alice Dupont mandevillas. They are still green, about a foot long. Can anyone tell me 1-do I have to let them ripen on the plant or can I cut them off to dry on the benches? and.2. Do you cover them when you plant the seed or leave them uncovered and bottom heat? Thanks

  • 123Olga
    10 years ago

    Has anyone grown mandevilla from seed? I have seed pods forming for the first time in the 4 years I have had this plant. I bring it in each winter. It is pink, I don't know what variety, but this year I also had one red flower on it plus a pink flower with a red petal. Has anyone seen this either?

  • Dzitmoidonc
    10 years ago

    Mandevillas grow easily from seed. Once the pods start turning brown, you can harvest them. I grew them for many years, but after a while I was not willing to haul big pots of the vines in and out.

    Just about all the ones bought at Lowe's, etc. are hybrids. I grew the pink ones, but the seeds gave me plants that were everything from white to pink to striped ones. Some with dark throats, corkscrew swirls of pink, just a whole lot of combinations that I had not expected.

    The best pollinators for the ones here were the Hornworm Moths. They have the long proboscis needed to reach the bottom of the flower. For this reason, most of the seeds produced late, and ripening took place in December in the greenhouse. The horns start out joined, then usually separated. Sometimes they stayed joined at the tips; this didn't affect seed viability.

    Once the seed ripens, the fluffy part readily separates from the seed if the seed is ripe and sound. This was one way I winnowed the seed. I would get the seed out of the pod, gently rub them, then blow on them. The parachutes from the ripe ones blew off, the ones tightly attached were "blanks" (non viable seed). Even if some of the seed I threw away was good, if you get 10 seeds (a very low number, most pods had 20 or more good seeds) from every seed pod, and you have 10 seed pods, then you get about 100 plants. That's a lot of plants. Took about 3 years for mine to bloom, but one lady I gave them to got them to bloom the 2nd summer.

  • 123Olga
    10 years ago

    Thank you Dzitmoidonc for your response and information. I am looking forward to seeing the seed pods ripen. I will definitely be trying to grow some, especially now that I know there can be a variety of color combinations. Right now I am working on planting my hosta seeds. I did well over 200 crosses this summer using chosen plants as pod parents and pollen parents. I had about 100 plants that I kept last year (this past summer from seeds planted in fall of 2012). Most of them have streaky leaves.