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Budding B. liniflora

jimscott

Tropical Fish Enthusiast
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That's a cool species I've never seen till now. Good luck with the flower and seedlings.
 
These have rather lovely flowers. I hope you get some shots of the flowers. Be sure to save some seed as these are annuals or biennials.
 
I think the flower will open tomorrow and there is another bud emerging. You bet I'll save seeds! Where's my Sharpie?!
 
A little update: 3 flowers have come and gone. A 4th is currently blooming and a 5th is emerging (scape). The first pod has changed shape. Instead of being elliptical, it is now like a miniature pumpkin. I hope that means that the pod truly has developing seeds. Instinct tells me that since the pod hasn't turned black yet, it is still not ripe. What can you all tell me about pod and seed development?
 
Yep, the pods look kind of like pumpkins, 4 lobes. They turn a paper-like light tan before splitting open - almost like onion skin. They kind of split open like those paper nitpicker fortune teller things you used to make as a kid (where you put your fingers in). Pods get around 1/8 of an inch. Maybe about 12 seeds average per flower pod. The seeds turn black as they ripen and the pods split open slowly at first.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Cootie-Catcher
 
Great looking plant Jim. What mix do you have it growing in? The reason I ask being that I've had several seedlings die on me in the past few months and I think it might be my media that's doing them in. I successfully grew this species several years back and I can't remember my perlite to peat ratio.
 
Nice plant Jim. I got some seeds from the ICPS recently, although I'm worried that my grow-room is too cold; is around 60-70 degrees enough? Yours seems to be next to a window, so it obviously isn't that warm.

-Ben
 
Yep, the pods look kind of like pumpkins, 4 lobes. They turn a paper-like light tan before splitting open - almost like onion skin. They kind of split open like those paper nitpicker fortune teller things you used to make as a kid (where you put your fingers in). Pods get around 1/8 of an inch. Maybe about 12 seeds average per flower pod. The seeds turn black as they ripen and the pods split open slowly at first.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Cootie-Catcher

Oh thank you for that description! I needed that. This picture of thriving plants was from 3 years ago.... and a day before a Nep pot gave way and crashed into it. The flowers didn't produce any seeds.

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  • #10
Ben, this is in a water bath setup. The transluscent container is a green container with water and a submercible heater. Temps are in the 80's. Water evaporates quickly! 60's & 70's are bit on the cold end.

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  • #11
The B. linifora plant is now sending up its 5th flower scape and I thought the first flower pod may actually contain seeds. It's shape has changed, now looking like a miniature tan pumpkin. I decided to pull the seemingly ripe pod. It felt very dry, so I crushed it into a plastic container. There were 17 black seeds. So that was successful. I suspect that the subsequent flowers and their respective pods will have diminshing returns, perhaps none at all. So my hope now rests on these 17 seeds to perpetuate the species in my collection.
 
  • #12
Flower pods 2-4 were duds, but #5 looks like it's swelling with seeds. #6 just closed up and the leaf is now horizontal. #7 will be opening soon.
 
  • #13
You just don't know what you're in for. LOL. I grew mine outside in my bog last year. It flowered and spit seeds everywhere, until the cold and frost killed it off. For the soil, I just made a raised mound of sand and peat, mostly sand.

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It seemed to love it. I hope that there are enough seeds that survived the winter to sprout this spring. If not I saved plenty of seeds to grow again.

These seem to flower and seed almost like capensis.
 
  • #14
Ozzy, Thanks for the pics and guidance! Do you hand-pollinate B. liniflora? Do you do the 10% bleach solution thing? Do you store seeds for a month in the fridge, as recommended by D'Amato and Pietrapaolo?

BTW, a radio station I listen to has recently been playing Mama I'm Coming Home & Crazy Train a lot.

Funny to read capensis and bog in your post... reminds me of something from a few years back....
 
  • #15
I didn't hand pollinate. I didn't need to, seeds were popping off like popcorn. Well not quite like popcorn but you get the idea.

I'm sure way more seeds feel into my bog than I collected, so I guess they were refrigerated by mother nature this winter. I put the other seeds on top of my refrigerator, does that count?

Yeah I remember that post, in just over a month it will have been 5 years ago. :-))
 
  • #16
On Top? That would be warming them!

I wonder how many flowers this one plant will send up before it bites the dust.
 
  • #17
Yeah, we'll see if that works.
lol
 
  • #18
So far I have had 2 good seedpods. I think they were ones that I specifically attempted to pollinate. I missed a couple few along the way and they didn't have seeds. Perhaps in nature the critters are doing the pollinating. Anyways, while the first pod had 17 seeds, pod #5 has 65. Go figure...
 
  • #19
These are prett cool plants that ive never seen before. Nice work with them.
 
  • #20
I can't top ozzy's pictures, especially with the camera I own, but here's a flower pic:

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Below the flower is the pod that yielded 65 seeds.
 
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