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spent flowers

Anna

carnivorus plant collector
Hi all:

Should I leave the flower stocks on my sarrs even though they are done blooming? or should I let the plant produce seeds?
 
Hi all:

Should I leave the flower stocks on my sarrs even though they are done blooming? or should I let the plant produce seeds?

:) Well, do you want seed?
 
How have they been pollinated?
 
If you don't want the seed then chop the flower. You may want to keep the stem though as it can photosynthesize.
 
Alexis is a better one to respond, but my understanding is that the seeds will be ripened in the fall.
 
Hi All:

Im not sure if they are pollinated or not, but now they are falling down, so I guess I will chop them. The plant seems healthy enough.
 
I wanted to ask something similar, I have a flower (my first) and all the anthers have fallen out of it and the base of the "umbrella" has swollen. I have no other Sarracenia in flower. The chance of it being pollinated is...? Basically I am also wondering if I should chop mine.

Thanks!
-J.P.

p.s. sorry for the mini-hijack
 
My oreophila flowered and I tried to pollinate it, I used the how to pollinate a sarracenia flower faq but I had trouble finding the stigma. My first sarracenia to flower.

So seed should be ready next fall?:0o:
 
If the flower was successfully pollinated it will usually, but not always, "nod" upwards so that the face of the flower is perpendicular to the ground. The anthers and petals will drop off and the ovary at the base of they style will start to swell and remain green throughout the summer, slowly hardening and turning brown as the seeds ripen.

If unpollinated the anthers and petals will still drop off but the flower will typically not "nod" upwards and the ovary will shrivel and turn brown within a few weeks.
 
  • #10
• The swelling of the ovary doesn't necessarily indicate seed
• Flowers left to their own devices, outside, will probably have been pollinated by bees
• The flowers are designed not to self pollinate, so if you have one lonesome flower you won't get any seed (unless you pollinated it yourself manually)
• If you have flowers which won't contain seed, you can either chop them off for your own aesthetic requirements, or leave them on to photosynthesise.


My oreophila flowered and I tried to pollinate it, I used the how to pollinate a sarracenia flower faq but I had trouble finding the stigma. My first sarracenia to flower.

So seed should be ready next fall?

There are 5 stigmas, each one a lump on the top side of each umbrella 'spoke'.
It sounds like you didn't manage it though, so I doubt you'll be seeing seed in September or October.

Finally
• self pollination or crossing two flowers on the same plant is generally not a good idea. Generally inbreeding can create weak plants.
 
  • #12
Man, that's a great illustration! Even I can do that... next year!
 
  • #13
That' very useful, Not a Number. I don't understand why you have to wrap the flower before pollination, though. It would make sense afterwards so it won't be badly damaged and so when the seed pods open, you get the seeds.
 
  • #14
If you want to breed hybrids of known parentage bagging/netting the flowers is a must to prevent insects from pollinating the flowers naturally.
 
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