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D.capensis flowering

C

cchang

I don't know if this is normal or not, but my D.capensis that is flowering right now looks kind of dry.

It starts off looking like a "rose bud", but as it grows, it seems to turn to a dark purple (versus bright purple) and is all wrinkly. Reminds me of a freeze dried raisin. Are the flowers suppose to look this before it opens? So far, this has happened to only one but there are 4 more about to flower.
 
This is not typical. Flowers can abort for many reasons, but it might be the roots are compromised in some way. The first thing to be affected in such cases are the flowers.
 
Are you sure you are seeing the flowers when they are open?
The description sounds like what they llok like after they have closed.

Regards,

Joe
 
Hi Joe,

I water them twice everyday... so unless they opened and closed in a 12 hour period, then I maybe I missed it opening? The longest I go without checking on my CPs is 24 hours.
The rest of the D.capensis seems to be ok, other than the fact that the whole plant might be tilted a bit.

The only change I made recently was I added foil-like surfaces to the back and sides to give it more light. This caused the entire plant to tilt to one side as the scape grew towards the higher intensity light.

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Cchang I just had my  D.capensis 'alba' flower . I  wanting to get a photo of it but each time I kept missing the flower opening.

One day I saw it open and as I was headed out the door, I thought great ill get a photo when I get back home in a couple hours but by then it was closed. I did manage to see another flower open on it but sure enough I snapped one picture and my camera ran out of power, so all I got is one out of focus shot.

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On a similar note I never saw my D.capillaris flower open but it did produce seed, so I am guessing your just missing the opening.
 
Hey Cchang,
Capensis flowers are only open for a very short time. I've had them open and close in under one hour! So you very well may have missed it. They're tricky to catch!
 
I don't believe it!!! And I was going to 'swish' it around to help it self-pollinate. Oh well... I guess it'll do it on its own.

So how do I collect the seeds now? Do I just wait for the flower to fall off? The entire scape is now hovering over my pot of U.sandersonii and I'd prefer to keep them seperate.

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I usually wait until about 3/4 of the individual pods are brown then cut the scape. Waiting longer will mean weed D. capensis in your pots. This gives me all the seed I or anyone could want. I put the cut scape into a paper envelope with the name marked on it, and allow it to dry for about 2 weeks. The seed will come free with a little agitation. I put this in a small paper envelope, and place this in a ziplock bag in the fridge until needed.

Nice thinking Joe, I never even considered that possibility, LOL.
 
I've noticed that the flowers open around noontime. After they've closed though, you can gently roll the bud (heh heh, sorry I couldn't resist) in your fingers to help it pollinate.
 
  • #10
LOL, and to think that I never thought of this! Thanks for the tip, my D. montana var. tomentosa and D. graomogolensis are flowering now, but the flowers have all been cleistogamous and I haven't been able to make like a bee! I think this will help!
 
  • #11
Yea!!! My first seeds to be collected.

Once again, my gratitude to everybody who helped!

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  • #12
LOL Michelle,
You're SO BAD
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  • #13
Sorry to bring this topic back up....

I now have about 8 flowers which have closed on the scape. I think I'm ready to cut the scape to collect the seeds now but how do I know that the pods have been pollinated? There is a slight reddish coloration where the pod/flower connects to the scape. Does the coloration correspond to the viability of the seeds in the pod?

Thanks
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  • #14
I usually harvest the seed when about 3/4 of the seed pods have turned brown. This is a good indicator of mature seed.
 
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