The Datura has burst out with blooms again tonight and thought I'd share part of the evenings activities with our fuzzy little friends who were so loaded down with pollen that they were having trouble flying...
Enjoy!
You're welcome to add your own pics if you'd care to share whatever blooms you're enamored with today.
1. Datura, opening at dusk
2. Datura, open and ready for pollination
3. Datura, honeybee on stamens
4. Datura, INCOMING!
5. Datura, double trouble
Beautiful pictures TXSkeeter. Do the bees continue to work after dark? I just moved this to my "have" to have some of these seeds list!!!
Thank you bezziec for your comment.
The honeybees start to appear one after another about the time that the blooms are just barely unfurling. One of them is undoubtedly carrying an alarm clock of some sort and just as it gets almost too dark to see with the naked eye, they all disappear over the course of a couple of minutes.
Very lovely pictures indeed!!!
Beautiful. What a fun plant.
Wonderful pictures! My husband, who is also a photographer, thinks they are very nice shots. He wants to know what camera you are using.
cg: Camera is an older Canon 50D, Canon 100mm f/2.8 IS lens, with a Canon MT24-ex flash mounted on RRS brackets. Flash was set to ETTL -2/3, lens f/stop set to 8 primarily because the upper adjustment wheel is almost stripped and it's a real trial to change f/stops, and ISO 100.
I typically use my Canon 7D for daily use but leave the 50D set up as a macro rig so I can grab and shoot quickly when needed. Thanks for asking...
To others: I appreciate your comments.
Steve
I loved the info about the bees. Very efficient, those bees!
Great pictures! How fun to vicariously watch the datura open. Could you add the fragrance as well? :)
Unfortunately not but the thought of directly calling Canon's R&D Department to ask for a "fragrance" feature has crossed my mind more than once over the years. :o)
Great shots!
Do datura seeds get 'old'? I thought that you could save them forever, but I saw some other posts (diff. forum) that seem to indicate otherwise. Experience? Thoughts?
I have lots of seeds of the white also a limited supply of the 2x purple can share the white at most any time but the purple(pod) is still immature
I'm of the opinion that all seeds can get "old" and non viable eventually but in general, if you follow the standard instructions of being sure that the seeds are dry and mature when you store them in various receptacles, be that paper, glass, or plastic, and keep them at a reasonable temperature while in storage (say high 30's to 85-90°F max), most seeds should remain viable for at least two to three years with some lasting longer or shorter depending on the individual variety of plant. We've all heard of a gardener finding seeds they stored away in a drawer several years ago, planted the seeds and still found quite admirable germination rates so there are always exceptions to every rule.
As a for instance, many wildflowers produce seeds that may lay dormant in the soil for years until conditions are right for germination. On the other hand, the recommendations for many lily seeds are to plant right away as they don't survive any but the most advantageous conditions in storage.
JMO
Steve
