has anyone planted seeds straight out of the pod?

just did a few, wondering. and if the pods never split, what good are the seeds naturally where they occur? or do maybe birds eat them and scatter them?

I did that with four arborea seeds. They haven`t shown yet. Did I do something wrong here? It beeeeeeen a month now.

I used 4 seeds also, just planted today... maybe 4 isn't a good number? lol. someone mentioned it was funny to dry them oout and then soak them, thought i would try.

Arlene,
I planted some of those weird Jamican yellow right from the pod into a small container and they came up like there was no tomorrow....not sure if all the seeds will do that.

There`s nothing wrong with #4. Its my number of luck *l* In mother Theresa ... no joking here ... nature some brug fruits dry partly out and split and lose their seeds. Other seeds remain inside the fruit when it falls of the plant. They are freed, when the pod rots. arborea is one of the latter kind. Every time a given plant rot, there a released GA-3 (gibberelic acids) and it could be, that some brug seeds could benefit from treatment. I don`t know about the US or Canada, but here I can go straight down and buy it. Oooh, yes. J. L. Hudson sells it. What kind of brugs did you put into the pot, Arlene?

a versi hybrid, ep x drs i think, maybe the other way around but i think brugman usually makes the pink the mama. now that makes sense.

i noticed today what i think is a baby brug growinng up by my X Versi light peach, will post a pic later. i am sure i opened a seed pod next to it and probably dropped some.

Arlene,
Depending on the maturity of your seed pod, the seeds will definitely germinate while soft and brand new. In fact, you would be surprised at the germination you can get from tiny immature looking seeds.
I discovered this with my first seed pod when I first began hybridizing my own brugs. I was so excited about this pod and I studied it every day with dreams of a beautiful hybrid that I would name after my mom. One day I found it laying on the ground and my heart was broken. I immediately decided to open the small pod and plant these tiny little white blobs anyway. Much to my delight they quickly germinated, I'm talking within 2 days quickly. I had what seemed like millions of these tiny little treasures and it was kind of sad that I had to throw most of them away. Lack of space at the time. None that I kept turned out to be worthy of my mom's name but I still keep a few of these humble beginnings around. I just can't part with my very first , although ugly babies.
I had the same positive germination experience with my immature Species, aurea and Shredded White pods too. These along with x candidas seem to be the worst for dropping seedpods at an early stage. Of course it would have to happen on the plants we most desire seeds from. If you ever experience these pod drops, plant the seeds anyway. You just might get a nice surprise.
Vicki

Vicki, thanks so much for the info. i had a feeling they might. these weren't dropped pods, first time with seeds, quite a few on and i just have trouble keeping my hands off.

woohoo, im happy, no more peeling the cork after ive dried them, lol
vicki, are any of your hybrids on the market?
jen

Arlene, I know what you mean. I still have to fight the desire to pluck'em early :) There is nothing more exciting than waiting for the first flowers on your own crosses. Sometimes it feels like the flowers will never come. It has taken some of my seedlings 3 years to flower.

Jen, My 2 best hybrids Cassie and Cierra were going to be marketed this spring. Unfortunately, they have proven to be too virus prone and I can not release them with a clear conscience.
Cassie, is a cross of aurea yellow gold and x grimaldi. Nodding orange flower, very recurved and prissy looking, with a beautiful texture. Cierra is cream colored, has split sepals, intensely recurved, and is very tiny like arborea. She is a cross of aurea white and Grimaldi.
So... none of my own personal hybrids are on the market, although I will take credit for Whiskers and Ollie. My friend Gloria germinated, raised and named Whiskers. So much time has passed, I do not remember who germinated and raised Ollie but I see Ollie's name pop up once in a while, so I know he still exist.
We are currently trialing many of our new hybrids involving the Euro crosses. Arlene, talk about impatience :) I never realized just how impatient I can really be. It was so hard to keep my fingers off of the pods.
These new hybrids are beautiful but are still being studied for quality growth habits, flower production and cultural needs. We are keeping our fingers crossed in hopes that all will pass our strict requirements.
Vicki

I have Ollie - it was given to me by Glory. It's doing better than most of the others and I can't wait to see flowers from him. Gee Vicki... we'd love to see pictures of of your hybrids. Even if we can't have 'em we still love to look.

Vicki,
How in the heck are you?...been a very long time since I have talked to you.
Ollie is a very nice Brug...it blooms it's little head off all season...non stop.
Whiskers is another nice one....it now has offspring itself and I have more seedpods on it again.
When are you going to develope a double pink for us? :0)

Great to have you here.

Gloria

Very good to see you in here Vicky, having such a knowledgeable brug grower in hybridizer in here as yourself will hopefully help us all to learn something. Have you any hybridizing tips to add for us in here? I am trying to get a double pink myself, but I am working with Butterfly and Rosabell crossed to Candida species and then hopefully back to HG. Only have the Butterfly and Rosabell crosses to Candida species right now going, but perhaps this weekend I can cross the HG to Rosabell and simply cross their offspring? Don't really know which way I am going to go with the seedlings right now, but if anyone can create a double pink for us I believe you can. Having a double pink or two to start off with helps as well though. Have you made any crosses with any double pinks to another double pink yet and how did they come out?

Hi,
Thank you for your message but unfortunately the answers are not simple. Developing quality new hybrids is not a simple process.

The first thing that needs to be understood is that you are working with modern cvs of Brugmansia and these are thought to be complex interspecific hybrids between four or more different species. Because of its origin and cytological
polymorphism the offspring of their crosses may render an extraordinary number of chromosome combinations where it is nearly impossible to predict their morphological or physiological characteristics. We are trying to do a meiotic chromosome count in anther squashes of some cultivars that we intend to use in our breeding program. This will enable us to have a better idea of the possible number of chromosome combinations and reduce the number of aleatory combinations.

I have turned all growing and hybridizing responsiblities over to my partners in Rainbow Heights CA. who are much more experienced than I am. As of this past October, I personally, no longer grow brugs to sell nor am I involved in the important studies, and hybridizing efforts that Rainbow Heights has undertaken. Pictures of our(their) newest hybrids will be released early this coming year.

Sorry that I can't be of more help but hybrids involve so much more than just simply pollinating. This subject is best left to the real experts.

I do wish you luck in your hybridizing efforts. I believe there is no luck like a beginners luck. I believe it's just as possible for you to create something special as it is for the most experienced. I encourage you to "Go for it!" Keep good records so you can share your experiences with others in the future :)
I look forward to your success,
Vicki

Good Morning Gloria,
I think of you so often. Especially when I hear the word hurricane :). I miss the old days and my special friends such as you.
I am proud that you have taken such good care of Whiskers and Ollie. You and Woody are the only ones who kept your word and kept me updated the best you could on these early hybrids. Honorable people and good friends. I would trust you with anything.

Your friend, Vicki

hoping for beginners luck, especially since the moths have pollinated my seeds. Vicky, seems like i had a really good brain before i had kids. you used about 10 words that i would have to look up. if i were younger it is sure something i would want to work on, would love to be able to tissue culture. it is fun, though, anyway.

Personally, I don't know many hybridizers who would claim to be able to predict what they were going to get from any said seed. You can predict ratio's to a certain extent, but most of the hybridizers I know simply focus on traits that they like. Ie, if they want diamond dusting on a Hemerocallis for example they cross it to another that already has diamond dusting. If they want doubles they cross doubles to other doubles. I personally feel that hybridizing is fun and not something that one needs to be overly technical to achieve success at. Sure, back crossing/test crossing and such is great to see if those traits are inherent in say a Double white x Frosty pink. But this is fairly simple, one simply crosses the seedling back to both of its parents to see if any of the resulting seeds show up with doubles or pinks respectively...If both said genes are in the seedling one can then cross to another Double white x Frosty white that has also tested positive for both traits. One then back crosses again to test for those traits. Or one can simply make all three crosses at the same time. Do a test batch from each one and then grow out the seeds from the batch that has the genes/traits one desires. Its really not that technical at all. Time consuming yes. But to make things easier, its simple enough to just put pretty on pretty or double orange on double pink, or whatever trait one is after. I admit there are many hybridizers who know much much more than I do, but I feel that by sharing-posting this knowledge and removing some of the so called mystery surrounding hybridizing that we will have much better hybrids in the future, even if just by luck. To think how many sites are out there that cover the types of Brugs, how to identify brugs, etc...But how many sites go into how to pollenate brugs, post pictures of the different parts of the flower, little tips on things like that? The one thing it takes to make great hybrids is simply to have two great hybrids and a bit of luck. Of course, having a notebook, writing down each cross and keeping track of what each seedling is-thats the true mark of becoming addicted to hybridizing. When one charts out the possible crosses one wants to make with any two given seedlings, but is still flexible enough to recognize and go after future traits that may show up....
Please don't give up on hybridizing Vicki. To hybridize is simply to reach for a goal and strive to keep that goal in mind.

This message was edited Friday, Dec 14th 10:33 AM