OK now I'm getting nervous.The pod that has taunted me ALL winter is looking weird.Its not real soft,and the calyx is still green.But the tip has turned dark,and just above the dark part it turned light yellow(also softer in that area.)Is it dying?It's been there since August.Its kinda small too but the plant is only 2 1/2 foot tall.No I don't have any nu- skin Calla..LOL.....What do I do?????
no expert here, but i would have already picked it....i think i'll be calmer about it this year. who's the daddy?
The pink that Kyle said is Frosty pink is the Daddy....
when the pod turns lighter and gets shrieveled it is usually ripe. I always wait till the pod gets wrinkled and the stem turns light then I harvest the seeds.Some of my pods over the winter get completely dry on the outsides before I pick them.
Earl at valleygrow has totally brown, dried seedpods on his plants.
TiG, I remembered seeing that and asked him why and he said they had to be that color to pick. He's never seen me around seed pods has he?
CC, I would have already made at least a little slice in that pod!! I think Gloria said the versicolor's pencuncles don't always turn yellow when the pod is ripe, but the tip turns brown. Take a razor(the kind with the orange handle so you don't cut your finger) hold the pod in one hand and make a little slice thru the skin, but not deep enough to cut the seeds and take a peek. It will heal over even without new skin.
I'll do that when I get home from work.....
I must confess I generally pick the seedpods when they are still green. I wait for the peduncle to turn yellow sometimes, but I have gotten into the habit of pulling them before that as well. If the seeds turn brown upon exposure to the air for a bit they generally germinate just fine. I just don't have the patience to wait for a seedpod to dry up. At the most, I wait for the seedpod to get a bit mushy and the peduncle to turn bright yellow. Other than that, its a dry moth pollinated seedpod or a cross I have lost interest in as I have other crosses started I like better started.
