the brugmansia blooms? I couldn't figure it out.
Calalily
Karma, how do I hand polinate
Karma
It's the one on the photo forum. It's still blooming, this morning there were a half dozen or more blooms and more buds to open. It was a tip cutting this time last year. It's in a large container with horse poop in it and potting soil on top of that. I have hand pollinated daylilies and hosta, but never brugs. I couldn't believe the size of the stigma and staymen.
Calalily
Calalily, thanks for your help with brug id and with that nasty gold beetle. first time i have seen those, but there was a pile of them.
ignorance is bliss. this week i used my finger and transferred pollen from frosty pink to my unknown yellow/gold.... waiting to see if it will made a seed pod. i have seed pods starting on FP, waiting to see if they fall off. i guess it was moths but i noticed bees really working it over.
arlene
Karma
I've got several other varieties, but they aren't blooming yet. I've thought about trying to cross Juter Orange with Frosty Pink and maybe get a darker peach. I've also got Versicolor Peach, Ecuador Pink, Candida Yellow and Suaveolens White. I've ordered some from LeBon but haven't received them yet.
Calalily
ps I'll let you know how it goes and if I get any seed pods.
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Brugmansia can be hand pollinated before they even open. I typically take pollen anthers and all and apply it to the stigma of another species or hybrid. I do this by making a slit on the underside of the calyx to get into the flower early. I have found that the best time for me to hybridize Brugmansia and get lucky as Karma says is early in the morning before the sun rises or after the sun sets. Making the slit on the top of the flower allows rain or sprinklers to wash the pollen off and is not recommended. I also find that watering the Brugmansia that you are going to be using for pollen a bit more heavily than normal a few days before it opens enhances your chance of getting more pollen to work with. If the pollen is too sparse or the Brugmansia was not watered enough making a seed pod can be a bit difficult. Pollen from Brugmansia is generally viable for 6 days without freezing. If one is going to freeze pollen it is best to collect on a fluffed up q-tip in my oppinion and store in an airtight container in the freezer until one is ready to use it. One q-tip is generally enough for 5 or so seed pods. Personally, I tend to always cross different species to different species. Or in other words, versicolor to aurea or suaveolens or a hybrid that already has 2 or more species in it. I do like the aurea genes though and will use aurea pink on aurea yellow or aurea white. I find that one should typically set a seed pod on the faster setting/maturing Brugmansia if one is doing a cross and use the slower seed setting plant as a pollen donor. If the Brugmansia is growing slower than another then the slower growing Brugmansia is generally a slower seed setter as well. A good seed setter sets seed in 4 months or less that one can then plant immediately without removing the seed coat. I recommend planting at least 1/2 of all seed from each seed pod and selecting out the ones you like for leaf charateristics, rate of growth, etc before one even gets them out of the seed tray. Pick the best 2 or 3 if you have limited space from each cross. Best is relative as everyone has different criteria. By saying best at this stage, we are refering to individual likes, serrated leaves versus velvety leaves for instance.
Hope this helps,
Brugmansia
Hope this helps,
Brugmansia.