There are a couple of buds appearing on my 5-ft high brug plant (started from seed from a trade). This is the first time this plant has produced buds. There is one almost coming to open. Another one will follow it the next day judging by the growth-rate. My question is, now that there are two in two days, is it proper for me to pollinate them for seeds (I heard that they have to be manually pollinated). How to do it? Does this work, because one will be a day older than the other. The colour of the bud is about greenish to yellow, as it is coming out of the calyx.
My brug will bloom 'morrow -help
Dinu, you need two geneticly different plants for a successful pollination. If you have only the one plant the cross won't take. Most brugs (with the exception of B. arborea), aren't self fertle.
If you have other plants from the seeds it will be possible to cross them for pods. You can collect the pollen and save it for when you get blooms on the other plants.
How to save the pollen, Susan? I have two other plants. One is the white one and the other one does not seem to be doing well. Another one had dried up.
It has not bloomed today as I expected, but it should, surely tomorrow. I see a lot more yellow now and by all probabilities it should be a big yellow flower.
Sounds so pretty!
I take long tweezers and snip off the anthers and put them on wax paper. Then I fold up the wax paper carefully into a little packet. I use masking tape to close it for masking tape is easily removable. Then I wrap in silver foil tightly, then put in a freezer bag labeled on the masking tape, and pop it into the freezer. When ready to pollinate I take it out of freezer and dab my little paint brush (a kids) and in the pollen and then dab the stigma. I stick the pollen right bag into the freezer.
If it is only going to be a few days, I put the pollen in the refrigerator in the wax paper and foil to keep it fresh.
In case you do not know how to pollinate, here is a great and easy to understand site.
http://calastropicals.com/content/page3.html
Good luck Dinu.
Thank you kell. I remember having asked that same question in another thread and the same link was given by someone. I remember that now. I will try the wax paper method.
I'm in office right now and it rained heavily for 30 minutes. I only hope that the weight of the rain water on the buds will not make it break and fall off. That will be the first thing I will be verifying when I reach home this evening. It's exactly 3km away. So chances of rain there too is high. Some of my daturas break off that way in heavy rain. So I'm temporarily worried.
Let us know! I sure hope yours are OK!!
It stood the rain and almost open by morning. It has turned out to be the white one. By evening it will fully open. This is my third brug bloom in one year. I just noticed a couple more buds.
It still may change color! Though lots of seedlings are white, seems to be a dominate color.
That's amazing, kell. This afternoon when I went home for lunch, I noticed the other one closely and man, it is a yellow, more yellow than the one open now.
That is what is so much fun with growing from seeds. you never know what you will get! And the next flush may look totally different and then next year also! Not to mention the change in color with the seasons. So much fun!
Both are white, as they turned out to be. Have taken a picture on film and will post it here soon. Have to collect pollen. I never realised that so much suspense involved in brugs.
Here is the much awaited picture! My second D is for proportion of the size of the bloom!
Cute picture. Nice clean pure white blooms.
Yes Dinu, much suspense and much excitement!
Your daughter is lovely and your brug is looking great also! What is that pink flower in the background?
That pink flower is the Mussaenda, blooming well this time. She's the second D in the picture. The Mussaenda is next to this brug. I notice a few more little buds and so I'll be gathering pollen from them.
Dinu great picture of both your daughter and your brug.....
I have never seen that tree before. Looks like it can add lots of color to your yard. Please tell your darling daughter, HELLO from California, United States!
Oh yes, kell. I will surely convey that to her. She will be very fascinated to hear that. One should have seen her exitement when one of our friends here on DG sent some little gifts to her as well as her younger sister. You can't get that expression for any money!
Yes indeed, that Mussaenda is one catchy little shrub beside my pond. It's been there for about 4 years.
Isn't the computer just great? Makes the world such a small place!
No doubt about it, but it also makes short our times for other things too!
So true Dinu!! So true!! I am trying to cut back myself.
I speak from my own experience! We got the cable connection 4 years ago and the result is my garden as it is now! LOL! My kids go to my aunt's (living in another portion of our house itself) to see any interesting TV channel programs. They have that. So it came as a boon.
My garden also has suffered. I spend too much time talking about it and not enough time in it! LOL
Dinu, great photo, lovely daughter and brug blooms. I too am trying to cut back. We have had temps in high 90s and 100 this past week. Today slightly cooler now at just after noon here it is 89. So will get close to 95 anyway. Donna
Summer is round the corner. This plant seems to be doing well. Grown to about 6 feet tall, and branching nicely at various places, exp. at spots where the branch is horizontal. Should I cut the 'extra' length of the branch where the tips are having 'weaker' leaves? It gave out 4-5 flowers after I posted that earlier one above.
Dinu
I bet it grows big this year. With lots of blooms. Did you ever get to pollinate a bloom? So are brugs rare in India? Are you the talk of the neighborhood with it, Dinu?
Hope it will go through the hot summer months coming up now. Up to May end. It will be tough on tender plants. Since the seed of this came from a colder zone, it might be taking time to acclimatize - hope it will, from hereon, since it has now established a good root system -- mine is in the ground.
Yes, brugs seem to be rare here. Last year, a popular school was having it. I was surprised when I saw it - and wrongly labeled 'datura species'.
I did not get to pollinate it since the other plant beside it was not in bloom. This one is not doing as well as the one in the picture, but showing signs of doing well, Kell. Next time it blooms, I will have it published in the local eveninger and publicize it.
Kell, I happened to see some of your lovely brug blooms in many colours.
This message was edited Feb 16, 2005 9:41 AM
Just glanced at my plant this morning. Wow! Wow! There are NINE buds ready to bloom in a few days. I may miss the grand show :( Boo hoo boo hooo. Have to leave home for 5 days on 24th. Cricket takes me to Chennai on the east coast, 10 hours by rail.
Oh no Dinu! Can anyone take some pictures for you? If you get it published in your paper, you must post a copy of it for us to see! Good luck on your cricket!
Thank you Kell for the nice suggestion. I think I will hand over the camera and the responsibility in the event of it blooming to my elder daughter - this will also give a chance for her to 'click' and I rarely offer the camera to her. Let's see. Thank you for your wishes for my cricket matches. Will surely return to this thread on my return.
Dinu
There were in fact, 13 buds that gave a wonderful show and I happened to return just after that, but still not completely over. My daughter has managed to click a picture on film.
Our team lost in the final yet again to the same team that is the champion for the last 6years. Somehow, they look undefeatable by us. I did pretty well to save two of the three matches and convert defeats into victories, to which my captain was very happy and so was our other team members. I enjoyed my cricket and the popularity of my talent in that city.