I've posted this on the identification forum as well, but perhaps the bromeliaphiles out there would like to give this a go, too. My little plant, barely three inches tall and wide and I'm guessing about two-three years old, sent up a flower spike three feet tall about a month ago. It bore 14 flowers a little under an inch long. What is it?
And if the seedpods manage to produce seeds, how do I sow and grow them?
Thanks.
Ray
And here's a picture of the body of the plant.
http://fcbs.org/pictures.htm
maybe ?http://fcbs.org/pictures.htm
There are so many Bromelaids
This message was edited Jul 20, 2006 12:36 AM
http://fcbs.org/pictures.htm Genus: Deuterocohnia
Name: brevispicata
This message was edited Jul 20, 2006 12:39 AM
Violet_Treasure -
Sorry it's taken me so long to thank you for your posts and the link to the Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies - a great resource! The more I look at the pictures the more I believe my plant is indeed a Dyckia, but exactly which one I can't say.
Ray
I would bet on Dyckia too, especially with the bright orange flowers. Deuterochonias aren't very common in cultivation.
Dyckias usually do not set seed in cultivation without some help. Get a small artists brush and keep moving pollen from the anthers to the stigma. The pollen often is viable before the stigma, so keep at it throughout the day. You may have to move the anthers aside to get to the stigma.
It will take several months for the seed to become ready. The seed pods will fully dry (and sometimes begin to split open.) This is when you harvest it. Sow it just like anything else, in a peaty mix just below the surface. Keep them moist and warm.
digital_dave -
Thanks for the info! It turns out that four of the flowers managed to set seed - I manipulated the flowers several times over the course of a few days in the hope that the stigmas were ready for some pollen. So now there are those nearly black, full-of-promise pods developing at the end of that long flower stalk. I'll keep my eyes on the pods and will follow your advice for sowing the seeds.
Ray
