Alocasia hybrid QUESTION

I am not sure if anyone will really know the answer to this but thought I would throw it out their.

What do you get when you cross a Alocasia Macrorrhiza with Colocasia Pink China?

I am guessing something really odd with a chance of being cold hardy??


Well it seems to be producing berries. I am not sure if it will produce viable seed yet. I have heard of crosses like this being done but this is the first time the flower continued swell and berries form. I have two seed heads of this hybrid swelling up. So cross your fingers we may have a good one here.

Can't wait to see the result.
A hardy alocasia-like plant with rigid, upright leaves would be a dream come true Brian!

Also, that's a great picture to visualize the berries!

Alocasia x Colocasia, didn't know that world work. Keep us posted on the results.

I have heard of three times this has been done. One was by the famous Botanist Joseph Bognor which produced a very mutated weak plant. Also more recently a hybrid between Col Gigantea and Macrorrhiza a natural hybrid found by Tony Avent and others on a recent Thailand trip. And last was a repot of a similar hawaii hybrid years ago not much info on that one.

How exciting. How long does it take the seeds to ripen?

Usually 1 to 3 months.

This sort of thing sure takes patience, good thing you've got so many other things keeping you busy lol Can't wait to see the results!

Brian, did you cut the window to do the pollenation or to watch the development?

Here I have a time limit on when and what I can breed. In most cases I need the plant to produce seed as well as pollen so I have more genetic material to work with. I cut the window out to do the pollination after wards a plastic baggy goes over the lower half leaving the top spadix to develop pollen. I then take the pollen off and use it else were. This technic has worked extremely well.

This message was edited Aug 24, 2006 11:11 AM

How do you determine when the female part is fertile?

Ric

I can usually tell when the female is fertile from the smell or the way the flowers look if they are partially open they are ready but the very next day it will drop pollen so you usually only have one day to work with them.

Ah........So if I'm seeing pollen drop I've waited too long.
Thanks!
Ric

Ric, sounds to me like you'd better gather up some of that pollen and wait for the next bloom.

Brian, does it actually get flowers on the female part like I saw on one of the amorphophallys threads? Guess I'd better get a magnifying glass if I ever get a bloom.

Brian that is wonderful. Congrats. Your greenhouses are beautiful! You have the life I gotta say!!! My gingers are getting bigger (wrong forum I know)
Melaney