Colocasia breeding 2006

I thought I would share what I have been breeding. Please note that these are not plants yet but are attempts at producing seed. It can take 2 to 3 years to get the plant up to size and then multiply. So for some this does not sound very interesting but for me it is extremely exciting. These plants will be totally new and could be cold hardy or better colorations. I am hoping for gigantic black elephant ears or some odd coloration with extreme hardiness.


Colocasia Mother plant--------------------------------Colocasia Father pollen put on the plants

Gigantea-------------------------Pink china, Big Dipper, Illustrius, Sp, Black Magic, Fontenesii

Pink china-------------------------Big dipper, Gigantea, Sp, Black Magic, Fontenesii, Illustrius

Sp origin of illustrius?-----------------------------------Big dipper, Pink china, Illustrius,

Big dipper--------------------Pink China, Illustrius, Sp, Black magic, Fontenesii, Gigantea

Alocasia Macrorrhiza-----------------------------------Colocasia pink china

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This message was edited Aug 29, 2006 12:03 PM

This message was edited Aug 29, 2006 12:04 PM

This message was edited Aug 29, 2006 12:04 PM

This message was edited Aug 29, 2006 12:05 PM

This message was edited Aug 29, 2006 12:05 PM

Much luck.

hope it works for you. It will not help 'me' since it doesn't get cold here... it is always the heat I have to look out for.

Hey Brian
Could I comission you to cross Alocasia Macrorrhiza Variegata and Colocasia Yellow splash or Alocasia Hilo beauty and see what happens. Is variegation passed on in a seed polination or just in pups.

Their are a few forms of variegation in plants some virus some genetics. The forms with gentic are usually the more beautiful. I have found that both can be passed onto the seedlings if the variegated plant is the mother plant. It does not always happen I find that if the flowers had streaked stems its a good sign as well as the seedheads can at times show variegation. I would try any of the forms you mentioned but they all rarely if ever flower for me.

Well maybe if mine ever flower I'll have you instruct me on how to go about it.
Thanks

Brian
Is that Miranda in the picture. How long should it take for an EE pup/baby of 6 inches to mature into full size assuming all conditions are right or does it sport vary.

This is colocasia Miranda and all plants off of it look identical to me no sports as of yet.

As for growing colocasias I can get a plant from 6 inches to 6 feet tall in one season here in full sun in rich soil. Usually with a lot of pups on it.

Is Miranda a new hybrid? It's a beauty.

Here is a pic of Gigantea with berries forming. How exciting is this?? I have just about everything known I can try on this one.

Pink china berries.

I know you're excited. How long will it take for them to ripen? Are they in the ground or in pots? Will they continue to ripen in the gh?

It can take a month or two for them to rippen. They are all in the ground and I can move them if they are not ready yet. Its not easy but I can dig up a large chunk and they bairly notice they were moved. I did this last year with good results.

Good luck, and please keep us updated.

Well I have been working a lot on getting the seeds prepared and ready to grow. A few have started germinating already. I have added up what I have done so far. I have 45 trays with 72 cells in each tray and three seeds per cell. If all goes well and they all germinate and grow which I doubt but if they do I should have 9720 new Colocasias. One small detail is I am only half way done with my seed heads I am am thinking by the end of it I may be looking closer to 20,000 seedlings. I have been thinking about it already and if this happens I don't believe I will have enough space LOL. I may have to work with some friends on using land in a zone 8 or so to test them. These plants cannot be sold or given away. I am sure their are going to be some amazing plants in these batches. Hopefully many of them will be hardy in zone 5 or more. Hardiness was one of the main things I trying for in my breeding. Here is a picture of a few hundered seeds getting cleaned in a bowl.

Gosh! You go Brian, hardy in 5 would be just tremendous! I could offer up some small space for Zone 5b, testing.... ;)

I would love to be a friend.

I am looking for someone to possibly help me grow these out. But to tell the truth the relationship would be fairly one sided.LOL I have the ability to grow tons of plants here but the numbers I might be pushing maybe more than I can handle. I plan to contact a few friends but I do not want the plants across the country just one place that is warm enough for them to do well with out the scare of losing them and letting them get to full size so I can judge them Basically I need someone to grow them care for them not sell or release any. It would probably take a acre or more to grow them all out so it maybe sometime before we get to see these on the market.

Well I am tired and my hands and eyes hurt. I have been putting seeds into trays now for over a month and I am only half way finished. I thought I would share a photo of what 10,000 or more colocasia seed trays look like in a greenhouse. I am sure if all goes well these hybrids will be grown in our gardens for many years to come. Some of the crosses I am extremely excited about. Now all I have to do is grow 20,000 colocasias and judge them all to see which are the best LOL.

Quite a job Brian, what percent germination do you expect?

I am hoping for something around 90 or more percent but it is very hard to say. I usually do well with the plants till they get about 3 inches tall then they tend to rot easily. This year I planted them a bit further apart and I have a much nicer and well heated area for them. The other years I was probably getting almost 100 percent germination but losing many to rot months later.

You have me thinking about your rotting problem Brian. I know that therre hase been a lot of research done about the loctation of plants in the wild as far as location using GPS, light conditions, rainfall and the like. Has there ever been any accurate studies about airflow? especially airflow, light etc in and around the young seedlings in the wild? It just seems to me that damping off of young plants is such a common problem with all types of plants but I guess especially so in a more humid tropical climate needed to grow Aroids sucessfully.

From the hundreds of seeds some Aroids produce I've got to think there's a high mortality in seedlings.
How are the seeds spread?
I know Hitch Hiker is spread by animals passing and carrying.
What about Colocasia?
The seedlings either have many predators eating the seeds and passing thru the digestive tract are deposited elsewhere or they just drop off the plant.
I'm thinking the predators.
Drop 100 seeds in one spot in fertilized soil......survival of the fittest......

I've had good luck w/ using oscillating fans in my GH.
The constantly changing air currents seem to strengthen the plants and fights off rot.
I've had far less problem w/ pests too.
Whether this is from stronger plants or just creating conditions the pests don't like I'm not sure.

Do Colocasia seed all year in the wild or is there a 'Season'?

Ric

I have one fan in each greenhouse but am thinking about adding another. Right now electrical outlets are the biggest problem not enough of them.

As for Colocasias distributing seeds. I am not sure if anyone knowns for sure how it is done or by who it is done. The seed pods could easily be eaten by birds but they are so low to the ground and hard to find. Mice or rodents maybe the case. They do tend to drop right next to the parent you would think this would no work but in most cases colocasias are in ditches and next to streams so this maybe a way to let rising waters take them away? Just a few thoughts I have had on it. The problem is colocasias rarely if ever produce seed naturaly. I have only one species that selfseeds all other forms I know of never produces unless pollinated. It seems pollination is not very common at all the window for it to happen in is usually only a few hours. I have never seen or heard of a natural cross I am sure it happens but non have been reported.

As for a season. I don't think most Colocasias have a season but you can make them have one. I find that once they reach a certain size they will flower. If you have them all a good size and plant them out in good weather come spring you will get uniform flowering among many of them. In the tropics I am sure they flower year round or when weather is suitable. Having a down time and bringing them back to a growing season tends to make them produce flowers.