Hand-pollinating Caladiums?

Has a thread been done yet on hand-pollinating Caladiums? If so, could someone point me to the right thread link? If not, does anyone know how to pollinate Caladiums?

Here is one of the flowers of my Red Flash Caladium. Need some help on how to hand-pollinate the flower to get seeds. Thanks for any help y'all can give me.

This message was edited Jul 21, 2009 2:28 PM

I just now found your post; I have written an article for Dave's Garden about this procedure. Here's the link:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/869/

Good Luck,
LariAnn

Hi LariAnn!

Thanks for replying. I found information on the web and followed it. I hand-pollinated 4 spathes and got 2 that looked like it did work. I don't know at what point to expect the seeds to be ripe. I have heard that the seeds literally pop right out when ripe?

Here is a photo of #1 spathe. These were hand-fertilized over a month ago. I can't remember precisely.

This message was edited Jun 30, 2009 3:12 PM

Here is #2. Sorry the photos aren't real sharp but it is raining outside and slippery on the ground. Squattng down and leaning over on slippery surface is a bit precarious! LOL!

Have the seeds already been released? If not, how much longer do you think they have?

I need to get some pantyhose to put over both of them if they are not yet ripened. :-)

I am a visual learner, so without photos to look at and go by, I am clueless. Though sometimes a good descriptive article also works for me!

How long did the seeds take to germinate when you sowed them?

In all honesty, I don't even remember what I crossed them with! I only have 3 Caladium cultivars growing in my yard, so it should be pretty easy to figure it out. Or maybe not! LOL!

Becky,

Your berries are still developing, so you haven't lost them yet! Looks like you might have a couple of weeks left at most. When ripe, they just all fall off; also, I found that ants love them and will carry them all away. Any the ants don't get will dry up and you will lose them, hence the pantyhose plus twisty tie. You do need to check them every day because, as I mentioned in the article, they ripen just like the rise of dawn. Before you know it, you are wondering what happened to all your berries. So be forewarned . . .

The seeds seem to germinate very quickly, within a week or so. Check out the responses to my article as one fellow there has documented his berry development through seedlings and plants (with pictures, for the visually minded!).

LariAnn

I slip these bags over the pods of any seeds I want to catch. They work great for those plants that shoot their seeds.

http://www.giftsintl.com/organzabag.php

ardesia - Great idea! I have 2 bags that I received in a group swap that I had forgotten about. Will definitely use them for these seeds!

I am worried about the panty hose holding water. We have been getting a lot of rain lately. I don't want the seed pod to rot. So I don't want to put anything over the pod until it is a day or two within dropping the seeds.

LariAnn - Do the seed pods change color as they are close to ripening? Right now they seem dark in color. Do they change to a lighter color right before they drop seeds?

I read the postings by the young man who grew a nice selection of caladiums from seeds! Loved the nice color and pattern variations on the leaves of his new babies that he grew from his seeds!!! VERY COOL!!! I am using Red Flash, too, in my parentage. I have Aaron and Florida Sweetheart. But I think the only two in bloom were the Aaron and Red Flash, so no telling what I will get. Or I may have cross pollinated the same cultivar of Caladiums depending on pollen available for the day that I hand-pollinated each of the blooms.

Do they only bloom in the Spring/early Summer? Mine bloomed a lot when the leaves started coming up, but now no blooms at all. Would blooming fertilizer help to produce some more blooms?

Becky,

The berry heads lighten up some, but there is no sure way to know when the ripening is finished until you go out and find that the berries have fallen off already. The pantyhose does hold water but remember that Caladiums come from tropical areas where, when they are up and blooming, it rains a LOT. The main thing is to make sure you don't lose your work. If you've never done this before, you risk missing your chance and losing the berries if you wait too long.

Sometimes you can luck out and get a second wave of blooms in late Summer, but I don't count on that. I did all my work in the Spring, as you did. Blooming fert is only going to help make the tubers larger in the Fall rather than inducing more blooms. Of course, larger tubers is not a bad thing, either.

LariAnn

Thanks, LariAnn! I put the little crepe material baggies over the two I found and then as I was looking around at others in a different part of my garden, I found another seed pod that also took. So found some crepe/scarf material and cut a square and tied it on the seed pod with a trash tie. Hopefully that will work! Got my fingers crossed!

I can't believe all the babies that Johan got from his seed pods! So awesome!!!

I have a special Caladium cross or two of my own that I did this Spring, so both of us are going to be watching our berries closely until harvest. I'm mixing up the American Caladiums with the Thai ones. Then, there's the other Caladium crosses that I'm not even going to mention yet so as not to jinx them. After harvest, it's on to tiny seeds and then tiny plants. Lots of fun, some tedious work, but all worth it when you see something special sprout up.

LariAnn

:-) I'm sure hoping so! :-)

Good luck to you on your seeds! :-)

~Becky~

I just collected my first group of seeds from the first seed pod. This came from Red Flash and was crossed with Aaron. I have the other 2 seed pods still ripening. The crepe seed catcher bags worked great! They just fell right off the seed pod!

I can't wait to see what I get from this cross! :-)

This message was edited Jul 11, 2009 1:03 AM

LariAnn - What is the attraction for the Thai Caladiums? I saw that Johan purchased Thai caladiums, too! Are they hardier? Larger? Easier to cross?

Becky,

Here's a link to my article about them. The colors on some are so spectacular that it puts some of our Caladiums to shame. Of course, there are drawbacks, like extreme sensitivity to cold (NOT hardier!). But that hasn't stopped me from crossing with them . . .

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/904/

LariAnn

LariAnn - Oh My! What gorgeous Caladiums from Asia! I can't get over the shiny and deep red leaves on some of them! Thanks for posting the link to your article (as well as a purchasing source).

Have you grown any of the Thai caladiums outdoors? We do get freezing temps a few days a year in the Winter here which is north of you. Crossing them with the American cultivars seems like a good way to make them hardier to the cooler temps. I will have to order some for Spring. Thanks for introducing me to a whole new species of Caladiums! :-)

I just collected the seeds from one of my Aaron plants. One more seed pod to go!

I have a question ...

How long do the American Caladium seeds take to germinate?
I saw that Johan germinated the seeds together in a pot instead of individual pots and then later seperated them out into their own pots. :-) I can't believe all the seeds I've gotten from just 2 seed pods.

Another question:
How long do the seeds stay viable?

Thanks so much for all your insight and help, LariAnn!

This message was edited Jul 11, 2009 11:34 AM

Becky,

You're most welcome!

The Caladium seeds are pretty quick to germinate (a week or so) and I wouldn't let them dry out. That means no storage as in my experience most aroid seeds have a very short viability. Fresh from the berry to the moist soil is the only way to go, unless you soak the seeds overnight to leach out germination inhibitors, like I do.

I'm waiting for berry ripening on one of the Thai-American crosses, and have another one pending. I have another very special cross that I'm practically holding my breath for, as it looks like it worked. If so, it could be the most spectacular cross I have ever done. I don't want to say more yet as i don't want to jinx it. "Tis many a slip twixt the brush and the squish", a reference to how you never know what you've got until you have viable seeds.

So glad to hear all about your success so far with the Caladiums! I enjoy sharing what I've learned.

LariAnn

Oops! It looks like I may have goofed and didn't plant the seeds from Red Flash right away and now they look all dried up. Which is why I asked. Bummer! I just didn't know. I dumped all the seeds from that pod into water. Most floated, some did sink. Bummer!!!!

That's okay ... the last seed pod to ripen is also from Red Flash. I will get these new seed pods from Aaron into some soil today. Do they germinate best in shade or sun or partial sun? And how deep do you plant the seeds?

I sprinkle them on the surface of moist soil in a clear covered container with drainage. Keep the container in shade or semi-shade, not full sun, and check them every day, misting if necessary.

Thanks for that info.

So you just sow them on top of the soil and cover with clear plastic wrap (Saran Wrap) to keep the moisture in? And the seeds are actually INSIDE the white berries? So I need to squeeze out the seeds? Oh my! That's a bit of a challenge! LOL!

Oh, yes, you have to squeeze the berries and get the tiny seeds out before planting. Since ants seem to love the berries so, they might clean them in nature, but unless you want to enlist a trained ant colony to do the work for you, the task will require some tedious work on your part. Johan noted how long it took for him to get all the tiny seeds out. But you keep going with the hope of getting something special out of your cross. Each little seed could grow into a really cool plant, so think that as you work! I set up a little cup of distilled water and then, using a dark paper towel (so you can see the seeds against it), start squeezing. Use tweezers to pick up the seeds and drop them into the water.

You will know it was worth it when you see the tiny plants growing.

The only thing that I can compare these tiny seeds to are strawberry seeds! Oh my are they ever teeny tiny! So this above: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6798765 is just the white berries. LOL! I kept calling them seed from the pod, but they are indeed fruit.

I was out on the screened porch picking the seeds out of each small white fruit. Out of the blue come all these tiny ants! I was placing the seeds on the dark green cushion of one of my patio chairs. Tiny ants and even little itty bitty spiders came from nowhere and started going to all the fruit and seeds! WOW! These must be a huge attractant to these small insects. They are the sowers of these seeds is my guess!

Tweezers definitely are a MUST to picking out the seeds. I just kinda did a squish at the end of each fruit and push across the fruit sack to extract the seeds from each fruit. And then used the tweezers to pick them up and put them in the soil.

So shade? Can I keep the container on the table on my screen porch which gets a little morning sunlight or should they be completely in shade at all times?

This message was edited Jul 11, 2009 2:10 PM

LariAnn - Do the seeds need to be covered with dirt? If so, how much or how deep do they need to be. Or do these germinate best on top of the soil?

Here is a photo of the seeds against the dark green cushion on my patio chair. The size of these seeds is like the head of a pin. Very, very small.

That's them all right! Tiny but action packed.

LariAnn - Do they germinate on top of the soil or do I need to cover them with soil?

Becky,

Yes, they do germinate right on top of the soil, so long as the soil is moist and doesn't dry out. That's the reason for keeping them covered so the humidity stays up. They are too small to cover with soil; i think you'd lose most of them if you cover them up.

Thanks! :-)

I just harvested a berry head from my first Thai x American Caladium cross. A good bunch of seeds, and could be really exciting progeny, too. Now it's on to germination and to see what I've got.

LariAnn - Congrats on the newly collected seeds! I hope you get the desired hybrid from the cross of a Thai with an American Caladium. Those Thai are just amazing! Keep us posted. I hope you share some photos!

I have been checking daily, the small plastic container that I have the seeds I am trying to germinate in. Today I actually saw teeny tiny sprouts coming from some of the seeds in the first container. This container I didn't pre-soak any of the seeds. The mother plant was Aaron. It looks like they are starting to germinate. It will be interested to see what they each look like as they grow and start showing their genes. I hope the crosses I tried worked. :-)

Becky,

You probably know by now that you are going to have a LOT of little Caladiums. Some may look a lot like the parents but a few should be unique, or even really special. Unexpected ones can show up, too, which in my understanding is a case of reversion mutations, harking back to some distant variation or cross in the parentage history. I'm hoping for some of that in my Thai-American crosses.

LariAnn

LariAnn - I have about 50 growing in each plastic container. I don't see as many germinating yet as I had seeds. But it is exciting to still see so many. Do they all start off with those tiny green leaves?

Here are some of the sprouts in one container.

A close-up of some of the babies. :-) Cute, aren't they?! :-) How quickly do they grow?

They'll all start out with the little round heart-shaped leaves, and each new leaf will be a litle larger. They get cuter as they grow, especially when they just start showing a little color. Within a month or so your community containers will be full of little roundish leaves.

LariAnn - Thanks for the insight! At what time should I plant them in seperate containers?

The soil level in one of my containers is very shallow. I guess I thought I had more dirt in there than I did. They sure are teeny tiny, though they seem to grow a bit more each day. Too cool! Can't wait to see what colors and patterns they will display when as they get older. :-)

Becky,
I'd think about separating them when they get a few inches tall. Trying to do it when they are really small is a big chore, and one in which you might lose some of the babies. However, if your growing container doesn't have enough soil, you might have to do it when the little plants are about an inch tall.

I appreciate the advice, LariAnn. I will keep a close eye on them to determine what to do.

How long do you keep the cover on the container? Do they need to be covered after they have germinated? If so, for how long?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am excited and don't want to kill these babies by accident. I am unsure of what to expect and how to grow them since this is a first time for me to have Caladiums grown from seeds! :-)

I would keep them covered until they have at least 3 to 4 leaves each. When all of them have two leaves, you can start opening the cover a little to begin getting them used to it. You want to be sure all the seeds have germinated and are established before exposing them completely. Also, I don't know where you have them, but once you uncover them, be sure they can't get flooded by a rain shower or get tipped over by a curious feline or other mishap. Even after they are uncovered all the way, you'll have to watch them closely to be sure they don't dry out. A trusty Fogg-It nozzle on the end of your hose is a big help here.

LariAnn - I have them in a sheltered area on my screened porch right now - on an end table. I can move them to the patio table that does get some filtered (by the screen) morning sun as they get bigger. Can the pots be sitting in a saucer of water to keep them hydrated. Or will that cause root rot in the seedlings?

Also, I got to thinking about what you said in an earlier post, "a case of reversion mutations, harking back to some distant variation or cross in the parentage history". Which parentage? The mother or the father (pollen)? Or is that an unknown? Very interesting.

My plant obsession of choice is Japanese Morning Glories. I do a lot of crossing of those beauties. ;-)

This message was edited Jul 21, 2009 12:52 PM