Early results of crossing Amaryllis and B. marginata

Michael Mace michaelcmace@gmail.com
Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:48:54 PDT
I did some experiments this fall on crossing Brunsvigia marginata with other
amaryllids.  Here's what I found:

 

--Pollination of B. marginata with Nerine sarniensis pollen produced no
seeds.  I tried several crosses, and all failed completely.

 

--Self-pollination also failed completely.  Other folks have reported that
the species is not self-fertile, so this is not a big surprise.

 

--Pollination of B. marginata with pollen from various Amaryllis hybrids
from Les Hannibal was successful in every case.  I'm getting 2-10 seeds per
floret.  The seeds generally range in size from a pea down to a quarter of a
pea, and are green with maroon speckling.  The seeds turn solid maroon/brown
within a couple of days when they are planted out on the surface of the
soil.

 

A minority of the seeds in several capsules are smaller, and colored white
with maroon specks.  I don't know if these are unhealthy seeds, or an
indication of a different sort of cross.

 

If anyone is interested in seeing a photo, let me know.

 

Any words of wisdom from the Amaryllid experts?  Are "normal" B. marginata
seeds green with maroon speckles?

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

 

PS:  I also made some crosses of B. marginata pollen on Amaryllis.  Still
waiting for those pods to mature.  Some failed, and some appear to have
something growing in them...


More information about the pbs mailing list