PBS Forum

There are crosses between Haemanthus coccineus and albiflos. I was given a bulb but it is not yet of flowering size. The are pink flowered. So it is worthwhile trying to produce hybrids if you have red flowering species.
Uli 

Hello,

Apart from Wylie's questions I would like to share an observation I made the last days. At the moment I have several different Nerine in flower. Both Nerine sarniensis wild form and hybrids and Nerine bowdenii and X Amarine Belladiva varieties. What I noticed is that in most hybrids the stigma never becomes receptive. Only some plants open up the stigma into three small segments to which the pollen clings easily. Most others  maintain a pointed closed stigma to which the pollen does not seem to attach. Too early to judge if seed set has taken place in those flowers with receptive stigma. Belladivas never set seed and also none of them opens the stigma. Have you also observed this?

Bye for now 

Uli 

Hello Wylie,

A difficult question. Nerine seed can be apomictic which means that seed set happens without pollination and the offspring is identical to the seed bearing plant. But there must also be true non apomictic seed, otherwise it would not be possible to create hybrids which are definitely different from the seed bearing parent.
I have so far not found out how breeders make sure that they really have hybrid seed and not apomictic seed. 
The pictures you posted are slightly different in colour, is this because the camera software automatically adapts to different backgrounds? And thus produces different colours only technically?Maybe it compares better if you take a picture with both flowers side by side in front of a neutral background.
In case of doubt I would always consider them as two different entities. 
Hemerocallis does not produce apomictic seed as far as I know, so you cannot really compare with Nerine. 


Uli 

Hello Bob,

I really know this problem.....
Are your plants still green? Many Zephyranthes and Habranthus do not really go fully dormant in winter. In that case I would give them small amounts of water from time to time. Not too much to prevent rot, mildew and the like. If you grow Bromelia and orchids in the same greenhouse a position under the bench may be warmer than just frost free? If they go fully leafless I would keep them dry. It is indeed much better to leave the bulbs in the substrate in their pots, this prevents the roots from drying out completely even if the substrate is dry.
Hope that helps 

Uli 

Hello Carl,

Germination with these kind of seed is fast indeed. But not necessarily visible. Most of the time the first thing these seeds do is growing a root and a bulb, the leaf is the second step and comes later, in some species even a year later. (Not so late in Crinum) So be very  careful when lifting seed, you may damage a root.

Bye for now 

Uli 

Hello.....

Sorry, but I cannot see your name....
Crinum seed can be a single large seed per flower but it can also form multiple seeds covered in a papery tunic. When it is fresh it may look like a single sphere but when the surrounding tunic dries it shows exactly what you describe. I would guess, without seeing a picture, that the seed is perfectly fine and should be sown straight away. If it looks shriveled I would give it an overnight soak (but not longer) in lukewarm water before sowing. It is surprising how much some shriveled seed can pump up this way. 

Bye for now 

Uli 

Dear Members living in the EU,
The Pacific Bulb Society autumn seed and bulb exchange for EU members is closed. Thank you very much for your generous donations and your friendly comments. It is a pleasure for us to do this. Your orders will go out in the next days to come.
This is the last EU-exchange for the year 2022, the next one is scheduled for spring 2023 and will be announced in all channels.
Happy growing!
Uli and Martin

Hello Diane,

I grow several different X Amarine of the Belladiva series which do very well here. I have tried to pollinate but so far no seed set for several years. I wonder if it could be a chromosome problem?

Bye for now 

Uli 

Try this 
https://www.sunshine-seeds.de/product_info.php?products_id=45887&language=en

Or this 
https://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_seed_item/6553

Or this 
https://www.rarepalmseeds.com/ipomoea-quamoclit

Sorry they are all German or English sources. They at least show the correct picture.

Uli 

Hello Jane,

You are raising an important point. I am asking myself the same question. I know that it is a common problem with Lachenalia which tend to hybridize. If I want to produce pure seed I remove the pot in question from the collection, place it as far away as possible from the others and do hand pollination. The plants have to be kept apart until flowering is over. 
I am not here in my new garden for long enough to be able to assess if this method is good enough, my own seedlings of my own seed have not yet flowered.
Aloe are not geophytes but open pollinated Aloe seed from collections must always be considered hybrid seed.
I will come back to this topic in due course
Uli 

Dear Members living in the EU,
The donation for the current EU Seed and Bulb exchange (EU-BX) of the Pacific Bulb Society is about to close. We plan to start the ordering three day time window on October 16th. So, if you still have any material to share with other members, please make sure that it will have arrived at Martin's prior to this date. This is the second round of the autumn EU exchange, the next EU-BX will take place in spring 2023 and will be announced in due course. Please do not get confused with the different dates of the US Exchanges.
The address to send seed or bulbs for the EU-Exchange is:
Martin Bohnet
Ludwigstr. 1
73035 Göppingen
Germany
Please send Martin an email when you post a donation so he will know about it.
Please, do not hesitate to contact Uli (johannes-ulrich-urban@t-online.de) in case of questions


Martin and Uli

Hello Carlos,

Thank you for these nice pictures. I can judge the size of Acis valentina taking your thumb for comparison. A charming and dainty plant. But how big, how tall is Prospero obtusifolium? Does the last photo show the Prospero leaves?

Bye for now 

Uli 

Hello Martin,

Very interesting pictures! I do not grow these plants and was not even aware they existed, so I cannot help with material..... sorry. 

I would think that they are not sent into dormancy by hot weather, that is the mechanism which makes winter growing bulbs go dormant. But tropical summer growers are happy with warmth unless they are of high elevation habitats. Maybe you are lucky with seed set this season....

Bye for now 

Uli 

Dear All,

Reading the thread of perishable recalcitrant seed, I want to make one suggestion:

A solution could be if those members who have the space, the right climate and the willingness to do so would sow the fresh seed at the right moment (before it germinates and becomes vulnerable) and grow the seedlings on for one or maybe two seasons. And then send the seedling bulbs to the BX. Small bulbs are much tougher than perishable seed. I have accepted this kind of seed and am doing that for the EU-BX right now. For me it does not matter to have yet another pot in the garden to look after. In my Mediterranean climate all seed pots do not need greenhouse space.
Being a European member I cannot comment on the other suggestions but I want to thank Robert and the Shoal Creek folks for offering their help.


Bye for now 

Uli 

Hello Nan, hello All,

Here are two links which explain the process of chipping bulbs, the srgc one is the best, scroll down a little to get to the article.




�https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/bulbs/propagation

https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2019Oct251572001288IRG_118.pdf

Happy propagating!

Uli