was Crinophone ... now Brunsvigia josephinae & possible hybrids

Ken kjblack@pacbell.net
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:55:35 PDT
An update on the 'Crinophone' ... as Jim speculated, the seed I harvested became spongy and shrank down to nothing that appears remotely viable ... however, 4 other capsules remain on the Crinum asiaticum/procerum ... on stalks which remain healthy, upright and green ... so will report on those as they mature.
 
Today, the first florets on my largest Brunsvigia josephinae began to open.  This is two weeks later than in past years, which I attribute to an unusually cool San Diego summer with few days over 70F:
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amarguy/5012646478/
 
I continue my Franken-efforts, trying to create a cross on this Brunsvigia with fresh pollen from 1.) a currently blooming Nerine angulata ... and 2.) a currently blooming Crinum moorei.  Again, as an amateur hobbyist, I have no idea if such intergeneric crosses are possible, but some literature out there seems to indicate so.  Here are links to individual floret shots:
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amarguy/5012645778/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amarguy/5012645450/
 
Should I continue to 'pollinate' the respective stigma as they continue to mature?  Would such action improve the possibility of a valid cross?  At what point is/are the stigma considered most receptive?  The temperature at time of my attempt this morning was 62F with relatively high humidity.  In fact, I had to cover the Nerine and Crinum blooms this AM to prevent drizzle from wetting the respective anthers and pollen.
 
Ken 
San Diego

--- On Wed, 9/15/10, jim lykos <jimlykos@bigpond.com> wrote:


1.           Yes if the seeds on the Boophane disticha are irregulary shaped, larger  and/or have a different seed colour then the indications are promising for viable hybrid seed.  If  the seed coat starts to pull away from the seed or you notice wilting of the seed then its hard to reverse this problem so your suggestion about keeping it dry for the first week or two and applying a fungicide powder should help.

...

Subject: [pbs] Crinophone ... is it possible?


I have this urge to play Frankenstein ... even with my limited knowlege. Earlier this year, I completely covered the sticky end of the stigma(s) on my Crinum asiaticum with Boophone disticha pollen. I repeated this effort over several days in addition to removing the Crinum stamens asap. I've got 7 swelling capsules, which seem fairly firm, but smaller than in previous years. Is such a cross even possible? Are these likely just apomictic seed?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amarguy/4988415236/


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