Floral Visitors

Garak garak@code-garak.de
Sun, 02 Aug 2015 09:36:21 PDT
Hi Mark,

It's not that I'd have no seed at all - im just used to them seeding 
freely and I pull them where I don't need them - not enough seed for 
that. But the damage done is considerable - the Mirabilis just don't 
look decorative anymore with half of the flowers bent and the rest 
drying up faster then usual. have a look at these:

Bumblebee at work:
http://www.planetoblivion.de/img/MJ_Thief.JPG

Damage done: no hand pollination if the stylus is cut through:
http://www.planetoblivion.de/img/Breakthrough.JPG

Damage on Digitalis:
http://planetoblivion.de/img/…

Actually, there are several attractive digitalis - I sowed 10 species 
this year to get an overview of the genus, but as they are usually at 
least biannual, only Lutea, Grandiflora and one Purpurea cultivar have 
flowered by now. So, next year will bring Lanata, Laevigata, Ferruginea, 
Parviflora, Obscura and, if I get those through the winter, Canariensis 
and Sceptrum. But we're leaving geophytes territory here ;)


Martin

Am 02.08.2015 um 14:24 schrieb mark zukaitis:
> Hi Martin,
>   
> How interesting that the bumblebees have learned a new strategy to get food.  Interesting that they figured out how to eat their way through the corollas.  I have never seen Digitalis lutea in the USA, but in Rome I saw it for the first time and really liked it.  There was another Digitalis whose name I can't remember that I have only seen there too.
>   
> Could you hand pollinate the Mirabilis to make sure you get some seeds?  It would be a shame for you to have to do without them!
>   
> Mark
>




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