Fat seeds.....

12 years ago

Hi Guys,

I just harvested a very small seedpod of 'Fairy Tale' x "Tinkerbell" and the seeds are different. There are only about 15 seeds and an equal amount of chaff but the "good" seeds have an embryo that is extremely thick. Two to three times thicker than the usual newly harvested seeds (before they dry for a day or two). I tried to take a picture but I couldn't really capture the thickness. Anyway, I will soak them and see what happens, but does anyone know what causes seeds to be like little round balls of tapioca?

If I'm lucky enough to get a few that germinate normally, maybe I'll try again as I've got a well rooted older Fairy Tale sending up 2 scapes! Normally, Fairy Tale seedlings are quite vigirous..I have a few crosses from 2 years ago that are doing really well...

Thanks,

Donna

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Comments (10)

joshy46013
12 years ago
Hippeastrum reticulatum has round, fleshy seed that are unlike any other Hippeastrum species, maybe this is a parent in 'Tinkerbell'?

Post a picture anyway!?

Josh
grant_in_arizona
12 years ago
Congrats and do post some pics. I was going to mention that the one time (out of ten years of pollinating several blooms a year, grumble) that I got viable seeds from my reticulatum ('Mrs. Garfield' actually, thanks to folks on this forum) they were round, black and hard, like Josh said. (I only got three seeds, then two seedlings, both of which croaked after one leaf each). Do your hybrids have reticulatum in their ancestry?

Looking forward to pics! Have fun,
Grant
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dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
Original Author
12 years ago
Well, maybe I threw you guys a curve, they're not exactly round, I guess they're oval like they should be, but they're extremely thick..I don't see any likeness to reticulatum with Tinkerbell either..
It's hard to tell from the pictures as they are concave on the bottom, so they may not be as thick as they look..anyway, here they are...

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Thanks for you help..I guess time will tell.. I'm suspecting that they turn to mush or come out with angry red roots...I just took them out of the pod a few hours ago and was going to let them dry for a day or two..should I or should I soak them immediately?

Donna
dragonstone
12 years ago
Wow. Those are some fat seeds! I'd probably stick maybe two or three seeds directly in some dirt in case the water method might be too much for them? I'm not sure if their thickness would hate the water or not.
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
Original Author
12 years ago
Just another note of interest..my 3 pods of selfed Mocca split open yesterday and they were all still noticeably green when they split, not the usual crinkled yellow like all the others. I got a lot of variation in these seeds..different sizes, some smaller seeds with the swollen embryos, (not as large as the ones above though) and many of the larger seeds didn't appear to have any embryo in them at all, they were totally flat. Of the seeds in this pictures not all that many appear to be viable..I'd say only about 1/3 of them appear to be good.
Nothing earthshaking, I just don't recall seeing such variation in sizes in other seed batches, or maybe I just wasn't looking...

I did have one pod on Exotica x Mocca and those few seeds appeared to all be uniform aside from the usual chaff...none of those have germinated yet for me, but it's been less than a week...

Donna
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Donna
lenanen
12 years ago
Donna and others, your observations and thoughts touching this area are of great interest to me, as I've made my first crosses only this winter and there has been a lot of variation in the seeds from different combinations. Got some fat ones too, they looked exactly like yours Donna and I think they germinated ok. Can't remember the combination though. And in some of the seedpods the seeds near the "chamber walls" were looking like that.

The most uniform batch of seeds came from my first cross, 'Jewel' x 'Lydia'. There was barely any chaff and they germinated almost 100%. Wow this is easy, I thought, only to discover that it certainly is not...
joshy46013
12 years ago
Donna,

Due to the genetic diversities of both plants the seed may not come out exactly like H. reticulatum but could exhibit a fleshier appearance than normal.

It could also be there is more than one embryo, we will find out soon enough :)

Josh
johnsonm08
12 years ago
Hi,
My pod of lily star x tinkerbell just split and the seeds are also very plump - one is nearly round.
Another cross of mine had all normal looking seeds, but about 20% were crescent shaped like a partial moon, I planted those separately to see if there will be any difference.
Mike
joshy46013
12 years ago
Mike & Donna,

Please let us know what happens! Obviously 'Tinkerbell' must be the reason as it's the common denominator.

Can't wait to see the progeny!
dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
Original Author
12 years ago
I just thought I'd add this as another point of interest, my Mocca selfed pods actually opened before they turned yellow! They were still green with only a tinge of yellow and they all opened without any help from me..just think if they had been outside and I had totally mistimed their ripeness.would have been a sad mistake..
In my experience they take forever to split even when they've been yellow for a week or more..and I end up squeezing and poking and prodding.. (not recommended) not these though I was totally surprised..there were 3 pods, the last much smaller and they all did the same thing..two split on one day and the third split the next day...

Donna

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