When, oh when, will they pop?

[Julie]

Here they were on 29 October.

[Julie]

And here they are on 3rd November.

[Julie]

And here they are today.

They have been this size for some time. The stigmas are still alive.

Mama was moved when her pods were developing, and so they stigmas died and the pods went brown, and I collected the seeds when the stalk yellowed and the pods fell off.

Girlie has been put in the sun in the day, and moved off the window sill at night, so she does not get too cold. Pods are not browning. I thought browning was good... so.. is it bad then?

Do these seeds need the sun's heat to go pop? Will they die if they are not popped after a certain time?

Calling all you forby experts. I think half the Forum has an old forby in their collections.

[CactusChris]

Julie - this is how it works...
You wait and wait - and finally you take off the lid/cover to have a closer look, mmm you need a magnifying glass - so you turn round to get one and when you turn back - you guessed it - they are gone. LOL

Chris

[Julie]

Hehe, Chris, I thought you were going to say that you take off the cover and get a forby seed in your eye!

[dave sheppard]

I have a nice, mature, female Euphorbia obesa and a couple of smaller male specimens with which to impregnate her. When the seed pods are nearing maturity I've found a good technique is to place a piece of 'fleece' (the thin, white fabric obtainable from garden centres) over the top of the plant. This allows air to circulate freely so avoids mould and, because the seeds seem
to be slightly sticky, they stick to the fleece when they are shot out by the ripe pod and are then easy to collect.

So far as getting the seeds to germinate is concerned, I generally soak them in a pot of water until they are well germinated and then carefully plant them into a fairly open compost. It is a bit of a challenge to balance the sunlight/shade requirements to avoid the seedlings either becoming etiolated due to insufficient light or cooked and dying due to too much light/heat but, with patience, the results can be rewarding.

[Julie]

Thanks Dave, I will remember that for when the time comes. Hope they are not too tricky.

Today, a change occurred! The pods have been sittign there twiddling their thumbs for a while now, and last night when I took them off the window sill as I do with everyone in flower, there was no change.

At 9am this morning, two of the pods had dark dried stigmas. And the pod cases were slightly darker.

Here's a pic:

[Julie]

Then, over the course of the day, the pods got darker and here they are at 5pm.

Girlie worked hard from 9 to 5 to suck the water out of the pods, starting with the stigmas (which are not much use anyway after fertilisation, although they do tell you if the pod is still alive and working away). I was amazed at such a rapid change. Something must have clicked, and the seeds finished their development and ready to be sprung out into the big wide world.

See the deep grooves in the dark pods.



Post Edited (12-11-06 22:45)

[Julie]

And here is Mama's latest contender. Just one worked out of about 10 flowers. Maybe she looks at her body clock when the sun sets and knows it's bedtime, or that she only has resources for one more pod.



Post Edited (12-11-06 23:07)

[Julie]

And, let's finish with a sunset.

Black houseleek and Girlie with party hat, enjoying the last rays.