the art & science of breeding Anthurium andreanum type

From: "Denis" <denis at skg.com> on 2013.06.12 at 14:12:45(22806) Jude: · Step 1.When the anthurium spathe unfurls from around the spadix it takes a couple of days for the female parts of the flowers on the spadix to become fertile. When they are fertile and the pistils are receptive to the pollen they produce little droplets of sweet stigmatic fluid on each flower on the spadix. The process will start at the bottom and work its way up toward the top of the spadix so there are several days of fertility during which flowers may be pollenated. In nature the pollinating will probably be done by fruit flies or gnats attracted to the sweet fluid and smell of the spadix. · Step 2. When the stigmatic fluid disappears and female parts are no longer receptive then the male parts start to produce pollen starting at the base of the spadix and proceeding upward to the top over several days. Pollen initiation only occurs in the tiny flowers buds when there is cool temperatures(55 to 60 degrees F) at night. As a result here in Florida we can only breed in the mid to late winter once the pollen is being expressed on the flowers. · Step 3. Find prospective female flowers with fluid showing and prospective male flowers with pollen showing. Transfer pollen from male parts to female parts with suitable instrument: small paint brush, finger tips or insect mouth parts or legs. The advantage of the brush is that you can dip it in alcohol and kill pollen remaining on brush off, dry the brush, and find two more willing flowers to cross pollinate. The advantage of using fingers is that you always have them with you and usually you have more than one to use. The disadvantage to using the promiscuous insects to pollinate is lack of control; you don’t know who the pollen parent is or what the progeny look like until they flower 12 to 18 months later . · If your pollinating is successful the spadix will swell and produce fruit which will be down inside spadix. When fruit is ripe it will be pushed out of spadix and turn yellow and soft. Then you can pick off the little berries as they ripen and sqeeze the seeds out. Rinse off the fruit pulp as that may cause fungus or bacteria to eat the seeds and gently dry on paper towels and plant is peat mix or sphagnum moss mix. Cover growing container with plastic bag to keep humidity up and watch them germinate. HTML +More These methods do not apply to all anthuriums,( although most are similar) only the large flowered andreanum type originating high in the Andes Mountains. Other members of the Calomystrium group of which A. andreanum is a member may be male fertile even in the warm summer heat. Experiment with this process and find what works for you and your plants. That is all. Good luck Denis Silver Krome Gardens, Inc From: aroid-l-bounces@www.gizmoworks.com [mailto:aroid-l-bounces@www.gizmoworks.com] On Behalf Of Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 3:25 PM To: Subject: [Aroid-l] Pollinating anthuriums, and green flowered Anthuriums ? Hi gang, I have some unique Anthuriums and would like to learn a better way to pollinate them. I read about looking for a drop of clear liquid - what should I be looking for, and when? How do I know when to gather pollen? Also, since I got some beautiful green flowered Anthuriums, I am interested in finding more varieties that have green flowers - any ideas where to find them? (Such as Midori, Apple Green, Pistache, etc.) Thanks! Jude ______________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you want to receive my plant newsletters via email? santoury@aol.com The Silent Seed - Rare and Unusual Plants ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------=_NextPart_000_0155_01CE6755.631E1500-- --==============c69925386715630891==

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