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Aug 1, 2013 3:42 PM CST
Name: Carolyn Madden
Pennsylvania
The WITWIT Badge Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Amaryllis Ponds Purslane
Seed Starter Garden Ideas: Level 1 Plant and/or Seed Trader Hummingbirder Heucheras Dog Lover
Gorgeous color Paul.
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Aug 1, 2013 11:03 PM CST
Name: Jonna
Mérida, Yucatán, México (Zone 13a)
The WITWIT Badge Region: Mexico Garden Procrastinator I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Ponds Tropicals
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Plumerias Plays in the sandbox Dog Lover Cat Lover
Really beautiful, and dangerous looking! Aren't they famous for blooming underwater?
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
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Aug 2, 2013 12:47 AM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
They are famous for blooming underwater, which is why I keep boosting it up to get it above the surface. My original strategy was to plant it shallowly to increase the likelihood of it blooming above water. After watching the bloom sink back over night, I'm not sure that will work after all. Today I propped the bloom stalk up with a rock.

I am told that they will be more likely to bloom above the waterline later in the season.

Thumb of 2013-08-02/psa/7289c3 Thumb of 2013-08-02/psa/17a13b
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


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Aug 2, 2013 2:59 PM CST
Name: Jonna
Mérida, Yucatán, México (Zone 13a)
The WITWIT Badge Region: Mexico Garden Procrastinator I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Ponds Tropicals
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Plumerias Plays in the sandbox Dog Lover Cat Lover
It's kind of cool to see blooms underwater though, I like it.
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
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Aug 2, 2013 7:25 PM CST
Name: Carolyn Madden
Pennsylvania
The WITWIT Badge Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Amaryllis Ponds Purslane
Seed Starter Garden Ideas: Level 1 Plant and/or Seed Trader Hummingbirder Heucheras Dog Lover
So pretty - I am not familiar with this plant - why do they bloom under water?
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Aug 6, 2013 7:41 PM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
They say that the pollen matures early and self pollinates the flower even before it opens, so it has no need of being pollinated in the air. I'll be watching to see if this one forms seeds. I think there's another bud on it now.

The big pond (~16') is under construction still and I don't know when it will be done, so I've moved the plant to yet another stock tank--this time a 180G that I had picked up for fish quarantine. The plant was crazy root bound in the 10" azalea pot, and I couldn't even get into the soil to place fertilizer tabs, so I gave in and potted it up to a #10 squat polycan. Between all of the moving the water is a bit fouled, the leaves are a bit ragged, and my hands are full of pricks. I'll get pictures another day when all of us have recovered...
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


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Aug 23, 2013 8:47 AM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
Thumb of 2013-08-23/psa/d01796

Fourth flower, and you can see the previous three still lying on the soil. The first one is on the left with a well swollen base, so I'm hopeful that I've got good seed production. The second lies on the right, and is also starting to swell. You can also clearly see how thoroughly the plant has moved into its new pot. This one definitely has the genes of a monster, even if the leaves have been a bit small of late. I'm stepping up the fertilizer to see what effect that will have. Only one more month of warm weather left, and two months until killing frost.
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


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Sep 3, 2013 6:07 AM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
As predicted, the first fruit burst and these were floating on the surface of the pond. I gathered them up, which was a bit tricky around the prickly leaves, and I'm trying to figure out whether to clean them before sentencing them to the refrigerator. Apparently they're edible as well, though I might be better off cutting the fruit off before it bursts so that the nuts are more tender...

Thumb of 2013-09-03/psa/857667

For my own reference and reassurance of viability, I'm going to try germinating a few, although I don't plan to grow them out again until next spring.
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


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Sep 3, 2013 8:56 AM CST
Name: Jonna
Mérida, Yucatán, México (Zone 13a)
The WITWIT Badge Region: Mexico Garden Procrastinator I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Ponds Tropicals
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Plumerias Plays in the sandbox Dog Lover Cat Lover
Drooling
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
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Sep 25, 2013 9:02 PM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
The plant has been blooming (under water) every week, so I have lots of seeds now. I have setup a vernalization schedule for the first set, chilling them in the refrigerator (40F) and removing a set every three weeks for comparison, plus a control group. I've been told that they will germinate at room temperature, but they require an extended (up to several months) cold treatment first. With a second set of seeds I'll be doing the same thing, put keeping them at 80F instead of room temperature, when not refrigerated. A third set will live in the cold frame this winter and experience temperatures down to 36F, and higher during the day, simulating a subtropical winter. It will be fun to see what germinates when, and then I'll start experimenting on the seedlings.

The internet is full of information on eating these, but mostly it begins with a dry or puffed product available in ethnic stores. I did find an extended video about culture and use, but it left out specifics about going from a seed in a hard shell to something that can be cooked with. Every reference I saw, though, had the fruit being cut loose and harvested before it ruptured, so I went out and cut one off.

Thumb of 2013-09-26/psa/b03350 Thumb of 2013-09-26/psa/7ceefc

I found the air channeled stem fascinating. My fingers were a bit sore by the time I got this in the house, though. Those thorns are every bit as vicious as they look.
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


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Sep 25, 2013 9:20 PM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
I cut open the fruit, finding it mostly, but not completely mature. The seeds popped out pretty easily--there wasn't much membrane. What was there smelled a bit like squash. From what I've been able to tell, when the fruit is completely ripe the inside literally falls apart, and when it is a bit less ripe the inside has a greenish hue. It appears that they sometimes cook the entire fruit at the immature stage, after peeling the outside off, and the membranes around the seeds contain their own unique flavors.

Thumb of 2013-09-26/psa/a1e912 Thumb of 2013-09-26/psa/6020dc

Since these were mature enough to have a hard woody shell, I peeled the somewhat air filled membranes off, turning my fingers purple in the process. I was surprised how much pigment there was, as I know from my previously collected seed that the purple color completely disappears within a day or two of the seed floating to the surface, and the membrane completely rots away within the week.
Thumb of 2013-09-26/psa/cc7001

Here you can see that the color (and size) of these seeds is different from that of a recent batch that I collected from a ruptured pod.
Thumb of 2013-09-26/psa/899a7a

I couldn't find any obvious way to get the shell off. Finally I resorted to a nut cracker which easily split the membrane, but also the nut inside, which is crumbly and tends to disintegrate when handled. The shell actually adheres to the inside, making it impossible to get off without reducing the inside to fragments.
Thumb of 2013-09-26/psa/2f9e2b

My research about what to do about this has been unfruitful, but I'll look some more. I'll probably also try to pick a couple less mature, as I understand the shell is soft removable by hand. I wonder if this green seed is viable? I should probably set some aside to try germinating. I'm keeping them in clean water for now.
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


Image
Sep 26, 2013 8:51 PM CST
Name: Jonna
Mérida, Yucatán, México (Zone 13a)
The WITWIT Badge Region: Mexico Garden Procrastinator I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Ponds Tropicals
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Plumerias Plays in the sandbox Dog Lover Cat Lover
That's really interesting. So these are from a sub tropical area? I always assumed they were tropical. The fruit is really interesting looking, and the thorns are impressive. Thank you for posting, can't wait for updates.
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
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Nov 9, 2013 8:43 AM CST
Name: Becky
Sebastian, Florida (Zone 10a)
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Daylilies Hummingbirder Butterflies Seed Starter Container Gardener
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Birds Ponds
Paul - That is so interesting! I've never heard of this water plant before! Thanks for educating us about Euryale plants!
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.
Garden Rooms and Becky's Budget Garden
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Jul 2, 2014 3:01 AM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
I tried varying lengths of time in the refrigerator to break seed dormancy, but in the end it made no difference. The first of both my refrigerated and unrefrigerated seed germinated in about four months from the time it was collected. Refrigeration didn't seem to change the clock, but it did seem to suppress germination. I suspect heat would force it, after the dormancy period was up. An experiment for next year.

I started a few seedlings in the greenhouse this spring, but they didn't make it. Too cold, I suspect, and they wasted away. I have more that have just germinated inside right now. I'll probably experiment on them to see what works best for getting them established, so that I'll know what to do next year.

Most interesting to me is this one, which I found growing in the parent plant pond from last year. The seed spent the winter under the ice in an above ground stock tank (no supplemental heating at all) and germinated on its own:
Thumb of 2014-07-02/psa/706971
I transplanted it back into the big pot that the large plant grew in last year. It's about a month behind where its parent was at this time last year, but still has plenty of time to get big and bloom. I'm fascinated by the possibility of this plant naturalizing as an annual here in zone 7. Can't let the state know, though, or they'll ban it. Glare
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


Image
Jul 7, 2014 4:41 PM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
Several more plants have shown up in the same pond now, and it's clear that the first one wasn't a fluke. I'm potting them up as they appear, but I don't know who I'll foist them off onto. While the adults are fast growing monsters, the juveniles are pretty sensitive, so I'm hesitant to mail anything.

The first plant has three floaters now, and a fourth on the way. Time to break out the pond tabs.
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


Image
Aug 4, 2014 4:26 PM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
Sizing up quickly, growing in same pot and soil as last year, no fertilizer added, though there are fish and no filtration other than the plants in this stock tank. It's only a couple weeks behind where it was last year now, and I'm wondering if temperature and sun have more to do with maturity than I thought. Largest leaf is almost 2' across today.
Thumb of 2014-08-04/psa/f200fe

Never did find homes for the other seedlings. I've got a couple in smaller pots where I'm trying to see how effectively the plant can be dwarfed by container size.
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


Image
Oct 3, 2014 4:19 PM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
Predictably, these plants got too big for their homes again this year, and although its target home was finally finished, we decided to wait until next spring to add water, especially as we're doing additional landscaping around it at the moment.

All three plants continue to put up ever smaller leaves as they get more root bound. Water temperature is down to 56F or so. If the largest one ever put out flowers, I didn't see them, but it was deep under water, so it's possible. I'd be sad to lose the seed line and unable to start this again next spring.
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


Image
Oct 6, 2014 2:28 AM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
I lowered the water level and poked around in the small tank that I crammed the largest plant into, and came up with a new bloom just below the surface, as well as at least two swollen pods under the water. I'm relieved that I'll likely have seed for next year. The geodesic cross-beam reflections are a bit distracting in most of the pictures I tried to take, but at least this one shows off the new bud well.
Thumb of 2014-10-06/psa/48ca75
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


Image
Oct 23, 2014 7:55 PM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
I haven't been able to catch any of the buds actually opening, but I definitely have seed pods. One burst today, scattering seeds all over the surface. I've gathered them up, and I feel much better knowing I have the seed to grow this plant out again next year, in it's full sized home (finally!). Since my experiments last year showed no increased (or decreased) germination with vernalization, I think I'll keep the seeds in the greenhouse this winter. I have lots of water in there now with all of the aquaponics setups, so I'll probably just start them inside the greenhouse in the spring.
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


Image
May 21, 2016 4:09 PM CST
Moderator
Name: Paul Anguiano
Richland, WA (Zone 7a)
GW & DG: tropicalaria
Forum moderator Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Garden Photography
Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tomato Heads Organic Gardener Greenhouse Native Plants and Wildflowers Herbs
2016 euryale seedlings (on the right--the little one in the middle of the green pot is a hardy) about to be transplanted into larger containers. This little quarantine tank is right next to the koi pond I hope to fill with one of these plants in a month or two.

Thumb of 2016-05-21/psa/a0794b
Mid-Columbia Gardens
Geodesic Greenhouse
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.


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