doing some reading so the yellow and not yet yellow bulbus things around the center are the stamens (male)...with the pollen and they happen first. then the female carpels form in the middle while the stamens curve out and away from the center carpels (female) which is why self pollination is difficult for the plant. so does anyone have any key timing for me as to when to do the dirty, and how to harvest the seed? thanks again as always.
-stay twisted
-Warp

Here you go Warp. When you have pollen and the stigma have a bit of a sticky feeling when touched lightly, you can cut the stamen off and use like a paint brush to transfer the pollen. Let us know how it goes for you.
You'll find the diagram at the bottom of the article. http://garden.org/ideas/view/v...

valleylynn said:Here you go Warp. When you have pollen and the stigma have a bit of a sticky feeling when touched lightly, you can cut the stamen off and use like a paint brush to transfer the pollen. Let us know how it goes for you.
You'll find the diagram at the bottom of the article. http://garden.org/ideas/view/v...

Thanks Lynn

I am so looking forward to seeing your results in pollinating. Let the seed pods completely dry before harvesting. Put a paper bag over the dry seed head when you are ready to harvest, or the seeds will go everywhere. They are very tiny and are like dust. Cut the stalk and turn the bag quickly upright with the seed heads inside.

I've got no less than 9 plants in bloom! so Im guessing I just let nature play its course? theres some serious air circulation...so i think were all good? when do i bag the heads or what not? any help much appreciated. Most of the plants are rockin out hardcore....photos coming sometime soon myabe....Im waiting for all the transplants and different stuff to normalize a little bit. there was a drastic ph swing and some took it rough. one more month and serious jungle overflow... When do i bag the heads....the first flower opened today and I see pollen....cool. thx

I think they need a pollinator Warp. Like bees, or you.
You want to let the seed heads fully mature and dry on the plant. They get pretty crispy and brown.

Ok cool thanks for the heads up Lynn

These are not dry enough. Not all dark brown and crispy yet.


These seed heads are mature and ready for harvest. Notice the are pointing upward? You want to be very careful when harvesting. If you tip them they will pour out the dust like seed.

I was about to ask...all mine look like the upper picture though I see a seed trapped in the hairs on the stalk and I cut a pod the other day...opened an inner pod and it had clear colored seed, so I guess a little longer... Have you ever heard of cutting the head early and putting it in an upside down paper bag? or maybe removing the plant washing/removing the roots and putting upside down in the bag. Anyhow I've got 9 tries to get it right. Thanks so much Lynn for your help! oh here's a link where this person talks about cutting the blooming stalks and putting them all in one place for bee pollination...then seed collection. http://www.succulents.ca/sempe...

Hi Warp. Good to see you. I would let them mature completely. When mature the seed heads will be brown and quite crispy feeling. The seed pods will start to open when they are ready to harvest. The seed is almost like dust, so you will want to hold the seed stalk completely upright when you cut the stalk. Have the paper bag ready and slip it over the seed head (seed head upright). Once seed head is covered by the bag you can quickly tip it over, trapping the seeds in the bag. Let it sit for a few days to make sure there is no trapped moisture. You can then rattle the seed stalk around in the bag, the seeds will fall out into the bag.

here's the link to cutting the stalks while still blooming and putting them all together for bee pollination and seed collection.... http://www.succulents.ca/sempe...

Interesting. Do you have a place outdoors to put them for bee pollination?

no I've been rubbing the flowers with my fingers daily for the last month or so and things are starting to slow down (fewer and fewer new flowers, almost none now)....I just want to pull everybody up pretty soon and put into bags so I don't lose the seed, seems like maybe it wont' be a problem...

metabolic activity should continue for some time...like maybe a month?

little garden expansion


the flowers




the seed


offshoots !




the seedlings are getting big..fast. is this an unusual rate of growth?




and some Jap maple and of course a little catnip for the kitty





.

Looking good Warp. Those seed heads have a way to go before being mature enough to harvest seed. Did you do the process of hand pollinating? Or do bees have access to the blooms?
It is difficult to say how long it will take for them to mature since they are indoors. Even outdoors in full sun it take some time. Let me see if Kevin @JungleShadows can give us a better idea of how long it will take for the blooms to finish maturing.

I rubbed anything with pollen daily for about the last month...I just cut the 2 driest stalks and hung inside a pitcher to dry... got 7 more stalks to experiment with.

Can't wait to see the baby seedlings when the seed is planted.