OMG... Majorly excited and majorly disappointed today by the same plant. It's a seedling plant from seed I had purchased from Chi-Lung Ko in Taiwan last fall. It's not exactly a pretty plant, just a small caudex and one tall stem. But that stem is developing buds.
I've been watching the largest bud since I first realized it was a bud. But the past few days, as it was getting closer and closer to opening, I realized it was getting really fat. I began to realize it might turn out to be a double flower. So I took these pics for comparison (same bud):
I had moved it to get a better photo, so I put it back where it belonged. I didn't set it down hard, but when the pot hit the table, the bud fell off!
I now wished I had taken a scalpel and more carefully dismembered the bud, but I didn't think of it at the time. I was anxious to know what was inside, so I just ripped it open with my hands. Yes, it was a double!
This was rather a surprise, as the supposed parent plant was single. Here is a link to a photo of the parent:
http://www.adenium.com.tw/KO_e...
Here are the dismembered petals:
In the first photo, the outer ring of five petals has been separated, while the five-petal inner core is still together. In the second photo, I made a side-by-side comparison of one of the outer petals and one of the inner ones. I found it interesting that the yellow throat of the outer ring of petals is suffused with red, while that of the inner petals is clear pale yellow.
At least this wasn't the only bud, there are several more developing. It's just going to be really hard to have to wait. This is my first double, and it looks like it will turn out to be a really nice black and red one! I'm really excited about that.
It is also reassuring to realize that the seeds Chi-Lung Ko sells appear to be what he claims them to be.
