I'm leaving on the 14th, and won't get back until some uncertain time in
late June. Already things are getting hectic because 10^3 relatives are
visiting the second week of May and so I have to get things ready.
Usually I get assigned to be the tour guide---``To the left you can see
a Saguaro in bloom. The fruit are edible and tasty. At its base is the
regional subspecies of Opuntia violacea, or Santa Rita prickly pear.
Packrats use...''
I don't know if I'll get to Fuqua this trip.
>My D Aliciae and D Binata are flowering. Does anyone know if these guys
>will self-pollinate and set seed automatically?
Doug, my experience is like Bob's. _D.aliciae_ will self, but
_D.binata_ will not. Only with crossing genetically different plants
have I been able to get seed from _D.binata_. Actually, since I grow
all my _D.binata_ in hanging baskets above my other plants, I am glad
they don't produce seed that would rain down into my lower pots!
Bob: I have tried a few times to make this very cross, using _D.aliciae_
with the narrow-leaf and anthocyanin free forms of _D.capensis_. While
I have gotten seed, it always turns out to be accidental selfing.
Trying to make this cross is difficult, and is best done with a
microscope. The approach I've tried is to open flowers before they
mature in order to remove the anthers. Still I've only gotten selfings.
>My D. capenses (more than 1) have been trying to flower for a
>couple of weeks, but the flowers don't open. Why not? I think they're
>pink.... Do they self-pollinate/set seed automatically?
Janice: Rob's suggestion is good---perhaps they only open when you're
gone for the day. If not that, then are you growing your plants in a
very humid, hot situation with little air circulation? When I did this
I found many flowers would not mature correctly.
B