Hi folks,
After ~15 years of raising E. rigidissimus, I finally had some seedpods form after my plants flowered. I have a question regarding harvesting the seeds: Should I wait for these flowers fall and pods open themselves or am I supposed to cut the pods off the plant and open them myself?
Please look at the photo: I removed one already (circled area) cut it in half and it is indeed full of seeds but not sure if they will germinate. Will appreciate any advice.
Thank you.
Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
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Re: Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
Definitely wait until they're ripe. Beginning to split or melt away. Protect from mice and rats!!
Re: Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
Thank you MikeInOz.
Re: Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
And ants! Here in Tucson they take the seeds and leave a sort of exoskeleton formed by the spines
Alejandro
Re: Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
Thank you Alejandro, I'm in Dallas, TX and will keep an eye on the ants as well.
Re: Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
Just wanted to provide an update here in case anybody else searches for this issue and ask a question:
I saw some of those pods were cracked open so I harvested them by scooping them out. My question is, are the seeds I collected ready to be planted or should I wait for them to completely dry out? Thanks in advance!
I saw some of those pods were cracked open so I harvested them by scooping them out. My question is, are the seeds I collected ready to be planted or should I wait for them to completely dry out? Thanks in advance!
Re: Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
you should rinse the seeds of any pulp before you plant them to avoid fungus problems
Re: Harvesting Echinocereus rigidissimus v. rubispinus seeds
Thank you Keith - haven't thought about it.