How to harvest seed from P. ottonis

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loyall
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Location: Midcoast Maine USA

How to harvest seed from P. ottonis

Post by loyall »

Not sure which forum to post this in, so I'll post in General. My Parodia ottonis had three nice yellow blossoms in April. I swirled a cotton swab in all three blossoms sequentially. I thought that might ensure pollenation. Now I have two dried flowers with a green swollen bases, and one dried flower whose base is green but not swollen. I assume the swollen bases are fruits. I tugged firmly on all three but none would separate from their arioles. Now I notice that the two swollen fruits have split open vertically and I can see black/brown grains inside. I assume these are seeds. When I grasped one of the split open fruits and tried to pull a liquid welled up, so I stopped pulling and the liquid reabsorbed. Now it is the end of June. Here are some questions:
1. Are the swollen green floral bases fruits?
2. Is the splitting normal?
3. Does splitting indicate time to harvest seed?
4. Does the fact that they are wet to squeese mean that harvest should wait?
5. If now is time to harvest, how hard should I pull without damaging the plant?
6. Other than pulling and twisting, how can I remove all three flower stems without damaging the arioles?
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MrXeric
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Re: How to harvest seed from P. ottonis

Post by MrXeric »

1. yes
2. yes
3. yes
4. no. If the fruit split, it's ready to harvest. Some degree of juiciness is expected, though some fruit can be totally dry when ripe (P. schlosseri for example).
5. Some parodia are reluctant to let go of their fruit. Gentle, but firm twisting and pulling will get them free.
6. The fruits come off more easily when totally dry, but that can take weeks if not months. If the the fruits have split, you can carefully scrape out the seed with a toothpick or tweezers onto a spoon and leave the empty fruits to dry off on their own.
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greenknight
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Re: How to harvest seed from P. ottonis

Post by greenknight »

It's very simple, you wait until the fruit splits ("dehisces" is the technical term), then you collect the seed. The only problem you might run into is you don't catch it right away and some seed gets away - I've never planted any P. schlosseri seed, seeds fall in the pot and grow there next to the mother plant. I just keep the best of those volunteer seedlings.
Spence :mrgreen:
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loyall
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Re: How to harvest seed from P. ottonis

Post by loyall »

Thank you MrXeric. Your answers were as concise as I intended my questions to be.
Thank you Spence for the new term dehisce. I love words. My plant is P ottonis not erubescens (N schlosseri). MrXeric says schlosseri fruits are dry unlike my ottonis, but I still get your point.
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jerrytheplater
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Re: How to harvest seed from P. ottonis

Post by jerrytheplater »

Loyall, you like words? Here's a book that will peak your interest: Botany for Gardeners, https://www.workman.com/products/botany ... /paperback
Jerry Smith
Bloomingdale, NJ
45 inches (114 cm) rain equivalent per year, approx. evenly spread per month
2012 USDA Hardiness Zone 6b: -5F to OF (-20C to -18C) min.
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loyall
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Re: How to harvest seed from P. ottonis

Post by loyall »

I appreciate the book tip Jerry, as much as I like the word pique😄
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jerrytheplater
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Re: How to harvest seed from P. ottonis

Post by jerrytheplater »

loyall wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 5:59 pm I appreciate the book tip Jerry, as much as I like the word pique😄
Man, you caught me. My head is bowed in shame.
Jerry Smith
Bloomingdale, NJ
45 inches (114 cm) rain equivalent per year, approx. evenly spread per month
2012 USDA Hardiness Zone 6b: -5F to OF (-20C to -18C) min.
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