Fatsia Berries

[GoggleboxUK]

I was going to post this in response to Kyle's post in the Polycarpa seeds thread but it's not a polycarpa.

My largest Fatsia is producing berries:

[Kyle]

Hope you're going to have a go at germinating them too?

It's interesting to compare this japonica image to those of polycarpa's berries that just got listed on eBay.

[GoggleboxUK]

Hope you're going to have a go at germinating them too?

It's interesting to compare this japonica image to those of polycarpa's berries that just got listed on eBay.

And easier with a pic



I'll have a go at germinating them if anyone knows the process of extracting the seed?

[Kyle]

Goggs, if you get a couple of pictures of a few japonica berries against a white background with a ruler in the shot, I'll do the same when the polycarpa berries arrive. If we also do the same with the seeds removed from the berries, we can do a scale composite for everyone's reference?

[GoggleboxUK]

Good plan.

Not easy holding paper and ruler in one hand with camera in the other though





I'm not sure whether it is OK to remove the berries now or if I should wait til the fall off naturally to ensure the seeds are fully formed?

[GoggleboxUK]

No scale on this pic of Polycarpa from Taiwan but interesting to compare this with the Crug picture:

[Kyle]

Cool. It's not at all easy to take a photo like that in situ, is it? The largest berries look to be about 8mm.

When you remove the berries, If you take another of them on white paper on a worktop (with a ruler ref), it'll be perfect to put together with the polycarpa ones.

I've been wanting to do something similar with all the various Fatsia leaves too. Gonna be doing this anyway with the Ricinus this summer too. If these composites are useful to people, I was going to extend it to other things. It just needs people willing to take usable pictures (and maybe sacrifice a leaf, berry or flower on occasion).

BTW. Not sure about when to harvest the berries. If it was me, I'd tie netting around some of the berries and let them fall in to it once fully ripened.

[Kristen]

I think, in general, the longer they ripen on the plant the better ...

I've grown Yew from berries and the advice was to leave them on the plant until the New Year ... just needed to try to keep the birds of them until then, and make sure they didn't fall off by themselves. We used to use brown paper bags, held on with a rubber band, to collect seed in Summer when I was young - no idea what happened if it rained! Or maybe I am misremembering and we broke the seed heads off when ripe, but before they "popped", and hung them up indoors with paper bags to catch the seeds

The Yew berries we harvested we had to "scrub" to get the seeds out, using a colander/sieve (needs to be "rough" to get the flesh off). It was hard work as the flesh stuck to the seeds (and I supposed that sowing them with flesh would mean they would rot / go mouldy, although I don't know if that would prevent / inhibit germination). The best seed-sown Yews we have here are the ones that went through a bird and were then aerially-sown !!

[GoggleboxUK]

Thanks Kristen, I'll give them a go.

Just as a thought, maybe a square of fleece wrapped and rubberbanded around the seed head would be a useful alternative to a paper bag. Certainly moe weatherproof and also allowing some sun through to help ripening.

[Nigel Fear]

Now, is about right, Just squeeze the black ones and the seeds will come out, give them a wipe, sow them in a pot, lightly covered with a fine spray of water and wait about 3 weeks with them tucked round the side of your house. Germination rate is very high... Simples.

You might even find they self sow around the place unaided.

[Kristen]

Just as a thought, maybe a square of fleece wrapped and rubberbanded around the seed head would be a useful alternative to a paper bag. Certainly moe weatherproof and also allowing some sun through to help ripening.

Sounds a good plan - didn't have fleece when I were a boy, of course and mother used to put old stockings over Figs etc. to keep the wasps off them - you got any of Lara's that she doesn't need any more?

[GoggleboxUK]

Lara has figs?



Thanks Nigel, I'll give that a go and see if they're ready yet.

[brendan]

Nigel is spot on with this and is how mine are germinated in the first picture this year.In the second picture shows a tray of mp compost with the berries just thrown on top and left moist with prop lid on unheated at room temp and still germinated in 4 weeks with no berry stained fingers or hassle.

[Kristen]

germinate in 4 weeks with no berry stained fingers or hassle.

I'm liking the sound of that

[GoggleboxUK]

I've got the berry stained fingers now but they are definitely ripe

I've just thrown half a dozen berries down the back of the water feature to see if they'll sprout there. If they all come up it will look amazing in a few years time.