Hardy Tropicals UK

Should my canna's be producing seed? I have bengal tiger and Durban and both have seed pods but they contain no seeds?

both are hybrids so no seed i am afraid

Gary

Ok, thanks Gary. I guessed that was probably the case after I'd posted! Btw mine are still putting flower heads up right now, there gonna get a nasty shock when we get down to freezings temps which can't be too far away!

what do you mean iv waited for weeks for mine to flower man i have alot to learn so how do i get seeds, and how do they make hybrids sorry ...

beck

Some years (not last) I've had canna still flowering at christmas, they look very ropey, but technically they have still been "in flower".

having a go with the seeds you gave me in april Lucien nothing ever germinates why? am i so bad? second thought don't anwser

themes wrote:having a go with the seeds you gave me in april Lucien nothing ever germinates why? am i so bad? second thought don't anwser

you should have sown them at the time, fresh is best.

lucienc wrote:

themes wrote:having a go with the seeds you gave me in april Lucien nothing ever germinates why? am i so bad? second thought don't anwser

you should have sown them at the time, fresh is best.

the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice

This spring I had about 90% germination rate with braziliensis seeds that were over 2 years old. I think that hard coating must keep them quite fresh.

You can really tell the difference between the seed pods of the species and the hybrids. My altensteinii pods swell up massively so you can tell they are packed with seed. I will bring some along to meets in the spring.

I'm sure I have found seeds in hybrid pods before, but whether they are viable is another matter. I haven't tried them.

Hey Becky, my bengal tiger is in it's second year, when I bought it last year it didn't flower at all but this year I've had loads of flower heads. I've kept it in the same pot as last year and it's getting very crowded so once the frost gets to it, I'll lift the rhizomes this year, seperate and plant in the border next spring.

As for the Durban, I bought two in spring and put them straight in the border (my south facing garden does enjoy a good microclimate eg. yesterday top temp 24C - forecast top temp was 17-18C) - they have flowered since about July.

Neither have reached great height though, just 3-5 ft so I'm wondering how to get 6ft+ out of them!

becky wrote:what do you mean iv waited for weeks for mine to flower man i have alot to learn so how do i get seeds, and how do they make hybrids sorry ...

beck

Becky, Seeds are produced from sexual reproduction, involving the transfer of pollen from the stamen of the pollen parent onto the stigma of the seed parent. In the case of Canna, the same plant can usually play the roles of both pollen and seed parents, technically referred to as a hermaphrodite. However, the cultivars of the Italian Group and triploids are almost always seed sterile, and their pollen has a low fertility level. Mutations are almost always totally sterile, Tropicana and simolar cultivars are technically mutations and as such usually sterile...... sorry, i have lots of Canna altensteinii and some other species canna seed that i have collected over the last few weeks that i can send you if you like

Gary

Gary, have you been reading up This pic is of my Canna indica a couple of years ago, and the seed in the shot may well have ended up at Lucien's.

The seed pods turn papery when ripe then split to reveal the seeds. The pods to the right are swollen with seed but are still green. The pic was taken in mid November and you can see the stem on the left was still producing a flower bud. If we were to become frost free they would fower year round. They are like bananas where the stem once flowered dies and is replaced by other stems.

Gary, have you been reading up

does it show

Gary

GARYnNAT wrote:

Gary, have you been reading up

does it show

Gary

Somewhat

I recently bought some canna indica seeds from jungleseeds, they're in the fridge right now. Is it worth trying to germinate on the heat mat now and bring them on in the heated greenhouse over winter or is it best to wait till next year?