Last November, I posted about my Chlorophytum 'Charlotte' forming a seed pod. This was exciting, because I'd had the plant for a couple years by that point, and had never seen a seed pod, plus it meant that maybe I'd get to propagate it. (I don't know anything about 'Charlotte's ancestry, but it could be a hybrid, in which case I'll get seedlings with varying traits, and most of the seedlings won't be as cool as 'Charlotte.')
I don't remember exactly when the first pod split open, but the seeds weren't very promising-looking; they looked basically like very tiny black raisins, and there weren't many of them: only three to a pod, if I remember correctly. I had a lot of space devoted to propagation at the time, and didn't have room to start these, so I wound up throwing them back in the pot with the parent.
And for many months, nothing happened, and I forgot that there were even seeds still in the pot. Then a few days ago, I went to water it and noticed sprouts:
This is something that happens with Chlorophytum x 'Fire Flash' as well; I tried to start some seeds of it a long time ago, and nothing happened, so I gave up and reused the soil. And then everything I repotted with that particular batch of soil had 'Fire Flash' seedlings coming up in it. Chlorophytums are apparently just very slow.
I don't know if anything interesting will come of this, but it's sort of interesting in itself, I suppose.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Random plant event: Chlorophytum 'Charlotte' seedlings
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5 comments:
Good luck - really interesting
Chlorophytum 'Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte' has a nice look and I admire its vigor and stolon production. But I have hundreds! They are everywhere! I can suppress it, but I can't seem to eliminate it.
That is cool about the germination, though.
Hundreds... in the yard that is. Under fruit trees, along the fence, next to the lawn.
Not hundreds in pots.
Here's my way of getting Chloro seeds to sprout:
1. sow seeds
2. wait
3. wait some more
4. wait still more
5. lose patience and go to buy a plant instead
6. come home and discover the seeds have sprouted!
Seriously, my 'Fire Flash's sprouted the same week I bought a plant!
Is it possible they were planted too deep? Some seeds germinate when the soil is disturbed. Some poppies and henbanes need light to germinate. I have seen a carpet of opium poppies come up when a building over a hundred years old was demolished and removed.
Chlorophytums are, clearly, weedy opportunists like the poppy and henbane but with the added benefit of vegetative spread.
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