Byblis flowering
 

Hi all,

My surviving byblis liniflora (seed grown) is starting to have flower buds. Should I allow it to flower or should I just cut off the buds. The plant is still young (about 5months old) only 2 inches tall. Please advise

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...t108032009.jpg

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Let it flower, byblis linflora is short lived and it will self polinate to produce more plants. Linflora lives for 1 or 2 years. Flowers won't harm it.

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Thanks alcran for the information :smile:

Cheers,
Kelvin

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Errrr.....if you got extra seeds,can I get some from you?Prety please with sugars on top?:blushing::tongue:

Re: Byblis flowering
 

The plant is small .I also wish that I can get plenty of seeds out of it. This will be my first time so hope to be able to harvest the seeds successfully. I will certainly post in the giveaway section once I have extra seeds to spare.

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Kelvin, congrats man. Hope your plant will give you many many offsprings.

Re: Byblis flowering
 

If you want more seeds, try rubbing two flowers together when they bloom. They are fine if you do not rub two flowers together but the seed production will be lesser.

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Cool... Congratulation on the flowering... So far, I only have 1 time luck with byblis... I tried it few times. Only 1 survive till adult. :sweating:

Re: Byblis flowering
 

K thanks.There are two flower buds right?

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Yar. There are two flower buds. The purple flowers seem to open up around noon and closes in the evening. Seems to be repeating this process for few days now. I wonder what are the indications that the seed pods are formed and ready for picking?

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Well, I'm no expert (mine just flowered for the first time over the last few weeks) but so far; they seem to form a spherical seed pod that has a slightly hard shell to it. I picked the first one about 3 days ago, not being sure if it was ready or not. I let it dry a few days and this morning I dissected it with tweezers and got about 30 tiny black seeds (larger than Drosera seeds, about like poppy seeds). The 'pod' was kind of whitish colored when I picked it. I'll pick another 1-2 this afternoon. Good luck!

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Powersensor,

The seeds are better if they are collected only when/after the fruit splits. It seems that if they are collected too soon, not as many are viable. But because the process may cause some seeds to be dispersed, you may want to keep a close eye on the fruits. :smile:

Re: Byblis flowering
 

:crying:AAAAUUUUUGGGHHHHHH! Thanks Cindy! I'll have to remember that next time! Just saw this 'after' I harvested 3 more 'fruit'. :crying:

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Hi Shawn,

The idea/concept came from my own observations, along with discussion with some of the local growers in Singapore. It could be different for Byblis plants grown in drier/natural conditions.

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Hi Shawn,

Just to share with you how I collect my seeds. I monitored the seed pods everyday. Once the seed pod starts to turn light brown and have crack line exposing the black seeds (meaning it will bust open very soon), I will cut the whole seed pod and store it indoor. the next day, the harvested seed pod will be dry the and the pod will be wide open. Just use a tweezer to pick up the pod and shake out all the black seeds.

Byblis flowering
 

I have heard they can take years to flower. Have you tried threatening it??? They bloom late around March I believe...maybe giving it brighter light for a month or two before that might induce flowering?

Re: Byblis flowering
 

Well, after 9-10 months of growing these guys now I can add a little bit to my earlier comments;

I have learned to wait until the fruit dries and opens on its own before harvesting. The trick is to slip a paper or dish under the fruit before cutting because as soon as you try to cut (or even just bump it), the seeds shower down. I have also found that (in my case) only a portion of the collected seeds will germinate. I have planted trays of 105 cells with 10 seeds each and still only get half of the cells with plants germinating. But very quickly you will be overrun with them anyway so don't worry!
Plastic bags are terrible if you cut the entire flower or stalk as the moisture in the stem will condense on the inside of the bag and cause mold/fungus problems.
Good Luck!
~Shawn

Re: Byblis flowering
 

All of my remaining byblis babies died today...why when do I get new plants something has to die?