Every once in a while, I see fused flowers like that in the garden... and dandelions are found quite often with two fused stems and one giant strange-shaped flower! But I've never seen this happen to a hippeastrum!

I don't know what would happen if pollinated... I would think they might produce normal offspring... I'm not sure what causes flowers to fuse like that, but it's sort of like a "birth defect"... genetically speaking, it would be interesting to know the how and why of such a thing!

You have nothing to lose by pollinating it/them! Give it a try! Who knows what might result?! Do you have pictures of this oddity?? I would love to see it!

I will try to post a close-up of the odd parts and an overall.

Because this bulb is grown on water, I am a bit reluctant to try pollination, but this is the first time I have seen anything like this and I really am tempted to make an exception in this instance. Would it be most advisable to self-pollinate, or should I try cross pollination, can anyone advise? The only other ripe pollen I have right now is a Solomon.

A cross with Solomon would be nice... although, self-pollinating it would be good, too... I don't think it matters much which pollination you choose to make... perhaps someone here with more experience can advise you from a technical standpoint...

Just to be more confident about pollinating it, you could try planting the bulb in soil instead of leaving it in the water... or do you think that would be too stressful for the bulb? Just a thought...

I checked the little literature I have and saw nothing about pod- or pollen-sterility or against self-pollination, so I will take the easy path.

I thought of planting the bulb as well. Ideally of course, it should be in soil, but I usually wait until after the stalks are cut to pot up. I think I will play it by ear and hope for luck.

It will be interesting to see whether it will produce seeds... I think the deformity is just a fluke of nature, and I doubt it will show again in any offspring... but you never know!

Here are some shots of the odd Royal Velvet:

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and close-ups of the fused bases
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Wow! Two for the price of one! Hehe!

It appears to have all the parts necessary for a successful pollination... although, how it will grow seed pods in such close quarters is another question... well, I would try it just to see what would happen... you never know... nature is a strange and wonderful thing...

Thanks for sharing your photos! The flowers are a lovely red!

I started off the new year with my first attempt at hybridizing amaryllis. I will be curious to see if it sets, there definitely was a lot of ripe pollen and the stigma seemed to hold it well.

I have a better sense about hybridizing irises and what traits to look for and expect, but aside from the Read book, there does not appear to be a lot of amaryllis genetics information available.

Wonderful photos, wilde. I wish you much success with your pollinating efforts!

No, there doesn't seem to be a lot of genetic information about hippeastrums... but I would think that a lot of the information you already know about breeding Iris would translate somewhat to these bulbs... general information, perhaps... you have a head start, at least!

I have no background in plant breeding at all, but I can sort of translate what I know about breeding dogs into some semblance of general know-how... I was thinking of trying to work with the yellow flower color issue... I don't know how successful I'll be, but it's worth a shot... it will take an incredibly long time, for sure, but it will be fun to see how the resulting colors turn out...

First, I need to collect more of the yellow and greenish-yellow flowers... and then, I thought maybe if I tried to cross the yellow with a peach or light orange... I don't know... I could be totally wrong about what might result, but the fun will be in trying!

This, my first year dabbling in hippeastrums and pollination is a pure learning experience... next year, I get serious!

Most dogs descend from black as the main and dominant color... and yet, here we are with Yellow Labs and Golden Retrievers... so, manipulating and setting color is possible, genetically speaking!

I'm actually rather surprised that you haven't already bred your hippis, seeing as how you're familiar with Iris breeding!

How about this

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That's a fused flower/s right in front, yes? The bed is gorgeous, Arif! What a wonderful show they put on!

The best I will be able to do is a large pot with a cluster, and I'm a long way away from having that! Someday, though...

OMG!! Look at that bed of blooms!!! I love it.

Those fused blooms are real freaks of nature!

Arif,
That is one of the most beautiful photos of a bed of flowers I've ever seen! In person I saw a bed of Minerva years ago which started my love of Ami's.The heavens certainly look kindly on your plot of this earth! Thank you for sharing with us.

There is a large seedpod forming on the stalk that had the strange flower. Keeping those fingers crossed it will mature properly despite the poor conditions.

I hope it matures for you, Wildebloem... although, I really do think any offspring will be normal... it seems like a fluke of nature that the two blooms were fused... time will tell, though... it would be very intriguing if an offspring produced fused flowers...

As I mentioned before, I have no knowledge whatever of breeding amaryllis. This change may well be somatic (I believe that is the correct term, but it has been years since I hybridized other plants). Still, I have never grown my own amaryllis from seed, and even if they all look like run of the mill to everyone else, at worst I will be absolutely tickled.

This is my first year breeding and growing from seed, so you can imagine how tickled I am! Just to see tiny roots forming on my floated seeds is a huge thrill to me!

I don't imagine breeding these will be all too much different from breeding iris, perhaps these will be even easier! It's defintiely for the person with patience, though!

I can do patience - a little anyway. But I did just find a bud in a (supposedly/hopefully yellow) Clivia a friend grew for me from seed for a special birthday. It took her two years to grow to the size she wanted before she gave it to me, and the birthday was in October - six years ago! I only hope it really is yellow, she will be so disappointed if it is not.

Hey wildebloem, pollination and growing your own seeds can be sooooo rewarding!! I hope you continue. I know this past 2 years as I learn more about this wonderful bulb and all the varieties, the pollenation and seed growing is fantastic. I have all these surprises waiting for me in a couple of years. Hey, why not!

I'm a bit behind Cindee and few others in seedling production, but I'll catch up! I'm having a blast pollinating and growing the seeds!

Sounds like my kind of fun - anything plant. If the seeds ripen properly, I will have to figure out how to germinate and grow them next. I started some cactus seeds many years ago, but I had a nice heated contraption my husband made that kept them at perfect temperature.

I have heard a number of references to "floating" seeds - are they literally in just water?

Yes... I just gently dropped them on top of a container of un-softened, plain water... and about 10 days to 2 weeks later, they began to sprout! There are tiny roots growing downward into the water, and the seed husks are still floating on top of the water... I do need to change the water, and I will add a few drops of hydrogen peroxide... I think this helps keep oxygen in the water, and helps keeps the water fresh. Once they are far enough along, I'll have to gently pick each one out of the water and plant them in a tray or clear plastic container of some type... I want to be able to monitor root growth...

I also want to experiment with germinating the seeds in different mediums to see which method is best and gives the best results. I've already tried a mix of vermiculite and coco coir, and had no seeds germinate... I'm not sure if it was the conditions or the seeds that failed... my goal is to find the quickest way to germinate and grow healthy bulb seedlings!

I started some cactus seeds last summer, and they're doing fine in a tiny pot on the east windowsill... the seeds were just a packaged mix, and I can see a few different varieties growing in the little green spiny cluster in the pot. I'll need to separate them as they get bigger, but I think that will take quite some time! They seem to be slow growers! But they are cute, and it's fun to watch them germinate and grow...

Thank you for the information. Very interesting process. Why water instead of soil or a mix? Is it to soften the seed coat, to wash off inhibitors, or ...? My concern with growing anything in water is the fact roots tend to be more frail than those of something grown in soil, so I tend to prefer soil even if it slows down germination. But frail roots must not be a problem in this instance. If the seeds growing now mature and if they are sufficient in number, I suppose I will try a few methods (and most likely find yours to be the best!).

Do you have the seeds in a warmed spot or at room temperature? What about light - are they in a window or under lights?

I didn't have any luck using a mix of vermiculite and coco coir to germinate some seeds in, and I've seen others use this flotation method for germinating hippi seeds... I thought I'd give it a try...

The tiny roots will be VERY fragile, and I'll have to be very careful when planting them into a medium... I'll probably use tweezers to gently pick up each little sprout and place it carefully into a prepared bed of medium... I'll have to poke little shallow holes for the roots to go into... then, I'll very gently place a bit of medium around each sprout, making sure I get soil to root contact without breaking the little roots.

I have my container of seeds and water on a heat mat under a grow light in a mini-greenhouse that I have set up in my apartment. The seeds are sprouting fine, and will probably need to be planted soon. I think a bit of bottom heat helps in faster germination, and I don't know if they need light right away, but I would assume so because outdoors, you'd plant seeds in the warm sun.

I normally start seeds in soil, too, but I didn't get any germination with my last try, so I thought I'd give the water method a shot, to see how well it worked. I agree that planting in soil is better because you don't need to disturb the fragile roots.

Thank you again for the information. I will be curious to see how it all goes.

I looked in the Read book for information, too. There is useful information there, but it appears to exclusively address commercial propagation. I have always wanted to try propagation from basal plates, but never have gotten around to it yet, so I found that section pretty interesting. But the seed information was a little more than I bargained for.

I still don't have a copy of Veronica Read's book... I must get one!

So far, the seeds seem to be doing well... the little roots are growing downward... I think soon I'll have to plant the sprouts... I don't think I want them in water for too long.

Commercial propagation is too much for me! I only want to start a few seeds of each type I have... I don't have the room to keep too many, so I think I'll only start about 10 of each seed type, and see how that goes... I can always start more if I need to.

I'll try to get some pictures of the sprouts so you can see how I have them floated. I have one photo of the little guys in the last "Jungle" post I put up... but I'll try to post more.

The book is wonderful, well worth buying or borrowing (if your library does not have it, maybe suggest it - the more people who get to know this plant, the better).

I would love to see some pictures.

I did try to find your "Jungle" posts, but I found only "missing file" messages.