That's fantastic!! In all these years I've owned a Ruby Star, I've never been able to get a seedpod to grow; it's wonderful to know that her pollen does work, I was never sure!!

Pretty results too!!

Donna

Curvy and pretty!! Blooms in less than 2 years...? Good for you...that's outstanding!!

Ok, so what's your secret to getting from seed to bloom in two years.

LOL. I was bragging about my 2-year seedlings, but the ones that are blooming are a small fraction of the total. I think there only 6 that will bloom this year out of perhaps 200 seedlings. I grew them outdoors under mixed sun and shade the first summer, and under fluorescent lights with bottom heat over winter. I pampered them a lot in the first year, fertilizing them frequently. In the spring I transplanted them and selected the 2-4 largest to plant together into a 8" pot, or individually into smaller pots. The remaining were either planted in the ground or in another pot. Over the second winter, I stored the pots in my cool, dark basement. The ones that are blooming this spring are a few of these largest seedlings.

In the first year I also included a small amount of smokewater in the nutrient solution whenever I watered them. I had seen a number of published papers showing increased growth in response to small concentrations. A study on onions showed quite impressive results. Last year I did a controlled study on seedlings of a number of varieties, and by the end of the summer I could not see any obvious difference in the size of plants that received smokewater versus those that did not. So I have mostly stopped using smokewater, though sometimes I still use it, just in case.

Bill

OK...what is smokewater??

It is water through which smoke is bubbled so that the compounds in the smoke are dissolved into the water. It contains butenolide, which stimulatates germination and growth in some species. It seems to act similarly to the plant hormone gibberellin, so small amounts can be effective. I made my own, but it can be purchased as the condiment "Liquid Smoke" used to give a smoke flavor to food. Here is a photo from the study on onions (Kulkarni et al 2010. Effect of smoke-water and a smoke-isolated butenolide on the growth and genotoxicity of commercial onion. Scientia Horticulturae 124:434-439).

Bill

thanks

That is really pretty! Congrats!

Bill, thanks for sharing all the information. You mention fertilizing frequently and your' nutrient solution'. Can you detail this a little more. Thanks again, anything that helps shorten the time from seed to bloom is much appreciated..

I don't have much else to share. I fertilized them with the "All Purpose" version of MiracleGro at half strength, every week or two during the summer and less frequently when they were indoors under lights.