What’s your question?

And the question is: is this seed pod from Kaleidochrome still viable? It (along with another scape with 4 pods) were either bitten off by the &!@# rabbits, or trampled by the crazy dog.

I thought I read that the pods have to remain on the plant until they are dried up and brown... but can this be salvaged?

There is still one scape on the plant, with one lonely seed pod hanging on it.

I am not an expert for sure, but I thought I understood that one could collect them and let them dry out in paper bags, or perhaps under lights (???). Then once they dry out, the pod should split or maybe you manually split it and remove the seeds. I was going to try and make some seedlings and this is what I was told. Hope that helps or you get a waaaay better answer. ;-)

So, should I put these scapes in a vase of water and let them age?

I would try it. The seeds looked viable when I did it that way--they dried and split open like they did on the plant. I spread them in a mulched bed after they split open last year in late fall. I was hoping to get some seedlings but none have appeared.

I don't think this year's experiment is going to be viable but I hate to just kill things so I figure I am giving them a fighting chance. I also hate the stalks after they bloom. There are just so many of them in the beds and they look unkept.

6-8 weeks is the range for seed to ripen to maturity/viability.

if it was alot less peak inside to look for black kernels. if not plump kernels toss them

if they are. dry them in a brown paper bag

i used to wait until the bottom most pod yellowed.. or popped open.. and then all the pods were ripe ..

i usually harvested in mid to late fall ...

i suspect vermin damaged stalks.. this early.. will have no matured viable seed ... but as noted.. open one.. let it dry.. and see if you can find the hard black seed in each wing... if not... hold out no hope ...

and i also doubt.. on water alone.. you could mature immature seed in the ensuing 2 or 3 months ..

something in the back of my head is saying .. 60 to 90 days from flower to mature seed .. but i cant find any reference to that in the library ... [its also saying.. put on your pants today .. lol ...]

one reason this triggers .. is we in MI get viable seed on the august blooming plantaginea.. only about once a decade .. if not more... because they get frosted or frozen before maturing ...

so you couple week old pods are VERY far from mature ... imo .. beyond curiosity.. i would hold out no hope.. and get ready to do the happy dance.. if you do find a few ... you learn nothing.. if you dont experiment ...

ken

this is how i stored and dried them

i have to sign in..and then edit the post .. brb ...

Thanks all... early this morning I cut into one - nothing black at all - so I cut into another, and another.... no luck. So I’ll leave the last one on the plant to dry as long as possible, then check it out. Maybe Kaleidochrome isnt such a great breeder?

Well, I did get a v. Aureomaculata this year, which has seed pods drying now... so maybe I can play with those this winter. And Korean Snow is sending up a flower scape now, which may work out.

Ken- the envelopes look like a good choice for sorting/storing.

Am I right about this... only a streaked pod parent can produce a variegated hosta?

Or can pollen from a streaked plant produce variegation in another pod parent?

I may have misheard or misunderstood Hans Hansen in one of his talks at the convention.

im surely not going to argue with hans ...

but i recall it should be a streaked pod parent .. and best if the pod is actually streaked ...

i only did OP .. so i didnt follow the pollen around the yard and take notes.. maybe hostamaker will know that ... but for sure... i rarely got anything streaked from non streaked plants ... possible.. not probable ... even if they were among multiple streakers ...

and BTW .... they have to dry to turn black ... did you find any white nodules that may have done such ..??

ken

Correct variegated hosta come from streaked hosta. occasionally a solid throws off a streak but that usually dissappears.

then its a number of years to wait before a stable margin or medio happens. a lot of times you will lose the streaking entirely.

to keep it streaked for breeding you’ll need to cut off new solid eyes.

Ok thanks....

ummm, there may have been some white nodule-looking things. So they’re gone now 🙁. But I’ll keep an eye on the one last pod out there on Kaleidochrome. And v.A. and Korean Snow.

Think I’ll order another streaker or two next year.

that 6-8 weeks is seared in my brain. since frost comes early here. i need to get pods sets so my work doesnt go to waste. its frustrating to get to cleaning and find alot of seeds that are duds.

At first i thought kaleidochrome was a cirifu oba seedling. but after getting some species seedlings from japan this year. it looks like longipes has a large variety of leaf shapes.

this one looks similar.

That does look similar. i thought the flowers on it this year were small and sparse.

So windymess, you are looking to be a hosta maker?? Or like I was, just fooling around for winter time fun? Either way, good luck!! And keep us updated…….

debra

😁 just for fun.