Horus Posted October 25, 2011 Well after 10 years my beloved Caapi is finally flowering. Pretty little mauve flowers. Yeah,I know I could look up the answers to my questions,but I like the personal touch of asking my planthead bros. So....Tell me its not one of those plants that flowers and dies. Can it pollinate itself or being stand alone will the seed be infertile. At what stage should I collect the seed....what should I look for.... if they fall on the ground I will never find them. How long should I wait till I plant the seed...should they fully dry out or anything like that. General advise please guys. All assistance apreciated. 12 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted October 25, 2011 Wow congrats man, that's awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heffa Posted October 25, 2011 So pretty, amazing stuff. Congrats man! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
7baz Posted October 25, 2011 wish i could answer your questions but im not expert on caapi. im sure someone will answer it all for you shortly. but damn if she seeds can i grab some off you ? very pretty and interesting to see , thanks so much for sharing that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cactuscarl Posted October 26, 2011 Not sure if it seeds either but if it does put me down for some Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted October 26, 2011 (edited) this is very special , and i remeber only one other person reporting caapi flowers! stonehenge, got his plant to flower, but i cant remeber if he got any seeds, i guess not, but i think your microclimat (and the fact that this is a very happy and virgorous specimen) makes it possible to set seed. caapi seeds to have wings, so the pod will open and the seeds will fall out, good luck. let's hope she is self fertile! i searched it for you: http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16866&st=0&p=163660&hl=+caapi%20+flower&fromsearch=1entry163660 Edited October 26, 2011 by planthelper 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zaka Posted October 27, 2011 Irie, Very nice man! It would be interesting to see the rest of the plant. Do you know what may have triggered the flowering??? daylight? Dry season?? I've yet to have any flower but they are only 3yrs....should do next year hopefully!! I'm not sure but I don't think they form in to a pod??? Rather they split in to pair or triplets with the seed ends together..wings apart.... They would helicopter down once dry...therefore concluding that flowering must be gauged by the seasons, in some way??? Hope you can get seeds!!! Respect, Z Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horus Posted October 27, 2011 Thanks Planthelper In 10yrs haunting this forum I cant remember seeing Caapi flower. If all goes well I should have a fair few seeds. I am a firm believer that Caapi has an adgenda to make itself unextinctable. All mankind must always have the Aya resource. My plant is very special, and we have that symbiotic relationship. So I am sure it wants to prove that theory true. Maybe offering Caapi seed will be a good way of getting people to show up at our Central Coast meets....LOL 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted October 27, 2011 Very special indeed. I sounds like the trigger could just be age, but I don't understand how that could be? What is the physiological different between your flowering 10 y.o. and my yet to flower 5-6 y.o.? Size wise they appear to be about the same, with similar base thickness etc. I live not too far from your place so this has certainly shown that it is possible for caapi to flower in my climate, which gives me great hope Had you recently hard-pruned it or something? Or any other stress that may induce flowering? Unusually dry or wet weather? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ethos Posted October 27, 2011 Beautiful flowers colhawk, I remember seeing you caapi's croutch thread and then the video of your garden which featured her she is a beautiful vine mate. If it does seed really great job on your part col, even having it flower is a triumph you should be very proud And I would have came to the meet if work hadn't needed me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Horus Posted October 27, 2011 Hey Alice I worked it out. The only part flowering was on a branch of the host tree that broke off 6 mths ago. Prolly grew on that branch for 9yrs. This has put that strand of vine under duress and so it has flowered as a survival instinct. It must think...as Caapis do...that just in case the whole host tree is buggered I better throw some seed. The rest is in full on regrowth. So happy caapies dont flower, just the parts in peril. Thats my current theory. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heffa Posted October 27, 2011 Following an sketchy time line in the thread PH linked, Stonehenge's flowers took 3 months to develop into 'noticable' seeds. 90 days later, he says he has sprouted his first seed. With a bit of a uni accessed search, similar banis sp are capable of self polination, but mainly have to be hand polinated (Annals of Botany 2004) (if the link doesnt work, let me know and ill up load the pdf). B.Caapi are perennials, which is in the same class as most trees and long lived plants. I believe most perennials are polycarpic which means they flower multiple times before dying. Seed collection according to Dave's Garden: Bag seedheads to capture ripening seed Allow seedheads to dry on plants; remove and collect seeds Seed does not store well; sow as soon as possible Hope this helps! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted October 27, 2011 (edited) Ah that does make sense! Maybe I should swing Tarzan-style off some vinage and see if I can do some damage. How thick was the damaged branch? EDIT: Never mind, I see from the pic that it's not thick at all. Think I may need to do some experiments. Edited October 27, 2011 by Alice 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tripsis Posted October 27, 2011 Colgrats colhawk, must be pretty special to have such a treasured plant flowering for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
El Presidente Hillbillios Posted October 27, 2011 Col, if she was going to flower for anyone it would be you! Ps, you vine has some awesome energy and i would do pretty much anything for some seeds, pretty much! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted October 27, 2011 I had a 4-5 y.o. vine flower 2 years ago on the Far North Coast of NSW, I posted about it back then. It is growing in rich basalt alluvium just above sea level at the edge of regenerating (replanted) subtropical rainforest. It has flowered once since. It has not (yet) set seed. I feel that it will in time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mt.B Posted October 28, 2011 Lovely, thanks for sharing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted October 28, 2011 I had a 4-5 y.o. vine flower 2 years ago on the Far North Coast of NSW, I posted about it back then. It is growing in rich basalt alluvium just above sea level at the edge of regenerating (replanted) subtropical rainforest. It has flowered once since. It has not (yet) set seed. I feel that it will in time. Do you think your flowering was initiated by damage? Or any event in particular? Or did it just happen with no obvious catalyst? Would be great if we could develop a reliable method to induce flowering, as there are a hell of a lot of us now with huge vines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted October 28, 2011 No obvious catalyst or stressors. Scattered flowers in several sections. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted October 28, 2011 tarenna, that your flowers are scattered all over, does not rule out, that damage and stress, can have an influence on flower development. i think col is on the right track, and im sure some hormons could trigger her flowering aswell... but i don't think a struggling plant would be ever, stressed into flowering. producing oz grown seeds, would be a mile stone achivement, and very good for the communety, as seeds are legal trade. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted October 29, 2011 I have 3 different seed grown vines flowering pretty close to each other. if crossing is needed then it is available. however, despite them doing this for 3 years I have not seen a single seed. This is the first year that I have set up native bees in that area though. They are tiny and love the flowers. Maybe they can pollinate it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazonian Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) Hey colhawk.... just wondering how the caapi flowers are coming along? . Did they set seed? EDIT: chasing some fresh-ish seed if anyone has any or can recommend a source. Cheers. Edited January 19, 2012 by Amazonian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woof woof woof Posted January 20, 2012 in the enthobotanical community everyone reacts as if a baby is born when a caapi (finally) flower! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zaka Posted January 21, 2012 Irie, Some shots of my 3yrs old baby Caapi in flower...Just the first few!!!!!!! Respect, Z 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
