Flowers changeing colours

[Jox]

Just thought I would share with you all what I saw one of my little A.myriostigma do whilst flowering this week.

This is the first time this cactus has flowered & none of my A.myrios have done this when flowering.

The first morning it flowered they opened yellow (like my other A.myrios), & I hand pollinated them with pollen from a A.myrios quad. The next day on inspecting the flowers, I saw they had opened being a lovely shade of pink, the third day they did not open but the buds had turn bright pink.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Plant the pollen came from

I am not sure if this colour change is normal & would of happened if I had not pollinated it, as my other A.myrios have had yellow flowers from start to finish, or has the colour change has happened due to successful pollination & done to attract less insects as there service is no longer required.

Any thoughts, ideas or answers please.

Cheers

jox

Edited October 15, 2012 by Jox

[Foo]

wow, in any case thats VERY COOL!

[Heretic]

no idea , but very impressive . Have you fed them during this period ? - [ hydrangeas change colour with altered ph ]

[Stillman]

that is awesome. I wish those little A asterias I pollinated did the same thing.

[Khala]

That's beautiful, very nice pink colouration.

A wild brugmansia near where I live changes from pure white, to peach, to yellow and back every time it flowers. Very curious stuff.

[Jox]

I was pretty impressed by this.

@ Heretic, all of my cacti have been getting fertilizer since the start of spring, but not while the cactus was flowering.

[bℓσωηG]

like they were blushing! very cool!

[Jack]

I have seen this befor, I believe this is a genetic trait and not environment related.

lovely plant.

[Savage Gardener]

Gorgeous!

Some of my cacti are flowering (for the 1st time since getting the bug) but yet to open up, very exciting times!!!

[Jox]

Cactus flowers are amazing, cacti are awesome

At the moment I have a few cacti flowering & more starting to develop. The way the cactus & there flowers are so different from one another, for example I have a Rhipalis cereuscula which has just finished flowering, this plant dos not to like a "CACTUS" at all get tiny delicate white flowers, one meter away from it I have a Ecinopsis seminudus starting to bud up, this dos look like a "CACTUS" & the flowers it will produce will be big robust white flowers that will be bigger than the plant itself. I think this is why I am addicted, I love all the variety.

@ Jack, Thanks for the feedback, I was unsure if it would be a genetic trait, but would be happy to hear that this plant has genetic trait like that . If this is the case should the flowers should change like this whether pollinated or not?

I think thats what spun me out, the fact I pollinated it one morning & the next morning it was a different colour. I have heard of some flowers that do this after been pollinated but wasn't sure.

Thanks

jox

[Evil Genius]

There are some flowers that change colors during the time the flowers open. I think its probably influenced genetically but theres also a large variability from year to year what could mean it has to do with nutrient availability as well.

Btw, there are some hybrids that flower very differently from year to year.

[Hellonasty]

I have seen this in Astrophytum before, mainly in caput-medusae. In the beginning I believed it to be caused by the sun but as Jack suggests it is very much genetic and similar to the Kohyo cultivar that effects the skin in Myiostigma. There may be some role the weather plays in triggering the changes but I don't know for sure. Here are a few shots of the SAME plant that has the Kohyo trait, unfortunately I haven't got one when it is completely green which does occur for short periods. The first two were during last growing season the last one was today.

[incognito]

Wow? I'd be thinking sunburn or fungal causes in the last pic. Or variegation ?? Cool nonetheless

[naja naja]

OMG, I just fell in love all over again

[Hellonasty]

It's just a genetic mutation Incog seach the web for the ciltivar Kohyo which means "Autumn colour" I believe. The plant will change colour at random, and I think you are right this plant is mildly variegated also.

[cactuscarl]

I have seen this before but not as noticeable as that, that is awesome

[Jox]

Turns out Jack was on the money , this is genetic , I got to watch the same A.myriostigma flower again, so this I separated it from my other flowering cacti so it could not be pollinated & on the second morning it opened pink. I was lucky, as on the second day a flower opened on my A.myrio (quad) which has cool lemon yellow colored flowers, so I got to cross pollinate them with one another & hope to get some interesting seed.

Thank for everyone's feedback.

Cheers

jox

[Jox]

Successful pollination

I am very happy to have about 70 seeds sitting here, all from three flowers.

Photo of the fruit opened.

Warning to all! In these photos you can see the ants trying to steel my seeds, I found them in the morning, if I had not noticed they would of took them all by the afternoon.

The mother:

The father:

[Stillman]

Good stuff mate.

[bogfrog]

Hey Jox, i just noticed one of my astrophytums has special colour-changing powers too!

This is an astrophytum myriostigma v. Tricostratum

I sort of missed the boat when it came to getting pics of the flower fully open,

Although you'll atleast be able to see what i mean by these:

Day one:

Day three: (i missed day two, not expecting anything special)

Cool huh

Oh, and in regard to this:

I am not sure if this colour change is normal & would of happened if I had not pollinated it, as my other A.myrios have had yellow flowers from start to finish, or has the colour change has happened due to successful pollination & done to attract less insects as there service is no longer required.

Just thought i would mention this flower has not been pollinated as i dont have any other astros in flower.

Interesting to me is i dont think it did this last year

Edited November 5, 2013 by Ceres

[DiscoStu]

don't plants rule?

"tell me your secrets"

[Jox]

That is a very nice looking plant Ceres , did you collect any pollen from it?

It would be a nice plant to cross with any of your other Astro's, I find Astro pollen pretty easy to dry & store, it seems to say viable for quite a while if done properly.

Cheers

Jox

[bogfrog]

Thanks I haven't collected any pollen but will do tomorrow if its still open.

I have some in the fridge from last season, i was thinking about hitting it with some of that and hoping for the best, although its probably futile.

I've never successfully cross-pollinated astros tried plenty of times, someone recommended using a wet paintbrush so i will give that a go.

[Hellonasty]

Ceres,

Once you get one successful you will be right. Generally speaking once you have the method down you will get over 90%.

My method:

1. Pinch pollen using your finger tips from the father

2. Place pollen in the palm of your hand or a very small bowl, or shot glass.

3. Repeat 1 and 2

4. Using a cotton tip (small plastic tube with cotton buds on each end), rub the tip in the pollen and collect it on the end, twisting helps it stick.

5. Push the cotton bud into the stigma of the mother, your aim is to get as much pollen down the tiny tube as possible, that being said you only need one single grain of pollen.

6. (optional) If you want to be 100% sure of the cross then using string and your finger, cause the flower to close and tie the top of the flower up. This will prevent pollination from any other source.

I hope this helps. I will do a pictorial of this soon and put it up on my blog.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Hellonasty