Acacia King Posted October 21, 2013 Hi Fellas, Wow, it's been a while since I have been here. Been so busy and content with my garden I haven't even thought to jump on the forum to see what has been happening. So.... This morning I woke up to an awesome surprise. My Iboga has around 6 - 8 tiny little fruit on her. She is only around 18 months to 2 years old so this is the first time I have been blessed with seed pods from her. From what I remember, when it comes to Iboga pods, like with most things, fresh is best. Can anyone give me any other instructions on how best to care for them while they are still on the plant, how to know when to harvest them and how best to harvest them. Also any specifics if necessary, on how best to pack them for postage and how long they remain viable for. There are one or 2 people on here with whom I have scores to settle but after that there should be at least 6 pods (probably more to follow shortly after). It goes without saying that once harvested, all pods will be going straight back to you guys. It feels awesome that finally, after a couple of years I will be able to give something decent back to the community that has been so supportive of myself and my garden over the past few years. Thanks All! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quarterflesh Posted October 21, 2013 Are they the seed pods???? my plants thrown out plenty of them i just didnt know what they were. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poisonshroom Posted October 21, 2013 They are the unopened flowers. Iv never had fruit on mine (lots of flowers though), although apparently they never seem to set fruit where I am for some reason. The fruit are about the size of a kumquat and sort of look similar (or like a mini lemon lol), and the best way Iv seen to post them is just the whole fruit in some sphagnum in a ziplock baggie. Thats also the best way to get the seeds to germinate. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Acacia King Posted October 21, 2013 Yeah Im pretty sure I fully jumped the gun. Now that I look I am pretty sure they are inflorescences. I haven't been at home for a month and I thought I'd come back to gold! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rahli Posted October 21, 2013 The flowers don't set fruit where I am either. Good luck with the fruit mate, maybe your in the right climate for for them to set. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CunningPlatypus Posted October 21, 2013 Not to hijack this thread, but as it seems a common enough problem, why DON'T our Iboga set fruit? They seem to flower easily enough, but like everyone else in this thread, I've never gotten so much as a single fruit. Are they not self-fertile? Are they dioecious? Is it a pollinator issue? Climate? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted October 21, 2013 I am in the humid subtropics. My single Iboga shrub flowered for over 2 years before it finally set fruit. My shrub is now approximately 1.2m tall and is in a large pot. Over the last winter I ended up with 5 fertile fruit that took about 4 months to fully form. It has just started flowering again after winter dormancy/leaf loss. I am contemplating planting it out over the coming warmer months (waiting for substantial rainfall though). 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CunningPlatypus Posted October 22, 2013 Thanks, tarenna. That's exactly what I needed to know. There's hope yet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poisonshroom Posted October 22, 2013 Yep - Im talking about my area specifically (a few other people who have grown it here for many years never got fruit), as you can see a few hundred kms south and they fruit. They even seem to fruit in NNSW and south east QLD. Id say its something to do with pollination - they are self-fertile though apparently. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Acacia King Posted October 25, 2013 If it is a pollinator issue. Could this be overcome by hand pollinating? Unless it is an issue relating to something like polination it seems so strange to me. I am in Cairns and some of you that don't get fruit seem to be in tropical climates (dry and monsoonal) as well. From what I know, Gabon has a climate more similar to Far North QLD than to say SE QLD where they grow in the ground and often fruit. I mean Gabon is about as equatorial as it gets... Why would the Sub Tropics in Oz have better luck with fruiting than the tropics? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted October 25, 2013 Why would the Sub Tropics in Oz have better luck with fruiting than the tropics? we are better gardeners, hehehe! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites