Inyan Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) The weather is warming up and now things are taking off. Thankfully, I have the answer to everything 42 courtesy of Zelly. A superb Huarazensis x Trichocereus scopulicola cross. Edited February 23, 2018 by Inyan 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Genius Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Beautiful hybrid. Can´t wait to see how this one will look like in a couple years. Good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelly Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 my huarazensis x scop seedling decided to get weird......hell its only 2-3 yrs old... needless to say, nothing took on at least 6-7 flowers it pushed out in 2017 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 1 hour ago, zelly said: my huarazensis x scop seedling decided to get weird......hell its only 2-3 yrs old... needless to say, nothing took on at least 6-7 flowers it pushed out in 2017 I've got a whole tray grafted as you can see of this cross of yours Zelly. I like the fact that it only took 2-3 years to get flowers on this cross and it looks like those were all grown on their own roots... so a plus if I'm not mistaken. Early blooming genetics. The one up front is the most spectacular of the cross in my possession so far and thus I highlighted it. Now, if it turns out be even partially fertile I'll be in cacti heaven. Although, it is not totally uncommon for hybrids to lose some fertility one way or the other. In your case Zelly, it looks like your particular hybrid was not very pod fertile the first go round. My question would be... was it pollen fertile? Did you get a chance to test that pollen out on another species or hybrid? Either way, I'd like to see the next generation of this particular hybrid. Thinking I should de-graft now and graft onto something bigger to push this little one a lot faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelly Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 I couldnt get any pollen from the numerous flowers & I'm quite certain the flowers got hit with viable pollen. imo the flower tubes dont look anything like either parent & being much longer than 'normal' probably contributed to the failure to pollinate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted February 24, 2018 Author Share Posted February 24, 2018 (edited) The longer flower pistil could indeed affect the pollens ability to travel down the pistil as the pollen may only be able to grow so far. In some plants, that type of incompatibility is bypassed by cutting the stigma to the same length as the parent with with the shortest pistil. The pollen is then applied directly to that cut surface. I'd certainly be interested in seeing the anthers under a magnifying glass. Centrifuging the anthers and collecting what little might be had may or may not be able to yield you enough viable pollen over a larger window of time to enable a successful pollination and perhaps some viable seed. I've created many hybrid seed pods where the ovules aborted long before the pod matured. So, I understand a little about your frustration with this hybrid. I'd certainly not rule out the ability to set seeds with one of these hybrids till I tried a few more tricks. Another suggestion that may or may not help would of course be to pollinate the cut pistil early before the flower has opened by making a small slice into the flower with a razor blade prior to its opening. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by such a tactic. Pollinating a flower early like this allows the pollen a longer window to grow down the pistil. I also would not rule out pollen being able to be retrieved until I had looked at the anthers under a microscope. With all of that said, it certainly does sound like you may have some marked reduced fertility to this particular hybrid. The hope is of course that you can find the right trick to get even a single pod to form. With some hybrids... even having the temperature too elevated during pollen germination can cause the pod to abort. One reason some hybridizers use shade cloths over their plants during peak flower production in the heat of the summer. Hybrids can be much more fickle than their non hybrid counterparts to say the least. In the end, it may simply be a dead end, but I sure am hoping it is not as it is one beautiful specimen you have created Zelly. I am proud to be growing the few hybrids I am of yours as I know many others here are as well. Edited February 24, 2018 by Inyan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted February 24, 2018 Author Share Posted February 24, 2018 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jaap_Tuyl/publication/40145945_Methods_for_overcoming_interspecific_crossing_barriers/links/00b4951ef66b9c2d53000000.pdf For some useful information on overcoming pollination barriers in F1 crosses. Check out the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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