Wanted: lophophora williamsii seeds

[youmewe]

Anyone selling loph willy seeds? 

[ENtiTY]

Wrong time of year for that mate.

Mid to late spring and on into Autum I would think.

 

Your asking right in the tiny gap in the year when the plants are dormant.

 

Give us a yell when life again surges.

[migraineur]

On 16/07/2020 at 6:07 PM, ENtiTY said:

Wrong time of year for that mate.

Mid to late spring and on into Autum I would think.

 

Your asking right in the tiny gap in the year when the plants are dormant.

 

Give us a yell when life again surges.

 

Do ants or birds ever steal the little fruit pod of seeds from your plants? 

[Big Red]

Ants often take them from mine. I swear every time i look at a fruit and think I'll give it a day to finish ripening I come back to a little pink nub chewed three quarters down.

[migraineur]

19 minutes ago, Big Red said:

Ants often take them from mine. I swear every time i look at a fruit and think I'll give it a day to finish ripening I come back to a little pink nub chewed three quarters down.

 

How many seeds are usually in the fruit pod and how much does they normally sell for? 

[Big Red]

I've had anything from 1 to about 15 seeds in a pod, not sure what's normal as I only have personal experience to go off. Not sure how much they are worth though either as I've never had enough to sell, generally just chuck them directly into soil to germinate.

[ENtiTY]

Not seen birds steal them but ants will eat the pod where it forms once it ripens. Sometimes they eat the pod around the seeds and leave the seeds in a pile amongst the loph pubes,  other times they drop the seeds over the side of the loph to move them out of the way as they munch through the fruit.

 

Its interesting to watch but a pain in the butt if you want to collect the seeds. Once the ants know the fruits are there they move in and setup shop.

 

As for number of seeds, there are a few variables that effect this. Self pollination produces less seeds than cross pollination. Self pollination only works with northern forms and the seeds produce clones of the mother plant not new genetic individuals.

Genetics. Some individuals just make bigger pods with more seeds.

Age. The older the loph the bigger the seed pod and more seeds in it. When a loph first starts flowering and fruiting it may only produce 1 or 2 seeds. Sometimes the first pod can have no seeds ar all.

 

In terms of monetary value, a things is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Seeds with pure genetics from locational varieties are of greatest value and desirability. But that requires more work and a purpose built setup to do properly than open pollination seeds.