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Cordyline cross-pollination
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Adrian
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:32 pm Posts: 185 Location: Folkestone Kent UK
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Cordyline cross-pollination
Phew
I think I may have just done some quite "on the edge" gardening (for me, anyway), after nearly falling off a 20 foot ladder trying to reach my Cordyline australis flowers to try a bit of cross-pollination with my Cordyline indivisa.
I've been watching the emerging inflorescences of my C. australis trees like a hawk, and today the first florets opened, so.................. hopefully I've done this right (but I'd like any advice from anyone who does this sort of thing regularly), I climbed the ladder and very carefully snipped out the stamens with some small scissors, being careful not to let them touch the stigmas (dont think any pollen had actually been produced yet anyway), then, with a paintbrush laden with the pollen I collected from my C. indivisa which flowered last month I "painted" the stigmas of the C. australis. Then I put a plastic bag around the "Frankenstein flowers" to stop any stray pollen or pollinators getting to them. I'm hoping the pollen I've had stored has a long shelf life, but this is all unknown territory for me. Anyway I managed to do about a dozen florets before I felt unsafe on the ladder. We shall see what happens, question is.............
Have I done it correctly?
(I've still got pollen left and many more australis yet to flower).
Adrian
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Fri Jun 03, 2016 8:04 pm |
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Pierre
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:11 pm Posts: 287 Location: Perpignan, Southern France
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Re: Cordyline cross-pollination
Does this hybrid exist ? It would be a very nice plant probably easier to grow than C.indivisa.
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Fri Jun 03, 2016 8:29 pm |
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Adrian
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:32 pm Posts: 185 Location: Folkestone Kent UK
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Re: Cordyline cross-pollination
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Fri Jun 03, 2016 8:40 pm |
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David Matzdorf
Site Admin
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:06 pm Posts: 5321 Location: Islington, London UK
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Re: Cordyline cross-pollination
There is a school of thought that says that C. 'Sundance' is an old hybrid between C. indivisa and C. australis. But I don't think anyone has done any genetic testing to establish whether or not this is so.
I grew C. 'Sundance' to 4m height between 2000 and 2010, but the long freeze in 2010 cut it back to ground level and it made no new growth for 2½ years thereafter. When I first planted it, in a new garden, there was plenty of sun, but now it is in shade, so the last 4 years have produced a three-trunked plant only 500mm tall.
It wouldn't surprise me if there is some C. indivisa in its genome. The central stripe in the leaf is reminiscent. But C. indivisa is probably hardier than C. australis and I don't think there's any doubt that C. 'Sundance' is much less hardy than either.
_________________ 51º33'07"N x 0º07'21"W
43m (142 feet) ASL
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Fri Jun 03, 2016 9:00 pm |
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Adrian
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:32 pm Posts: 185 Location: Folkestone Kent UK
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Re: Cordyline cross-pollination
David
C. indivisa most certainly is a lot lot hardier than australis mine sailed through the cold winter of 2010 with no problems at all whilst my australis mostly lost their tops (but miraculously sprouted from various places up the trunk) which was good, it meant I got to keep the heights they had attained.
Adrian
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Sat Jun 04, 2016 11:04 am |
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Pierre
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:11 pm Posts: 287 Location: Perpignan, Southern France
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Re: Cordyline cross-pollination
Unfortunatly C.indivisa hate mediterranean warm climate even with watering. It grows well close to the coast in Brittany but can suddenly die, probably from fungus disease. I grow a cross : C.kaspar X C.australis.
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Sun Jun 05, 2016 1:13 pm |
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Adrian
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:32 pm Posts: 185 Location: Folkestone Kent UK
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Re: Cordyline cross-pollination
Pierre
I have my own theories about Cordyline indivisa, I think as long as it is grown mostly in the shade it's alright. Mine grows against the north facing side of my house and only has an hour or so of sunlight, and from the photograph I took of my cars dashboard thermometer last summer you can see it got quite mediterranean here!....40 degrees!
In the winter it's really tough too surviving sub zero temperatures for weeks on end, when my australis plants died.
All it needs is shade, sharp drainage and water (but I don't give mine any extra water than it gets from the normal rainfall).
Try growing another one, it's well worth it.
Adrian
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Sun Jun 05, 2016 4:08 pm |
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Pierre
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:11 pm Posts: 287 Location: Perpignan, Southern France
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Re: Cordyline cross-pollination
Thanks a lot Adrian for your positive expérience,which is a path to growing it more successfully. But you know a mediterranean climate is arsher than some very warm days : day and night temperatures above 20°C for 3 months, dry strong winds, dry air and moreover for most gardeners, bad limy soils ; it is the reason why rich gardens are rather unusual and why NZ plants rarely thrive. Nevertheless, if your artificial pollination were successful, I'd like trying some seeds.
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Mon Jun 06, 2016 4:27 am |
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