Ibicella lutea

[CP2k]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone grow Ibicella lutea? I noticed that the stigma of the flower closes immediately(like a flytrap) after contact with pollen, perhaps to preventing self-pollination. None of my Proboscidea does this.

PS: I have some seeds of sp. for sase. You will have to use GA3 to germinate the seeds, otherwise they are not likely to germinate( or you might have to wait for a very long time).

 

[leucophylla]

Hi there!

I am not growing Ibicella, but Proboscidea lousianica. The stigma of Proboscidea does indeed close immediately after pollination. It happens within a second. Just went down to double check

Not really spectacular, since the stigma is relatively small, but it DOES move.
I am observing this under very warm (30 deg) and humid (90%) tropical conditions. Sadly I still (even artificially pollinated) have problems to produce fruits. (Update: It does set fruits now. Phew!

)This seems to be heat related, too, since I didn't have fruiting problems with this plant in temperate climate.
Germinating the seeds works also with (lots of) patience instead of hormons. One time however I had some tiny ants that were able to drill a small hole into the seeds and eat the content leaving just a soft hull.

Happy growing! Volker  

 

[goldtrap2690]

i recieved a few seeds and they never germinated so i gave up .

 

[leucophylla]

Here are some images of the said movement of Proboscidea:

Before pollination:

After pollination:

The whole plant:

I also gave up two times on germinating Proboscidea seeds and tossed the soil somewhere in the garden. Later I would find them growing in the garden. I got the best plants (100cm tall) in Virginia in between Tomato and Okra plants in full sun with compost soil. This location also happened accidently, by using the the 'non germinating Proboscidea'-soil for veggies.
25 degrees celsius seems to help, because they didn't germinate before May. Sown in Febuary (indoors), transplanted outdoors in early April.

 

[Quinn]

I too had problems germinating these seeds and gave up like many others.....until the past two years that is!! You won't need heaps of seed to germinate it. You just need the right conditions for the seed to germinate.....see below. The Ibicella is definately a warmer grower, even here in Auckland it doesn't grow well during our milder winters (2C - 5C). I treat it as an annual sowing in late spring and it grows like a weed the warmer it is. Having said that it will grow outside in the US or UK over the summer months, it just wont get as large....think of a pumpkin plant!! My plant was grown in a 50:50 mix of standard potting mix, some peat/sand. It doesn't mind some fertilising. Seed is notoriously hard to germinate, but I believe I have cracked it. The seed is coarse and has a dark black/brown seedcoat, scarify this so the white endosperm is visible beneath. Pour hot water on the seed and allow to soak overnight, plant the next day and it is critical that it is somewhere warm....a hotwater cupboard would be better than a windowsill and check to make sure it is moist. Following this technique I have had germination in 10 days compared with peoples remarks that it takes 2 - 3+ months....a few years ago I had one pop up after 12months. The cool thing about this is the forked stigma moves when stimulated with a toothpick or brush during pollination....almost as fast as a VFT.....the plant also stinks....think gym socks and wet towel in a bag in a warm car in the sun in summer.

I have plenty of fresh seed recently harvested of Ibicella lutea if anyone is interested.

Kind regards
Quinn

 

[CP2k]

Another method of Ibicella seed germination is to sprinkle some GA3 on each seed and wrap the seeds in moist paper towel. Place the towel with the seeds inside a plastic ziplock bag and place the bag on top of a heat mat etc. Germination should be evident in 1 week. I had 7 out of 7 seeds of Ibicella germinate for me using this method.