The mutual rubbing pollination method for the Echeveria plant
Today's tip sharing: Information about the Echeveria plant, including the mutual rubbing pollination method for Echeveria plants. Let's get to know it together.
The flowers of Echeveria belong to the raceme inflorescence, with long, flexible flower stems that bloom one or two small flowers each day, totaling about ten to twenty flowers. The flowers of Echeveria are very small, and the stamens and pistils are even more delicate. Using traditional pollination methods for Echeveria often results in a lot of work for little gain if the technique is not very skilled. The mutual rubbing method can solve this problem. Echeveria plants require cross-pollination and there are several pollination methods, such as the forceps method (using forceps to pick a single filament and directly apply the pollen from the anther to the stigma of the pistil), and the bristle method (using bristles or a cat's whiskers to collect pollen from the Echeveria flowers and then inserting it into the pistil of the mother plant to make the pollen stick to the stigma). After a few years of exploration and experience, I prefer the mutual rubbing method (a name I made up, without checking any related information, I don't know if any predecessors have used or introduced this method).
I. The operation method of the mutual rubbing pollination
1. Gently remove the petals (six petals) of two Echeveria flowers to be pollinated, exposing six stamens (composed of filaments and anthers) and one pistil tightly surrounded by the stamens (the pistil is slightly lower than the stamens by 1-2 millimeters, visible to the naked eye with a white, fleshy stigma and a light green ovary below the stigma).
2. Place and adjust the height of the pots of the two Echeveria plants, bringing the two flower petals that have been removed close together for the next step.
3. Carefully hold the flower stems of the two Echeveria plants (the area near these two flowers) with your hands and gently operate to rub these two flowers against each other, consciously aligning the anthers of both flowers to rub against each other's stigma. A momentary cloud of fine yellow pollen can be seen rising near the flowers. At this point, some pollen has already landed on the stigma of the other flower. Generally, three or four rubs are enough to complete pollination. If you are not confident in your first attempt, you can use a 10x biological magnifying glass to observe whether there is pollen on the stigma.
II. Advantages of the mutual rubbing pollination method
1. The operation is very simple. Only hands are needed, without any other auxiliary tools.
2. Pollinate two plants simultaneously. One action completes pollination for both plants, with the two Echeveria plants acting as both male and female parents.
3. The success rate is relatively high. The success rate of the mutual rubbing pollination method is relatively high due to its simplicity.
III. Precautions for the mutual rubbing pollination of Echeveria
1. Master the best time for pollination. The best time for pollination is 2-3 days after flowering because the pollen is not mature on the first day the flower opens and cannot be rubbed off. After three days of flowering, the flowers will be full of nectar, sticky and affecting the pollination effect.
2. Pollination must involve two Echeveria plants flowering simultaneously and not from the same plant (i.e., not from two plants grown from the same batch of seeds or from side shoots of the same plant).
3. As with other pollination methods, the health of the Echeveria plant is a key prerequisite for successful pollination.
4. If pollination is successful, the ovary of the pistil will swell to form a seed pod within a few days of pollination. Before the seed pod turns brown, use tape to secure it, the purpose of which is to prevent seeds from being ejected after the seed pod matures and dries. If the tip of the seed pod splits into a "three-lobed mouth," it indicates that the seeds are mature. After picking, the black seeds inside can be sown immediately, as the seed viability is not long and should not be stored for a long time, as they can barely germinate after a year. (Xiduomi)
Figure 1 - Flower and Petal 1
Figure 2 - Flower and Petal 2
Figure 3 - Structure of the Stamens
Figure 4 - Structure of the Pistil
Figure 5 - Two flowers prepared for mutual rubbing pollination after removing petals 1
Figure 6 - Two flowers prepared for mutual rubbing pollination after removing petals 2
Figure 7 - Completed mutual rubbing pollination 1
Figure 8 - Completed mutual rubbing pollination 2
Figure 9 - Completed mutual rubbing pollination 3
Figure 10 - Ovary beginning to swell 1
Figure 11 - Ovary beginning to swell 2
Figure 12 - Fruit 1
Figure 13 - Fruit 2
Figure 14 - Fruit 3
Figure 15 - Taped to prevent seed (Z-D) ejection
Figure 16 - Mature seed pod and seeds (The seed pods of Echeveria generally mature in about a month. Once the seed pod automatically splits open, it indicates that the seeds are mature. As soon as it splits, you can harvest. The number of seeds depends on the size of the seed pod, with the most being about ten to twenty, and a few as four or five.)
The above sharing of the mutual rubbing pollination method for Echeveria plants (with detailed illustrations) hopes to bring you some help after reading this article!