Okra & Pollination

As attractive as the hibiscus-like flowers of okra are, I never see anything pollinating them. And even though the blooms are only open for a day, each bloom is always followed by an okra pod.

I was wondering whether or not okra requires pollination to set pods, or whether a flower would just require pollination in order to make the seed in the pod viable?

Okra has 'perfect flowers'. This means that male and female parts are on all blooms. The pollen is not wind borne, the flowers are designed so that pollen will drop onto the stigmas almost automatically when the flowers open. Bees can contribute to cross-pollination of different varieties but are not necessary for the ovule to be fertilized.

So, yes, your okra has been pollinated when it sets pods.

Thanks!!

Just the answer I was looking for.

I was totally blown away by the beauty of these flowers - a total WOW!

Their relatives are Hollyhock, Rose of Sharon and cotton...neat, huh?

I don't kow cotton plants, but you sure can see the resemblense (that sure doesn't look right!) to the Hollyhock and the RoS. The flowers on the Red Burgundy Okra are just stunning - even more so than the other 2 I have. (You must try them if you haven't - total beauty and total YUM!

I agree - grew the Red Burgundy type a few years ago & really liked them both for looks & taste, although I did find that I had to be sure to pick the pods young as they seemed to toughen up quicker than other varieties.

This year I grew "Clemson Spineless" only because I had/have a couple of packets of leftover seed I bought at an end-of-season sale back in 1999. I stored them in an airtight glass jar in a spare bedroom closet - along with a lot of other leftover seed - & forgot about them.

Lo & behold, when I started them indoors this year, I had 100% germination within 3-4 days!! Seed is amazing!!

I grew a red variety called "Artist" a few years ago but lost my seed stash during a move. I would really like to find it again. Entire plant - stalks, leaves, pods were red - and it grew tall, produced long and was delicious. Only problem was in frying the coating didn't stick very well because the pods had virtually no mucilage (gumbo). If I can get it again I'll try it with tempura batter.

Yuska - did it turn green when cooked or stay red?

Turned light green. Some one said the red color might hold when they're pickled. I like pickled okra and will try that it if (when!) I get to grow it again.

I've grown purple & white okra in tha past.
My purple turned green when cooked.
The so-called white, more a cream color turned a light green.

All okra taste good to me!

Here's a blossom I just spotted while I was watering... She's a little beat up from the heat of the day, but still quite pretty!

This message was edited Sep 3, 2005 3:38 PM