Justicia Carnea.... how to collect seeds?

Was wondering how to collect seeds from these beauties....

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/643/index.html

Thanks,
Donna

What I experienced about the Acanthaceae family is that they expel their seeds as soon as they are ripe so you never find them. I tryied collecting the whole flower head to let it dry in a container and collect the seeds and that worked well for me. Otherwise, I guess that wraping the flower head, once it is pollinised, in an old pantyhose would do the same.

Good luck!

zarcanat,
did you cut off the flower head when it was still blooming full of the pink flowers?
(Cuttings are just taking so long to root, so I'm prepared to cut off those beautiful blooms
and see if I can get seed to grow more quickly!)

Gina,

I've never seen the seeds on my plant at all. I always have pretty good luck with just the cuttings. I stick it in a small pot and keep it under a tree in the shade. It gets watered when the sprinkler system comes on. I don't baby it and it roots very nicely.

Donna

After a few months of sitting in soil, today the two cuttings each decide to do something: one sprouted new growth, and the other just died completely! Green one day, black the next. :( Oh, well... that is why I took two cuttings. I just wish these particular plant cuttings would indicate their plans sooner so that I can use the pot for other things.
I think I have seen the seeds of the Justicia as well as the Firecracker Flower, which has a similar bloom head; but once again, I'm being thwarted by snails, which I see sliming up the bloom head, probably eating the seed thingies b/c I don't see foliage damage as of yet.
(I think they are seeds. They are brown and they appear where the flower had been... just slightly emerging out of the green folds in the bloom head.)

Well... I've looked and looked for seeds. Next bloom I get, just when it starts to fade away, I'll put a plastic baggie around it and try to collect anything that might be seeds.

Donna

Good luck Donna!

Thx!!!

Donna,
Scroll down to the second flower, There is info on this plant
Justicia Carnea Known as Brazilian Plume Flower Thrives In Tropical Shade
http://www.i-55.com/lan/misshome007.html

Connie, thanks again for doing research- I'm no good at it.
"the Brazilian Plume Flower easily roots from cuttings." Ha! I beg to differ with
the author. But I definitely needed that info, especially about the soil and fertilizing.
The weeks of rain have definitely paid off for my Justicias, as even the youngest of
flowerheads are blooming. So on both my foot-tall young plants, there are at least 5 blooming spikes!

Donna, usually I wait until it is a least half spent so there is enough time to have a few pollinated. I guess that if you wait until it is almost spent you will have a better success since the seeds will have enough time to rippen. Cutting are doing well for me too but seeds are great for foreign exchanges.

zarcanat,

Yeah, I was going to wait. Thing is, when the bloom is finishing the darn thing falls off so easy.

Donna

cegoins,

Likes shade eh? Mine is in part shade.... maybe I should move it to where it gets more shade. Can be done!

Thanks for the link.

Donna

I would wait to move it to see how it's doing first; mine got just a tinge of leaf-burn when it was in an area that got afternoon sun... luckily the sun has already hit it's furthest North and is heading South again (at least I think so; I'm using the shade on either side of my house as a guide!) so that area doesn't get full-on sun, but still gets very bright light. Unless you're getting some leaf-burn/brown leaves, it should be alright... they do bloom better/more frequently with a little sun- at least this is what I've found with many plants... just use the foliage as a guide. :)

By the way, Donna, I recently spent a week with a friend who lives in Springfield in Jax., and when we went out on the highways I couldn't keep my eyes off of the fields and ditches- is that gaillardia that just grows there so wildly?! I am so jealous! :)~

Gina_Rose,

Yeah, it's nice here! But honestly, I'd rather be out in the country some place with like 10 acres of land. That would give me plenty of room to grow plants and have animals.

The plume is going to have to be moved eventually any how. Maybe I'll wait till that time comes. I really like the plant. Seems to stay small... no more than 12" tall or so. Which fits my needs. But I need more like it. As behind them I'll be planting lilies and daylilies... among other taller things.

Donna

Mine was planted a few months ago and it has stayed smaller for me, too. That's also fine with me! As long as it grows just a couple of inches so that I can try taking more cuttings. ;)

~Gina

I just moved my plume... I just moved it forward so that it wouldn't be blocked by larger plants. Just an exchange. I noticed that it had a sprig or two growing up from the roots. So that is another way to propagate the plant. Dividing off the pop ups!

Mine is just in the beginning stages of blooming again. I will wait for the right time and stick a stocking on it!!

Take Care,
Donna

Does anyone know what the seeds are suppose to look like... size/shape? Any pictures?

Thanks,
Donna

Donna I came across this, there is a phone number so maybe you could call and ask them if you can collect seeds from this plant... http://rcwnurseries.com/Perennials/justicia-carnea.htm

Connie

I deadheaded my Brazilian Plumes, and they're been drying now for over a week... I held on to them b/c I wanted to see if I could collect seeds from it. Since they're tropical, they may fall into that category of not having a long shelf life.
I'll try to look in it tonight for anything seed-like and get back to you. :)

~Gina

Thanks Gina! I covered 2 blooms with toes cut from stockings. One I've plucked off already. I went through what was there. Nothing that looked like seeds so I set the head aside to let it dry or do whatever it may do. The other bloom is still hanging onto the plant! Still covered with stocking.

Let me know what you come up with.

Donna