Bengal Tiger Seeds and others!

I was able last season to produce seeds on the following cannas.

4 seeds on Bengal Tiger
4 seeds on wyoming
30 seeds on pink sunburst

I have started to germinate the seeds. So far one of the 4 seeds from Bengal tiger has started to grow. In most cases in the past, I have produced seeds but they have no embrio. The Wyoming seeds were sent to a lab and I have not heard yet if they have germinated. The pink sunburst set seeds much easier but few have shown photos of the seedlings. So far I am getting both green and dark leaf plants from these seedlings.

Much like I had figured the Bengal tiger seedling is not showing the stripped leaves. This is because the Bengal tiger is a chimera which usually only effect that one plant. I am hoping that the seedling will be more fertile so I can continue breeding with it.

Those are so cute. At what size to you begin to transplant to individual containers?

I have never got a seed from my Wyoming canna. I just assumed that it was sterile. Am I doing something wrong or is a rare thing for this canna?

Just curios. taj

This is extremely rare. From what I understand no one else has ever gotten seed or reported seed from either plant. The canna pink sunburst commonly produces seeds but it seems no one has really grown them out and shown what the seedlings look like. I plan to also do this.

I had never heard of seeds from these either.My Wyoming had huge seed pods but they are just empty husks.same with Cleopatra.
I always figured they are just hybrids. Will bre cool to see what comes out of seeds.

I have heard in the past that tropicanna came from Wyoming. I am not sure if this is true or not they share a lot in common. Most cannas are hybrids that are on the market. The species are a bit harder to find and usually do not have large flowers at all. Wyoming is polyploided with multiple sets of chromosomes. If the number of chromosomes are odd then the plant is sterile. If the number of chromosomes is even the plant is fertile. It seems the higher the count the more likely it will be sterile.
Tropicanna cleopatra and Bengal tiger are also Chimeras this is a odd trait that gives the plants the variegated foliage. It is unlikely it will be passed on to the seedlings.

I have grown 'Pink Sunburst' seedlings a number of times.
No variegation has come through in the seedlings.
Most of my seedlings have pink blooms. And most have been of dwarf habit like their parent.

Brian: Such pretty little babies you have there. I grew some cannas from seeds I bought at Park's but they didn't do too well; but, it was probably me, as I'm a new gardner.
joy112854

Well I finally got thru the covering on so canna seeds I had and I have got them planted now so I am waiting to see what happens. I have a question bwilliams, do you have to nick your seed and what procedure do you use as getting them ready to plant?

I nick the important seeds using a file and a pair of pliers. They are then planted in a seed soil and watered plastic lids are placed on top and bottom heat of 85f to 90f is applied. Once they sprout the lid is removed and the plants are allowed to grow. For larger numbers of seeds I have large plastic containers with capillary matting at the bottom that is damp. The seeds are laid out evenly along the bottom of the container and the lid is placed on top. The bottom heat is also 90f. A majority of them will sprout in a few days and the rest the following weeks. The sprouting is a little erratic and as the sprouted ones are removed new seeds are added. Soaking these seeds in water can help speed up the process but the water should be changed daily only after a few days should the seeds be added to the container.

Thanks Brian, I just wonder how and if you nicked yours. I had the most terrible time of nicking mine . I was so frustrated trying to get it done I was ready to throw the seed away Finally someone told me to use a FB file and that should do it and it did thank goodness.

I dont recommend nicking thousands of seeds. I sprout around 3 thousand each year and only nick about 200 or so. I nick the ones I am most interested in by using a large metal file and some special pliers that have a cut out for holding the seeds. It works good and takes just a bit of time during the winter off months. Once nicked they should be potted up for sprouting.

Here is a photo from years past. I use to grow them out in 4 inch pots I now use very durable hard trays that grows them out to about 9 inches then they are put directly in the ground and the tray reused.

Well thank goodness I only had 3 seed and the are yellow and orange. I don't know the genius of them but DH likes canna so I thought I would give growing a few with seed a try and then of course they had a canna co-op and I bought a few of them from that

Wow, look at all those baby cannas, Brain those are beautiful good job.
joy112854

I think they look pretty when they are babies like that. I think I`ll try Brian`s idea. I have little pair of pruners that has a sharp blade that looks like a parrots bill that nicks them quick and easy. I soak my seeds for a day and it softens them a bit for nicking and then my pruner will easily slice off a tiny spot to expose a bit of white. However you like to prepare them I think a little practice makes it easier too.

Karen

Karen: I haven't tried using my own seeds yet; but, I have ordered seeds from Park's before, and what I do is soak them for 3 days straight, changing the water about three times daily making sure the water is kept very warm, you might want to refrigerate the seeds until they are ready to be planted. After 3 days of soaking in warm water, they are easy to nick and the outer coating seems to be really easy to remove.
joy112854

Thanks joy, It will be cool to see how the flowers turn out. I`ll be following. Karen

Boy if you soaked them for 3 days and you was able to nick them easily you did better than me. I soaked mine for a week and didn't get them nicked until someone told me to use a file on them. then after I got it done didn't have a problem.

flowerfantasy: I think the trick is in the fact that I put my seeds in a zip lock freezer bag and kept them frozen for quite a while, then soaked them in hot water. I would change the water frequently also, trying to keep the water as warm as possible. Also, twirl them in your fingers from time to time when changing the water, you'll notice that some of that harder shell will rub right off. Of course, in my case, you are talking seeds I have purchased from Park's, not my own.
joy112854

Well these I purchased on ebayand I treid everything to make a small dent in them and like I said ony util I used the file on them did I get any results.

flowerfantasy: Maybe I just got lucky and got some easy to nick seeds? LOL
joy112854

Have you got any coming up yet? I have never done cannas b4 so how hard are they to get started? Or rather how long does it take for them to germinate?

Flower fantasy: it seemed to take forever for them to take off; but once they did, it was fine, I planted some in the beds this last Spring and hopefully, they will have made it through the fall and winter, fixing to fnd out in about a month. I have found rhizomes at such a reasonable price and am looking for particular varieties, as I want my garden full of canna lilies that I don't already have, so, have decided to buy rhizomes, I've been finding them for about $2 each which to me is very reasonable.
joy112854

Did you not get in on the canna co-op? I did and got some real good buys. Well I just put mine in a few days ago so I have a while to wait yet.

Flowerfanasy: No, heard about it after the fact, sniffles. Wish someone would have given me the heads up, or maybe it's good they didn't cause I got a few bucks left now. LOL
joy112854

joy, always go to th co-op forums and you will find all that are happening at the time. There is one thread on here that lists the co-ops going on I'll see if I can find it and it will tell you what few there is right now going on. Thats how I find out about them. no one told me about it either and I just happen to be in that particular forum when I seen it . There is a glads and lily co-op going on right now and I think the one for the hostas is still open too.

joy
this won't take you directly to the actual co-op but it will get you where you can get to it. This one is the glads and lilies.



[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]

flowerfantasy: The link doesn't work; but thanks anyways. If you hear of a canna co op again; please holler at me ok?
joy112854

They have got a few canna on the Hibiscus co-op going on right now. I am not sure of what all they have got though. Just go to ther co-op forum and brouse around until you find it. I just placed an order but I didn't order any canna as I had already ordered from the other co-op. They also have caladuims,Tropical bulbs and several other things in this one. I'll see if I can get you a link, don't know why that one didn't work.

flowerfantasy: I've been thinking about getting the Canna Austrailia but am waiting for a better price somewheres. It's a pretty one and new for this year.
joy112854

I haven't seen those on any of the canna site I have went to.Do you have a pic of it would like to see it.

Here is a pic of Australis next to bengal tiger and the last one is stuttgart. The leaves can get very dark at times looking almost black with large red flowers.

Brian do you have any of these for sale yet?

Brian: You spoiled little brat! Yes, let us know when you got em for sale will ya?
joy112854

LOL I sense jealousy. I am more crazy than spoiled and no longer little. I am weighing in at a mear 220lbs.
I have finally been able to reach my goal which is to bench press double my body weight. I have always heard only one in a million can do it. This goal has just about killed me LOL.

I cannot defend the brat part that much is true.

Brian: So much for the little right? My younger brother gets upset when I call him my little brother, as he always laughs and says "little"? I'm a shrimp, so can't really call anyone little now can I? LOL Just learned how to use my camera and down load some pics so will download some of my cannas from last Spring/Summer ok?
joy

Would love to see them !!! I really envy Brian have you seen any of his gardens? I have seen pictures and they are beautiful. I have seen some of the EES he has grown , monsters !!!!!!!!!

flowerfantasy: Yepper, he has some mighty fine canna lilies there. Just went through an emergency planting at my house, my 4 artichoke plants showed up in a fed ex truck from Calif yesterday and they are year old plants; but, that's a long story.
joy112854

Yeah know about emergency planting LOL. I had some bulbs come from Thailand this morning I had to get in pots. That's a long way to travel and I wanted to make sure they would be ok , so I just stuck them in pots.

flowerfantasy: You'd think I was nuts; but, I have made some homemade earth boxes; didn't put the drain holes in yet; that's a good thing, cause I got my artichokes planted in them in the house will drill the holes when I take outside when it warms up enough, may have to get Brian to lift them though right Brian? LOL
joy