As spring has come, the Aeoniums are blooming. This year there were only a few blooms. Those of Aeonium Tabuliforme x Zwartkop, 'Blushing Beauty', 'Cyclops'. Flower stalks are beginning to develop on the Aeonium Haworthii, which seem to be late spring bloomers. This year, I started plenty of seeds over the winter, and started hybridization. As some Aeonium seedlings have reached their third year, growth begins to speed up. I repotted 50 or so Aeonium haworthii seedlings. Haworthii and other pure species are slow from seed, perhaps because they lack hybrid vigor. Once the seedlings have grown to a mature size, I will select only the most interesting of all the seedlings. I only plan on keeping 2 or 3 seedlings out of the whole batch of 50 seedlings. The rest of the seedlings will probably be given away on this forum.
Without further ado, here are the parents of this year's hybridizing.
Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty' (Zwartkop x Canariense)(1st photo) crossed with Aeonium 'Zwartkin' (Zwartkop x tabuliforme)(2nd photo).
Aeonium 'Cyclops' (Zwartkop x Undulatum)(can grow to about 5 feet tall, with rosettes around 1 foot)(1st photo) crossed with Aeonium 'Zwartkin' (Zwartkop x Tabuliforme)(2nd photo)
Here are some pictures of the flowers.
Aeonium Blushing beauty - the blooms are pale yellow probably because the flowers of canariense are white, while those of Zwartkop are yellow:
Aeonium Cyclops:
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The Aeonium flowers were pollinated using these steps:
-Remove anthers + petals
-Spray the stigma thoroughly with water (in case the flower's own pollen got onto it)
-Remove filament + anthers from the father plant's flowers. (alternatively cut off the whole flower)
-The Anthers are rubbed onto the stigmas of the mother plant, until pollen can visibly be seen on the stigmas
-Flowers are covered to stop bees or other pollinators from self pollinating flowers.
This pollinated Zwartkin flower should contain the developing seeds of Aeonium (canariense x Zwartkop)x(Tabuliforme x Zwartkop). It will be interesting to see how the double zwartkop parentage plays out.
This Zwartkin flower should contain the developing seeds of Aeonium (undulatum x zwartkop)x (Tabuliforme x zwartkop). Once again, should be interesting how all the different parentage, and double zwartkop play out. I am hoping the size of the offsprings will be just as large as Cyclops.
This flower should contain the developing seeds of Aeonium Canariense var Californicum x (Tabuliforme x zwartkop). The Canariense Californicum pollen was saved in the freezer for a few months before the pollination. Despite that, the pollination still seems to be progressing well.
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Once the seed is mature and ready to be harvested (when flower/pod is dry), the flowers should be crushed, and sifted to remove any chaff (parts from the flowers/seedpods). Although it is not necessary to remove chaff, removing it can help prevent mold or fungal problems, especially in humid climates.
A pot, tray, or seed flat is prepared, using a soil mix of 1:1 sand to organic material. A thin layer of sand is put onto the top of the soil. The dust fine seed is sprinkled onto the sand, and misted in, using a spray bottle.
Seed should be sown in the fall or spring, because if temperatures go above 70 degrees F, the seed will go into a heat induced dormancy, and will not germinate. Water and cool temperatures are the trigger for the seed to germinate. I find that if the pots with seeds are stood in around 1 cm - 1 inch of water, germination occurs much faster, within a few days to a week.
Seedlings should be grown without dormancy (getting plenty of water, and not being put into the sun) for around 3 or so years. After that time, you can decide which seedlings to select, and which to trash/giveaway.
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This is an F2 hybrid seedling of Zwartkin
This is an F2 hybrid seedling of Cyclops, around 3 years old, and growing like a weed.
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