Click images for menus.
All rights reserved 2003 through 2018
Although I have not worked with dry seed from viable pods from this species, extracting fresh embryonic tissue from green pods has worked and although only two embryos did survive, the numbers which they produced has been in the hundreds (much of the tissue tossed) and these could have been thousands but, respectfully, time constraints and available space wouldn't allow for that.
Read the pamphlet located on lulu.com to see how pods/seed are sterilized up and you can find that link here!
A pod which waited a bit too long before seed extraction - December of 2007.
Seed from that same pod, same date. As I mentioned in the pamphlet, you need to snip the seed. Avoiding to do so definitely appeared to avoid allowing germination to occur.
One of six embryos which germinated, although one had a contaminate. This tissue was from pod 1-9, not from the above. A total of 20 tubes were set with seed from that pod.
Contaminate mentioned above.
These vessels get crowded as this December of 2009 image of Stage II tissue shows.
I've included this "nasty" pic because there are times when you end up damaging tissue the results show up. But don't let dead tissue scare you too much. It doesn't hurt it, as long as subcultures aren't over 1 month. Rooting continues to proceed, following multiple methods. Why Plumeria x stenopetala behaves differently than P. ruba in regards to rooting, is still a mystery. PS a bunch have gone for rooting, as a bunch of these in this vessel did, being very ready and begging to be let out.
02-09-09 P. x stenopetala rooted upon agar media.
Resorting back to agar, which slows things down, encouraged rooting too.
P. x stenopetala 12-30-08
Under crowded conditions they are more happy. Clusters of tissue, let em be, snip the least you can from their bases, and let them be. They'll give you many.
Again, with reinforcement that P. x stenopetala most definitely has joined ranks with P. rubra in multiplying in vitro rapidly and it's rooting too. Germplasm thanks to R. A. Criley. The tissue growing was rescued from unripe pods in late 2007.
And from a "rude rooting". P. x stenopetala 1-6-09
Those arrows point to roots which finally formed after being in a bag with vermiculite/perlite, boosted with IBA. If it makes it, that'll be a first for here and makes a good New Year! Since and being these days, one takes those small tidings as they arrive. Yes the image is blurry. And it was taken while hastily removing said little one from just being subcultured rudely to sterile soil so the caps are dirty, indeed they are. As I said it was a rude rooting.
A crowded rooting vessel just prior to subculture to sterile 50/50 mix of perlite/vermiculite. Rooting because the media is different, dark in coloration, but it still contains agar, no gellan gum.
After being bagged for about a month, these are then withdrawn, under the semisterile conditions of the kitchen, and placed into a seed germinating mix which should have few spores and critters waiting to spring. Make sure that this is so as these can be susceptible to damp down molds at this stage.
The roots which came out of agar media are mostly the same with some axillary branching occurring. Image December of 2009.
Here are thirteen mostly healthy individuals, some which were topped as they were potted, some left with their loopy-loo tops still attached. December of 2009.
Here they all are approximately three weeks later, January of 2010. Keeping them enclosed helps the tissue adjust and get ready for full blown exposure to ex-vitro conditions, such as those which made it out first imaged below.
Besides the dirty kitchen counter, there are a few others things occupying this island. Imaged are Plumeria x stenopetala plantlets which have been taken out of sterile culture. The arrow is pointing to the rudely rooted one which if you really must, they can be induced in such a manner to produce them. The other two were placed in pots imaged on July 21, 2009 and were approximately same size. The image was taken on 10-06-09, just before potting up. No fertilizers have been added to the potting media since they were placed so some chlorosis is evident.
And now potted up, this is how they grow in a foil
lined box
under a 25 watt florescent screwy light bulb. For 25 watts, not
bad.
After a few more months this is how they look outdoors.
This just before potting up and treatment for
two-spotted spider mites. Just enough breeze through a window
which has other plants directly outside it, is enough for those to be
introduced indoors where there were none previously.
The above contains both P. rubra and P. x stenopetala (front and center).
The white spots on their leaves is leftover residues
from treatment of mites.