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Re: Madagascar lace plant blooming
Todd March, Aug. 9, had questions about what to do with his lace plant
flowers.
If the flowers have two white or yellow-white spikes, Your Madagascar lace
plant is A. madagascariensis or A. henkelianus. If they have five pink
spikes the plant is A. guillotii. From my experience, A. guilotii is
self-sterile, but A. madagascariensis is self-fertile. Probably A.
henkelianus is self-fertile, also, but I haven't had experience with it.
The flowers can be fertilized by rubbing a fine brush, such as a paint
brush for water color paints over the spikes, spreading the pollen around.
Seeds will grow relatively quickly, and will be released in a few weeks.
They float for a few days, and then the seedling is dropped and is ready to
plant. Seedlings should be planted in sand that has a small amount of
subsoil (low in organic matter) mixed in. The young seedlings should be
given good light and CO2. The seedlings seem to do better if there are
some small plants of another species present. These plants should not be
allowed to crowd out or shade out the lace plant seedlings. Small crypts
or Lilaeopsis would be good.
Paul Krombholz Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS 39174
In steamy Mississippi.