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Getting seeds of Deppea splendens

Updated July 22, 2009

Deppea splendens isn't self-fertile - it needs another plant to pollinate it.  I have a few different clones of Deppea, but for a long time, i was unsuccessful at getting seeds.  My main mistake was expecting them to form seed pods outdoors.  Our winter rains here in San Francisco tend to rot the flowers after they've dried, and the ensuing slugs and snails munch at them also.  I eventually raised some plants indoors, where i cross-pollinated them with a paint-brush.  Out of maybe 3 dozen flowers i pollinated last year, only 2 flowers formed a seed pod.  One of them dropped prematurely after a month.

It takes 5 months for the seed pod to ripen.. so that's 5 months of worrying about whether i will accidentally bump the plant and knock the pod off!  The photo shows the pod when it was just about full size.  When the pod was ripe, the stem turned brown and shriveled up.  Slicing the pod open with a razor revealed the tiny seeds inside.  The germination rate was good, with germination beginning on the 10th day.  Growth from there is surprisingly fast, considering that adult plants don't usually grow fast.

I don't know when the seedlings will reach flowering size, but i'm guessing in their 2nd year.  I'm glad to be enabling more genetic diversity of this endangered plant.

 

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