# Pachycentria glauca producing seed?



## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

I got this Pachycentria glauca as a mounted plant last summer. It produced a number of flowers, one of which continued to grow. I'm guessing this is a fruit or seed pod?










Google turns up practically nothing on seed of this species. Can anyone tell me if it's common for this species to self pollinate and produce seed? Will it be viable? Also, do I have to worry about losing the seed? My Dischidia vidalii, for example, will explosively release cotton like seed that drifts away in the breeze. I'd really like to try growing some seed if I can.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

When I grew this species, it seemed to very readily flower and subsequently produce fruit. I never tried to sow the seed but I'm sure if you let the fruit ripen (to the point where its super easy to pull off) you could squirt the seed onto some damp sphagnum moss and see what happens. Maybe put it in a mini greenhouse or spare viv where the seed could germinate.

Great plants. Too bad they aren't more properly represented.


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Thanks! I'll wait until the fruit is about ready to fall off and then open it up and see how many are in there. I'll probably try a few in a small terrarium and a few in the greenhouse if there's enough. I'd love to get some more plants for my own use and for trading. I don't know why they're so uncommon. Mine seems to grow very well with nice foliage and interesting roots.


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

penfold said:


> Thanks! I'll wait until the fruit is about ready to fall off and then open it up and see how many are in there. I'll probably try a few in a small terrarium and a few in the greenhouse if there's enough. I'd love to get some more plants for my own use and for trading. I don't know why they're so uncommon. Mine seems to grow very well with nice foliage and interesting roots.


Have you tried growing any from cuttings? They take a looooong time to take. Seeds take even longer. I believe this used to be in the genus Medinilla. Maybe a search under the old name will reveal more information.


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

I don't think it's big enough yet to try cuttings, but I plan to eventually. And thank you for the info on the genus names, I'll look into that.

I went to check the fruit today and it fell off when I nudged it, so I guess it was ready. I gave it a slight squeeze and 20 seeds came out. I potted most of them in sphagnum moss and perlite. A couple went on some mounts with live moss. Now i just have to keep them damp and wait. I'm off to look up Medinilla in the meantime.

Thanks guys.


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## SCS (Apr 12, 2013)

> I potted most of them in sphagnum moss and perlite. A couple went on some mounts with live moss. Now i just have to keep them damp and wait.


Hello-

So- did your seeds germinate? If yes, how big are they now?

Best regards, Lisa


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Every one of them germinated and they're reaching a decent size now. I'll try to get a pic tomorrow.


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Ok, here are the potted seedlings at about 4 months now.



And here's the mother plant with bulbous roots showing.



The seed I tried on mounts of live moss germinated, but did not grow any further, so I'm not sure if they prefer a different substrate or what. The mother plant is growing just fine mounted on sphagnum. I'll keep experimenting when I get more seed.


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## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Nice Job! The seedlings look great.


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

penfold said:


> Ok, here are the potted seedlings at about 4 months now.


These are really cool! I've been tempted by a few on Ebay recently. Are you growing in a greenhouse? I'd love to see a picture of that whole wall of plants!


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Spaff said:


> These are really cool! I've been tempted by a few on Ebay recently. Are you growing in a greenhouse? I'd love to see a picture of that whole wall of plants!


Alright I took some shots of the greenhouse. They're not the best because it was a cloudy day and my skills are lacking, but here they are.























-Chris


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## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

That's a pretty sweet setup you have there.It makes me want to set up my greenhouse.You've got some nice plants going on.


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Thanks everyone. The nice thing about having a greenhouse is that there is always room to squeeze in a few more plants, especially when growing vertically with epiphytes. I still think about doing a large dripwall over a container/pond. It would eliminate the need for watering those plants, and look pretty cool too. I think there was a thread here about building one in a greenhouse. I'll have to look for it again.

-Chris


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

What is that wonderful strap leaved fern? Also, what species of Elaphoglossum are those?


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

JoshH said:


> What is that wonderful strap leaved fern? Also, what species of Elaphoglossum are those?


Pyrrosia longifolia on the left here. One of my favorites, but gets fairly big. You can also see a cutting growing on the lower right.


penfold said:


>


Elaphoglossum crinitum (recovering), Pyrrosia lanceolata, and Microgramma megalophylla from left to right.


penfold said:


>


Elaphoglossum nigrescens in the back here. I'm going to try mounting some divisions soon.


penfold said:


>


Those are the only two Elaphoglossums I have, but I'm always on the lookout for more. Epiphytic ferns are kind of becoming my thing, lol.


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## SCS (Apr 12, 2013)

Very neat. Thanks for posting pics of the seedlings; seems they grow fast. 

I just acquired two plants from Tropiflora much cheaper than they have been going on Ebay. The plants are flowering; so I am going to move them to a place where I can see them daily to harvest seeds. 

Best regards, SCS


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## tarbo96 (Jan 12, 2006)

woooow. Really nice


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

SCS said:


> Very neat. Thanks for posting pics of the seedlings; seems they grow fast.
> 
> I just acquired two plants from Tropiflora much cheaper than they have been going on Ebay. The plants are flowering; so I am going to move them to a place where I can see them daily to harvest seeds.
> 
> Best regards, SCS


They do seem to grow pretty quickly. Also, I've been dabbing at the flowers with a small brush when I notice they're open. It seems to improve pollination, but I can't be certain whether it's actually helping or not. You might give it a try if you don't see any fruits.



tarbo96 said:


> woooow. Really nice


Thanks!


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## briley5 (Sep 27, 2012)

Very nice setup. And amazing plants. I just bought a greenhouse off of ebay it should be here next week sometime. Would you mind if I sent you some pm's with some questions I have once it gets here and I get started?


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Sure. I'm no expert, but I'm certainly willing to share what I've learned from running my greenhouse.


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

Thanks for all the pictures! You have some really awesome plants, and your greenhouse is very well-organized. Is that a air condition in there? I'd love half of the ferns you have


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Thanks! There's a heater on the back wall, an exhaust fan near the peak, and the black box that some plants are sitting on is an evaporative cooler. AC is a very expensive way to cool a greenhouse that is constantly being warmed by the sun, so most people use some combination of shade cloth, exhaust fans, and evaporative cooling.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

penfold said:


> Sure. I'm no expert, but I'm certainly willing to share what I've learned from running my greenhouse.


_You're_ "no expert?!?"

If you're no expert--then we're all a bunch of knuckle-draggers

How big is this thing? How do heat it in the winter?


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Lol, it's pretty small for a permanent greenhouse, just 10x12. It's heated by a natural gas heater mounted on the wall and vented outside. When building it, I dug a 4' trench from the house to the greenhouse to run water and electricity, and figured I may as well add natural gas (which is cheaper than electric heat) along with phone and internet. Winters here get very cold, but it's not too bad to heat because it's a small space, it has solid insulated walls on the north side and parts of the other sides, and it has triple wall polycarbonate for glazing. I have a programmable thermostat set for 60 night, 75 day. Cooling it during the summer is definitely the more difficult task. I'm planning on trying some automated fogging heads this summer to increase evaporative cooling.


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## SCS (Apr 12, 2013)

penfold said:


> Alright I took some shots of the greenhouse. They're not the best because it was a cloudy day and my skills are lacking, but here they are.
> 
> 
> 
> Unbelievable plants. How often do you water?


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Thanks. I water most of those twice a day. During the summer I try to water even more often, but I may try setting up some sort of automated misters or drip system this summer. I already have a system for storing pressurized RO water which is nice. I can't believe I used to mist them by hand with a spray bottle. That would not fly with the number of plants I have now.


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## boabab95 (Nov 5, 2009)

penfold said:


> Lol, it's pretty small for a permanent greenhouse, just 10x12.


Thats pretty big compared to the 4' bakers rack i'm using! LOVE the green house....makes me want to add one to the backyard 

This may seem like a silly question, what what type of wood are you using for mounts? looks kind of like pine?


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Q: In the pics below, is it one seedling per pot or several seedlings per pot? In other words, is each "stalk" a different plant?



penfold said:


> Ok, here are the potted seedlings at about 4 months now.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Likely a few per pot. Ours set fruit often and I've germinated a handful. It's difficult to put just one seed bc of the way they squeeze out of the fruit.


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Frogtofall said:


> Likely a few per pot. Ours set fruit often and I've germinated a handful. It's difficult to put just one seed bc of the way they squeeze out of the fruit.


Thanks, Antone. 2 Qs: 

--Would you gently tease them apart, or mount the whole small pot on a slab? With many epiphytes, I am hesitant to mess with their roots (except bromeliads, which don't seem to give a #*%[email protected])
--Out of curiosity, is the fruit edible?


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## toksyn (Mar 5, 2011)

I absolutely love how you have your greenhouse set up. Very clean, very appealing! If I may ask:

What is the metal mesh you are using? It looks really flat and quite strong ... so I'm thinking it isn't just (regular) hardware cloth. Where did you obtain it?

What kind of wood are your plants mounted on?


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Groundhog said:


> Thanks, Antone. 2 Qs:
> 
> --Would you gently tease them apart, or mount the whole small pot on a slab? With many epiphytes, I am hesitant to mess with their roots (except bromeliads, which don't seem to give a #*%[email protected])
> --Out of curiosity, is the fruit edible?


I haven't experienced any sensitivity to root disturbance but I can't say I've bare rooted and then mounted many young plants. The very first piece of this plant I received back in around 2008 I rooted directly on the mount in moss. The seed I've squirted directly to their permanent home. I can say that this plant puts up with substantial neglect so I imagine it could deal with some root disturbance. 

I put my tongue to the fruit flesh out of curiosity but didn't note any particular flavor. I wouldn't eat one though.

I think the only thing I've ever eaten that I was like, "YOLO!" was a berry from Columnea orientadina and one of the big blueberries off a huge Macleania at ABG in the high altitude room (lol). I survived.


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## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Groundhog said:


> Thanks, Antone. 2 Qs:
> 
> --Would you gently tease them apart, or mount the whole small pot on a slab? With many epiphytes, I am hesitant to mess with their roots (except bromeliads, which don't seem to give a #*%[email protected])
> --Out of curiosity, is the fruit edible?



George,I'm curious about this too,I recently got one from Bonnie also,and I'm curious for the same reasons.Do you think they are big and strong enough to be mounted yet or would you wait until they get bigger?


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

oddlot said:


> George,I'm curious about this too,I recently got one from Bonnie also,and I'm curious for the same reasons.Do you think they are big and strong enough to be mounted yet or would you wait until they get bigger?


Lou: The plant I received this morning is so vigorous, I felt no need no to wait. According to Bonnie, it is one plant already branching. Also, as she does not spray, I simply rinsed-dunked-rinsed; parted the NZ shagnum; and rubber-banded the plant with the moss to a tree fern slab. This thing should attach itself to the tree fern presently (I have had gesneriads and cacti do it within 10-14 days; for me, peperomias and dischidias take a bit longer).

It looks great


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## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Groundhog said:


> Lou: The plant I received this morning is so vigorous, I felt no need no to wait. According to Bonnie, it is one plant already branching. Also, as she does not spray, I simply rinsed-dunked-rinsed; parted the NZ shagnum; and rubber-banded the plant with the moss to a tree fern slab. This thing should attach itself to the tree fern presently (I have had gesneriads and cacti do it within 10-14 days; for me, peperomias and dischidias take a bit longer).
> 
> It looks great



Nice,do you have any pics by chance?


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Okay... had to look up YOLO... boy am I old...



Frogtofall said:


> I haven't experienced any sensitivity to root disturbance but I can't say I've bare rooted and then mounted many young plants. The very first piece of this plant I received back in around 2008 I rooted directly on the mount in moss. The seed I've squirted directly to their permanent home. I can say that this plant puts up with substantial neglect so I imagine it could deal with some root disturbance.
> 
> I put my tongue to the fruit flesh out of curiosity but didn't note any particular flavor. I wouldn't eat one though.
> 
> I think the only thing I've ever eaten that I was like, "YOLO!" was a berry from Columnea orientadina and one of the big blueberries off a huge Macleania at ABG in the high altitude room (lol). I survived.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Groundhog said:


> Okay... had to look up YOLO... boy am I old...


Truthfully, I did too when I first heard it. Haha!


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

Groundhog said:


> Q: In the pics below, is it one seedling per pot or several seedlings per pot? In other words, is each "stalk" a different plant?


I think I planted 3-5 seeds per pot, so each stem is a separate plant.



toksyn said:


> I absolutely love how you have your greenhouse set up. Very clean, very appealing! If I may ask:
> 
> What is the metal mesh you are using? It looks really flat and quite strong ... so I'm thinking it isn't just (regular) hardware cloth. Where did you obtain it?
> 
> What kind of wood are your plants mounted on?


Thank you. I got the panels from a hardware store, and I believe they're shelves from one of those systems where you can build your own in any configuration you want. They were fairly cheap and they're holding up well. The wood is a 1x6 cedar board cut into appropriate lengths. It has also held up very well in the 2-3 years I've been using it.

As for the plants, the "seedlings" have been producing seed of their own for a while now. They have fat, knobby roots as well, but seem to have outgrown their pots as they're no longer getting any bigger. I need to order some of those shallow, square baskets in a larger size.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Beautiful greenhouse! Great collection! I wonder what kind of moss is what you have under your plants.


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## penfold (Nov 20, 2010)

rigel10 said:


> Beautiful greenhouse! Great collection! I wonder what kind of moss is what you have under your plants.


Thanks. When mounting most of my plants, I added several species of locally collected temperate mosses. One of them in particular really took off and has formed thick mats on many of the mounts. There are also some species that came with purchased plants, but none have dominated my mounts like the aforementioned.


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## Wim van den Berg (Mar 5, 2012)

Never heard before of the Pachycentra......and yesterday is saw an asian guy selling these among other antferns ..orchids etc.on a orchidshow in Germany


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## Wim van den Berg (Mar 5, 2012)

and ...no! didnt buy this
I had some orchid and Racinaea from Ecuagenera, and ........


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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

What, Ecuagenera goes to European shows?!
I need to pay more attention...


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Wim van den Berg said:


> and ...no! didnt buy this
> I had some orchid and Racinaea from Ecuagenera, and ........


I know who's booth that is!


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