|
Post by Apoplast on Nov 14, 2015 12:47:57 GMT -5
Hi Hal - Thanks for your input! True bulbs can whither and die during dormant too, but again I've not grow these species. I'm going off photos and descriptions. You and Doug are certainly far more experienced with these species than I.
Whether they turn out to be true bulbs or not, I think the work would be interesting and informative to examine them in detail. It will take some good microscopy work to figure it all out, but that would be fun! Now I just have to figure out how to get my hands on fresh seed - and grow them of course. Neither are likely to be small challenges. I think I'll set up space for this project this winter.
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Nov 14, 2015 15:50:16 GMT -5
Hi DVG I don't wish to be pedantic - but what you describe sounds botanically like a tunicate bulb. Hi Apoplast, I appreciate your curiousity and interest on this topic, but don't tunicate bulbs make "onion rings" when cut into a cross section? If this is the case, P. heterophylla still does not qualify as a tunicate bulb, as it does not form the concentric rings when sliced in half...their "bulb-like" dormant structures are just composed of separate leaves... ...no onion rings on that platter, sorry to say. But feel free to argue for bulbils, bulblets, bulbets, bulbels or even that Boba Fett is still alive. dvg
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Nov 14, 2015 16:01:18 GMT -5
The thing that leads me to believe these pings don`t form true bulbs is that they are not stable. They`ll decrease in size over the winter and eventually die if they aren't very healthy when they go into dormancy. It's not like you could buy a bag of ping bulbs that had been stored for a year or two like Narcissus. I would argue that these plants are in fact remarkably stable once they get to a large enough size to make the larger "bulb-like" structures for dormancy. But it is tricky to nurse them from small "bulbs" through a dormancy while negotiating a watering schedule that might have to be altered and adjusted accordingly. One trick is to take apart a small "bulb" in order to propagate from leaf pullings. The resulting plantlets can be nursed along, being well fed and kept moist to hopefully make larger "bulbs" for dormancy. Then take apart some of these new plants once again for more leaf pullings and subsequent experimentation until a successful method is found for each respective grower's own unique cultivation conditions. dvg
|
|
|
Post by vraev on Nov 15, 2015 2:18:52 GMT -5
That is incredible. One of the best looking pings ever. so cute. masterfully grown as expected of you Doug.
|
|
|
Post by Apoplast on Nov 15, 2015 18:08:27 GMT -5
Hi DVG - You are correct, it is probably not a classic tunicate bulb. But the dried leaf structures on the surface of the dormant structure are functionally equivalent. I'm not sure what they would be botanically though. Of course there are other bulbs that are more like "resting rosettes" of loosely attached succulent storage leaves. You can even propagate them from pullings, though bulbs folks tent to call this " scaling". Lily bulbs are like this along with a few other species like Haemanthus namaquensis. These plants are classic botanical bulbs, but little more than scale leaves on an underground resting rosette. Again, I've not yet grow these pings, and I need to grow them along with conducting the microscopy and anatomy work to be sure. Right now, call it a hunch. A suspicion. Regardless, I am now resolute. I'm going to grow them, and figure out what they are specifically, bulb or otherwise. I might hit you and Hal up for advice on cultivation. I hope that's okay. Thanks again for your input! This has already been fun!
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Aug 13, 2018 16:47:40 GMT -5
Watered these plants while they were in dormancy a few weeks back. Now they're starting to wake up from their summer slumber and sending out those initial distinctively different leaves, just prior to sending up the more familiar filiform forms. dvg
|
|
|
Post by shoggoths on Aug 14, 2018 14:43:29 GMT -5
Really nice.
|
|