Will cacti self pollinate if flower isn't disturbed?

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keithp2012
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Will cacti self pollinate if flower isn't disturbed?

Post by keithp2012 »

I have a G. Mihanovichii that I have inside not disturbed, the flower has opened and closed for 5 days. No bugs got inside it and I did not do self pollination with a Q tip. Will pollen fall and fertilize by itself or only if something goes in the flower?
I had a gymnocalycium ragonesei flower open and I pollinated the G mihanovichii with it, I hope I'm not too late!
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mdpillet
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Re: Will cacti self pollinate if flower isn't disturbed?

Post by mdpillet »

Not all cacti can fertilize themselves. I believe most if not all Gymnocalycium are self-sterile. Hybridization is highly dependent on genetic compatibility, and there's no set rules for what will work and what will not. This said, Gymnocalycium tends to be fairly easy to hybridize.
keithp2012
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Re: Will cacti self pollinate if flower isn't disturbed?

Post by keithp2012 »

mdpillet wrote:Not all cacti can fertilize themselves. I believe most if not all Gymnocalycium are self-sterile. Hybridization is highly dependent on genetic compatibility, and there's no set rules for what will work and what will not. This said, Gymnocalycium tends to be fairly easy to hybridize.
Mine is self fertile, that is why I'm not sure if it already pollinated itself or not. I always thought cactus flowers needed something to crawl inside to trigger pollen to fall.
keithp2012
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Re: Will cacti self pollinate if flower isn't disturbed?

Post by keithp2012 »

Here's the couple I used, G. mihanovichii G. ragonesei
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