Gymno. pollination questions...

[jnspire]

I have two Gymno's (pics below) that are both about to bloom.
I believe one of both of them is Gymnocalycium stenopleurum and the other I believe to be Gymnocalycium mihanovichii ; But, I am not certain.
I am hoping that the blooms will finalize their IDs.

I have never pollinated cacti and have the following questions:

How long do Gymno's bloom?
Will stenopleurum and mihanovichii produce viable seed?
If they do not bloom at the same time, how long will the pollen keep?
What is the best way to store (Gymno) pollen?
Do Gymno's Bloom during a certain part of the day?
Do they open and close multiple times?
How long after pollination do the flowers take to turn into pods?
How long until the pods are ready to be "picked"?
Do Gymno's "spit" their seeds or do they 'tend' to stay intact?
Anything I missed that would be valuable information?


Thanks for your help in advance!

Gymnos.jpg (29.96 KiB) Viewed 3410 times

Gymno_1.jpg (17.02 KiB) Viewed 3410 times

Gymno_2.jpg (21.02 KiB) Viewed 3410 times

[gemhunter178]

Gymnos usually keep their flowers open in the day for a few days, some do, some don't.
Yes, their flowers usually open a close a few times.
I think Gymnos don't usually spit their seeds, I can be wrong though.
As for your other questions: I don't have an answer.

[jnspire]

Gymnos usually keep their flowers open in the day for a few days, some do, some don't.
Yes, their flowers usually open a close a few times.
I think Gymnos don't usually spit their seeds, I can be wrong though.
As for your other questions: I don't have an answer.

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me!

[CoronaCactus]

The fruit will usually ripen to a dark color. They will split up the siide to reveal the seeds when ready. There is enough pulp to keep the seeds from spilling out. A few may still drop out, but the majority will stay inside the fruit.

Remember to keep notes on parentage for hybrids!!

[jnspire]

Could you expound on this statement?

Remember to keep notes on parentage for hybrids!!

Notes on what specifically?

[CactusFanDan]

Could you expound on this statement?

Remember to keep notes on parentage for hybrids!!

Notes on what specifically?

What the parent species of the hybrids were. You don't want to mess the gene pool up too much by then breeding your potentially hybrid plants with other plants and so on! It's always nice to try and have an idea of what species your plants are. Most of the plants up for ID now probably aren't pure bred plants and are most likely some bizarre hybrid plant. That's what makes a lot of IDs hard to pinpoint. Field collection numbers are a great thing.

Oh and as for storing pollen, I know that some people sometimes collect pollen in little airtight plastic baggies and put them in a freezer for later use. Be sure to label everything thoroughly, though.

[iann]

Fruit colour varies, seed size varies, but you get the basic idea.

gymnocalycium-150811.jpg (59.03 KiB) Viewed 3392 times

[jnspire]

Alright,
Thanks Dan!

Iann the picture is very helpful.


I appreciate the info and the help.