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Hybridizing Episcia Episcia are fun and easy to grow ,mainly grown for their
color full foliage I hope this
information will help others to help hybridize more of these wonderful plants Please keep in mind
that this is from my own personal experience ,just cause it worked for me ,does not mean
it will for you So lets get started I keep my espicas on
humidity trays ,to keep the humidity around 60-80 % most of the times I also keep all stolens removed from my plants I select for
hybridizing ,seems like they will put out more flowers
this way . Episcias to me seem
like they can do one thing at a time ,either flowers or stolen ,but not both together Once I have flower
buds, I like to mist them with a very diluted spray of fertilizer ,besides they regular feeding Once you flower’s open ,keep a close eye on them ,you will notice daily changes Picture 1 shows a clear view of the stigma on top and the anthers below full of pollen
some episcias only clearly show the stigma ,no anthers to be seen
some you only see the anthers
once the pollen it looks powdery it be ready to use The stigma is only ready to accept pollen for a couple of days ,I like to wait till mine just slightly produce out of the flower it self or has come forward toward the edge
time for the fun part ,use the powdery pollen and rub it onto the stigma .The easiest for me is to remove the anthers from one flower and use them to pollinate the stigma of another selected plant Now comes patience and the long wait ,believe me, your berries will not grow any faster if you check them daily You should notice a berry forming within a week or two ,which fully matures within 2-4 weeks
They will be ripe within 2-3 month ,and will turn brown and papery looking When ripe they will split open on their own or you can remove them ,let them dry Once dry ,you will see some very tiny black seeds with some white tissue attached ,I don't worry about removing that tissue Now you are ready to plant your seeds I have had great luck to use the jiffy seed starting mix ,I moisten it well ,but not dripping wet . Use a pot with a clear lid or cover with clear plastic wrap Sow your seeds very thin just on top of the soil ,DO NOT COVER YOUR SEEDS WITH SOIL I give them a light misting to help settle them down to the sail and then cover the pots and place in a warm well lit area , In about 2-3 weeks you should see your first little episcias Seedlings at the age of 4 weeks
it is recommend to transplant your seedlings every 2 weeks for the first couple of month .It seems to help them grow faster . I waited till they where 4 weeks old before I transplanted them for the first time This can be a very patient testing job .make sure you have a peaceful day and ample time ,as your seedlings are very tiny from now on till they are grown ,I would recommend to transplant them every few weeks ,they seem to grow so much faster if you do Here are a few samples of the difference Planted in a community tray do to lack of room ,just can't stand the thought of that one special baby thrown out KD'S Faded Jade x
KD's Faded Jade x transplanted every 3-4 weeks same age as the once above
And here are my very first selected babies ,which are showing some great potentials The pictures to the left are the parent plant Faded Jade KD'S faded Jade x
Grey Lady KD'S Grey Lady x
Tiger Stripe KD'S Tigerstripe
cupreata 'Viridifolia' KD'S Virdifolia
Please follow this link to see some of the mature new plants My own Hybrids I wish each and every body the greatest of luck and I hope this information has helped others to expand the fascinating world of Episcia's. It has been a very rewarding and exiting project to see my little babies grow .There are many more ready to pot up The most challenging part of all has been patience ,patience to wait and see what will become of all those little plants I will post more pictures as they mature ,but for now ,I will have to spend a little time getting my African violet WebPage up and running Sincerely Karin |
