Dypsis Decaryii in flower

[Gbarce]

Was just about to leave for work this morning when I noticed that the flowers of our triangle palm were finally open.

Just had to go down there and have a peek.

Yeah-- I was late for work today.

[Gbarce]

It I've been anticipating this since about a month and a half ago then just totally forgot about it.

[Gbarce]

I was gonna ask this forum what I needed to do to ensure pollination of the flowers....

[Gbarce]

...But it looks like mother nature is already taking care of that.

I counted 5 different types of pollinators this morning.

I think this one is a bee.  Its the first time I've seen this type.  We usually have honey bees.  Must have been lured specifically by the Palm flowers.

[Gbarce]

There was also a small orange and black moth, a brown colore fly and the common house fly ---all of which I couldn't get a picture of because they were all skittish and wouldn't stay put.

But by far the most numerous were these big eyed flys

[Gbarce]

They weren't shy at all

[Gbarce]

he's saying "cheese"

[Gbarce]

OK That's it.  Just wanted to share

[Kris]

Dear Gene  

lovely stills and a beautiful triangle...and are there male form & female form in this species ?

thanks & love,

Kris  

[Gbarce]

Kris- I actually don't know.  I have to read up on it.

I wish I could hybridize it with another dypsis actually-- I gotta learn how to do that!

[letsplant]

Your palm looks great. Love the pics .I think what you do is take pollen from another tree and put it in a bag. Place the bag over the flowers of the tree you want to hybridize and seal it up. Then shake the bag around spreading pollen. Take bag off and wait.

[Gbarce]

Just an update on this.

It looks like it did not take.  The flower stalks are dried up an there were no seeds that formed.

[Gbarce]

Close up.

Anyone have any insights as to what may have gone wrong?

[Gbarce]

This was the first time it flowered by the way.  Could that have been a factor?

[Gbarce]

Do I need another plant to have successful fertilization?

[Gbarce]

Luckily there is another flower stalk.

Fingers crossed now

[gsn]

It has been my observation that the first time,or even first couple of times a palm flowers, it aborts and doesn't produce seed. It thought it was a grown-up but it was still a preadolesent,not quite ready for reproduction.But after those first couple of aborted attempts ,you should  get seeds.

[Scott Mcintosh]

My Dypsis decaryi produced two flower stalks last year for the first time. The seeds from last years set are now sprouting around the palm.

[freakypalmguy]

Dypsis decaryi is a monoecious palm so it might have just been a premature infructulation Young plants do this sometimes. One of my Butia capitata's pushed 4 spathes last year for the first time, all of wich aborted exactly like your D. decaryi did.

Or was the inflorescence subjected to any colder than normal temps. Sometimes that will cause them to fail.

Matt

[MattyB]

Kris, like Matt said above, the plant has both male and female tingly parts on the same flower.  They ususally just fertilize themselves very easily by wind and insects.

[LJG]

(MattyB @ Mar. 18 2008,10:29)

QUOTE

Kris, like Matt said above, the plant has both male and female tingly parts on the same flower.  They ususally just fertilize themselves very easily by wind and insects.

... or even in a bag.  

For those confused, look for Matt's Chamaedorea thread.

[Gbarce]

Len -  yup I did not get that.  So I will scrounge around the forum.  That the one with the "mwahahahahahahhhhh"  as a sub-title???

Matt- Its unusually cool for us over here in Manila but I doubt that the temp dropped low enough to affect the palm.  We take cold temperatures here for granted because it's never significant enough to raise concerns.

Looks like this baby just needs to grow up some more before I expect to get seeds out of her.

I just bought a teddybear palm that I think I will plant beside this one to naturally hybridize.