FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Can a Tarnok have viable seeds? I just assumed with the mutant flower it was sterile.

optique wrote:Can a Tarnok have viable seeds? I just assumed with the mutant flower it was sterile.

I don't know. I guess I need to do some research to find out. If not, Ill cut the stalk to redirect the energy back into the rhizome so I can have divisions.

Panman wrote:I've seen it before on the forum but can't find it. What do you bag the flowers with?

Easiest way: I go to the pet store and buy the mesh bags used to hold loose aquarium filter media. The small ones fit perfectly over a Sarr flower, but they are sometimes more expensive. The bigger ones can be cut so that they can cover two or three flowers, just secure them with twist-ties, and they're usually cheaper. Figure that one out. Plus, they can be reused over and over again.
Cheapest way: Get some cheesecloth in the baking aisle of the store, but not all stores have it. Then you can get it online. Cheesecloth has bigger holes, so a small bug could potentially get through and pollinate. You can layer it to help prevent it, but many bugs can just push their way through still.

ChefDean wrote:

optique wrote:Can a Tarnok have viable seeds? I just assumed with the mutant flower it was sterile.

I don't know. I guess I need to do some research to find out. If not, Ill cut the stalk to redirect the energy back into the rhizome so I can have divisions.

So far, I'm finding that Tarnok isn't genetically sterile, but that it has some physical oddities that make it very difficult for it to produce seeds. There are many reports of seeds being produced, but in the single digit amounts vs the double or triple digits of other Sarrs, and at a much lower frequency as well. Most reports are that the style is twisted in the vast majority of the flowers so it prevents pollen from reaching the ovary from the stigma, so it's rarely a mommy. Plus, the anthers usually don't produce that much pollen, so it's difficult for it to be the daddy too. The sucker is just shooting blanks left and right.
Maybe I'll just let that one be and focus on the purp and alabamensis. If it OP produces seed, cool, then I'll try to self it next year. If not, then I'll enjoy the flower.

Well, I guess I won't be finding out anything with my Tarnok this year.
I brought my plants in due to mid-20's forecasted for the next couple of nights, and my wife's dog decided it looked interesting. Plus, she chewed up some pitchers on the Hummers Hammerhead. Just a moment of inattention is all it took.
On the one hand, I'm upset. On the other hand, im glad it was the Tarnok and not the alabamensis.
Look how guilty she looks.

Just filled and fired up the wood heater in the barn, letting the plants get a few more hours of sun why the fire burns down into coals just as extra protection.