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Dear All, Aug 15, 2006
There seems to be a lull in naturens traffic so I will take advantage of
the interlude to correct an earlier statement (below) to the effect that
none of the unpollinated plants have capsules this year. That was based
on a walk-past but later, when I took a detailed inventory of each
plant, I found not zero but three capsules ! Also, unlike previous years
when capsules formed only on unusually tall scapes, these
capsule-bearing scapes (measured to the base of the bract) are not
unusually tall.
Whether this good set was due to the ample moisture this year, an
immediate response to tree thinning this winter or an expression of
random variation time may or may not tell.
The importance of some durable factor that is location dependent came
through clearly this year because the 2004 (1), 2005 (1) and 2006 (3)
capsules are concentrated at two locations that represent about 1% of
the total area after excluding area subject to ATV damage.
As of Sunday, August 13, all nine capsules were intact.
Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville
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Dear All, June 29, 2006
I checked today for a preview of plants that I pollinated on June 6.
There are at least four deer in the general vicinity so checking on
developments early seemed wise lest some capsules get eaten.
In the usual area of mapped plants, none of which I pollinated, of
65 that flowered this year (of a total 112 located on June 6) none will
have capsules this year.
By way of contrast, in a stand several hundred paces away, all four
of the plants that I pollinated have capsules. Two other nearby plants
also have capsules. One of these I know to be a plant that I took pollen
from and I am fairly sure that the second 'unpollinated' capsule is also
a plant that I took pollen from. It does seem likely that my hand
pollination technique worked to some degree this year, even by accident
on plants that were used as sources of pollen..
My artificial bee consisted of a 9 cm length of 1/4" nylon tube with
fly-tying chenille wrapped around and tied onto a 15 mm section near the
business end. This 'bee' section is about 9 mm in diameter. Rolling this
'bee' against an anther collected a smear of waxy pollen and rubbing
this onto the stigma of a second flower deposited some of this smear
onto the stigma.
Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville
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