A Red Titanopsis?
I had a pot of seedling Titanopsis calcarea that I hadn't given the best of care, and decided to rectify that by transplanting them into their own pots. Most of the seedlings look normal but several had a distinct reddish color - such as the two in the photo. Normally I might think this was a wonderfully colored genetic mutation, but I really suspect that this is the result of stress caused by my poor care over the past year. Often nutrient stress (deficiencies) will cause some discoloration in plants. So, they are potted and will be watered properly and we will see if the color remains red, or reverts back to a more normal T. calcarea color. Or, maybe they won't survive, but they look relatively good now.
To me it really looks like a mutation. (After all your other seedlings don't exhibit this feature.) The plants don't appear unhealthy. The color is evenly spread, too. I think you might have something special there. :) I'd really love to have such a plant! Were they from your own seeds?
ReplyDeleteSorry I forgot to answer your question on the red titanopsis. Yes, it was from my own collected seed, and the seed was from uncontrolled pollination. Thus the male parent is unknown, but I don't have a lot of different mesembs and usually nothing else is flowering during the titanopsis flowering period. I have several aloinopsis but they usually flower later. The only other plant that might have been flowering near the same time would be one of the faucarias but I can't see faucaria pollinating titanopsis. An interesting mystery.
ReplyDeleteThat's the fun of growing plants from seed, especially own seed. You never know what interesting specimen might germinate and grow out of them! So, the "father" must be one of your titanopsis after all, or some kind of selfing was triggered with some other pollen. I'm very excited to watch these seedlings grow, please keep us all updated. :)
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