The Halloween meeting started off "innocently" enough with some talk of "creating new creatures to roam the .... ", uh, I mean hybridizing a nice Aeschynanthus humilis with a super secret bunch of pollen. The goal will be to get a cross that will be, as the mad scientist termed, "special"!!!
The pollen, which is visible on the white paper in the top photo is put on selected stamen (which are sticky and ready to be pollinated). The preferred method of transferring the pollen to the 'mother' plant is very simple. Get enough pollen on your index finger so that you can see it and carefully transfer it to a potentially ready flower. Many such crosses were made to hopefully ensure that some were successful and seeds would be produced.
Following the laboratory demonstration, *evil laughter sounding in the background, the "Night of the Living Dead" program proceeded. This is the night when the contestants bring their plants that are closest to DEAD (but still showing some 'spark' of life) and they compete with them for the Best Horticultural Specimen prize!
The competition was fierce! A panel of expertly trained judges (five of them) examined all the entries for any visible sign of green. Much careful deliberation was made. Valuable and awesome prizes, plus the "honor" of recognition was on the line!
Frighteningly twisted, this entry made it to the top of the heap.
The owner and proud grower of such a horror (shall I mention names???) is really the all time record holder of the title with this being the THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF WINNING IT ALL!
Congratulations Sue! : )
PS: This plant was slated for dissection and burial but will be stuck in a bag and resuscitated... and brought back to life!!!!!!!!! Mwhahahahhahahhahahahaha
Another prize for either most artistic or just plain weirdest went to this thing.... a Paliavana of some genus that has grown to "frightening" proportions! Crawling and climbing it's way past any of the other specimens in its way it has become.....
Six or seven feet of horrifyingly vigorous Kudzu-cousinie fun! It's "bat" pollinated too!
Lastly, in the chamber of horrors (or propagation box as it's usually known) we were treated to a demonstration of how to properly set up a prop-box with multiple genus' and how to keep them all straight and labeled properly. The photo doesn't show well the fact that everything is labeled from left to right (like a book) so that it's easy to always have the proper name on the specific plant!
Come to the next meeting to hear if there was any success with our lab creations!
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