We have pods! People use various implements as a brush when pollinating and I have enough cat whiskers lying around so I collected a few.
If pollination hasn't been successful, the spent flower withers and falls off the stalk, like with the Haworthia comptoniana hybrid, where I only have one pod so far. I'm pleased that I have had any success, as they are notoriously difficult to set seed on. That is probably why I had no success last time, I was using two plants with a reputation for being difficult to pollinate. I already knew that one was difficult, I didn't know that the other was the same!
Compare that with the bayeri, where almost every flower on the stalk has made seeds
I have 100% success rate with the argenteo-maculosa "White Clouds" so far and there are still some unripened flower buds on all of the stalks, so I am going to try some different combinations with some other plants which are about to flower because now there will be some overlap with these. As the pod continues to swell, the dried flower petals will drop off. Once the pod is fully grown, in a few weeks time, it must be taped closed to prevent the seeds being scattered everywhere when the pod dries and starts to crack open.
I'm so excited! The cat's whisker has done it's work. Although it will be at least 2 years before I can really see the results of my work, the only time to start is now.
