I have two pernettya shrubs in my garden; one is supposedly a male plant,
the other female. Every spring/summer both plants get lots of little white
flowers, but I have never had any berries from either plant. They were
planted about 3 or 4 years ago (semi-shade, moist) and are doing well
otherwise.

Does anyone have any advice on what I need to do to persuade these shrubs to
produce berries?

Thanks.
David

Sweet talk them?

Sounds like you might have two males or two females, but I'm no expert. Does anyone know how to tell the difference?

bob

In article , David
writes
I have two pernettya shrubs in my garden; one is supposedly a male plant,
the other female. Every spring/summer both plants get lots of little white
flowers, but I have never had any berries from either plant. They were
planted about 3 or 4 years ago (semi-shade, moist) and are doing well
otherwise.

Does anyone have any advice on what I need to do to persuade these shrubs to
produce berries?

They should be doing fine. Check that you have indeed got one of each -
look at the flowers through a hand lens, see that you have stamens in
one and a stigma in the other. Don't know how easy it is to see on
pernettya - it's easy on skimmia.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , Kay
writes
In article , David
writes
I have two pernettya shrubs in my garden; one is supposedly a male plant,
the other female. Every spring/summer both plants get lots of little white
flowers, but I have never had any berries from either plant. They were
planted about 3 or 4 years ago (semi-shade, moist) and are doing well
otherwise.

Does anyone have any advice on what I need to do to persuade these shrubs to
produce berries?

They should be doing fine. Check that you have indeed got one of each -
look at the flowers through a hand lens, see that you have stamens in
one and a stigma in the other. Don't know how easy it is to see on
pernettya - it's easy on skimmia.

In some dioecious plants vestigial stamens are present in female plants,
and vestigial styles in male plants. A quick Googling failed to find a
description of the state in Pernettya mucronata. An article in the
American Journal of Botany describes Pernettya rigida as cryptically
dioecious; one might suspect that P. mucronata of being the same.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

In article ,
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:

In some dioecious plants vestigial stamens are present in female plants,
and vestigial styles in male plants. A quick Googling failed to find a
description of the state in Pernettya mucronata. An article in the
American Journal of Botany describes Pernettya rigida as cryptically
dioecious; one might suspect that P. mucronata of being the same.

The mind boggles - thanks for the education. I knew about the plants
that are undecided whether to be monoecious or dioecious, but I never
suspected the existence of cryptically dioecious ones ....

Sex is pretty confused in some vertebrates (and I am not referring to
Michael Jackson, here), but flowering plants make vertebrates look
simple. I haven't yet heard of a plant with three sexes, but I wouldn't
be flabberghasted to hear that there is one.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes
In article ,
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:

In some dioecious plants vestigial stamens are present in female plants,
and vestigial styles in male plants. A quick Googling failed to find a
description of the state in Pernettya mucronata. An article in the
American Journal of Botany describes Pernettya rigida as cryptically
dioecious; one might suspect that P. mucronata of being the same.

The mind boggles - thanks for the education. I knew about the plants
that are undecided whether to be monoecious or dioecious, but I never
suspected the existence of cryptically dioecious ones ....

Sex is pretty confused in some vertebrates (and I am not referring to
Michael Jackson, here), but flowering plants make vertebrates look
simple. I haven't yet heard of a plant with three sexes, but I wouldn't
be flabberghasted to hear that there is one.

Charles Darwin, in "Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same
Species" describes the common ash, Fraxinus excelsior, as trioecious.

URL:http://pages.britishlibrary.net/char...forms_of_flowe
rs/flowers00.htm

--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

In article ,
Stewart Robert Hinsley writes:
|
| Charles Darwin, in "Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same
| Species" describes the common ash, Fraxinus excelsior, as trioecious.
|
| URL:http://pages.britishlibrary.net/char...forms_of_flowe
| rs/flowers00.htm

Yes, but that is only the presence of male, female and hermaphrodite
flowers (and plants). I was reading about some New Zealand plants
with one female and two hermaphrodite flower forms, too. Plants
have never really picked up the idea that you must be entirely one
sex or the other. I was really thinking of sex at the deeper level
of types of gametes.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Remember, that if you have only two of these shrubs, they must be one male and one female. I would suggest that you have two of the same. A local nursery told me a while ago that these shrubs are very hard to tell between M and F.