plenty of phalaris heads but zero seed ????

[Bmac27]

So my abundance of seed heads are worth diddly to my birds.... there is virtually zero seed in the heads !!!
Does anyone have an idea on what might have gone wrong ?
It was as healthy as can be , still is , but the seed heads flowered long ago and are looking ripe , but on inspection I found the majority of heads are completely seed free ???
Others have maybe one or 2 seeds in them but it seems my efforts have been a waste of time .
Brad

[willy]

One possible explanation is frost. But not sure if you get them. If you get a late frost, usually around flowering everything looks good until you go to harvest it. This is for cereal grain crops but I would not see there being any difference for phalaris.

[Craig52]

One possible explanation is frost. But not sure if you get them. If you get a late frost, usually around flowering everything looks good until you go to harvest it. This is for cereal grain crops but I would not see there being any difference for phalaris.

I agree Willy,it also could be a pollination problem,too wet and cold for the insects to pollinate or self pollinate. Anyhow,it's easier to buy it in. Craig

[TomDeGraaff]

I think Phalaris spp might be wind pollinated. Lack of wind could affect the pollination maybe. Is frost associated with a lack of air movement?

[KENTUCKY]

Is there a possibility that it was planted too late in the season?

[Bmac27]

The plant is in a pot and grows perennially Kentucky so its good for the season and stands around 6-7 ft so the sowing too late can be ruled out , frost is unlikely the issue Willy as I live quite close to the beach and it only ever gets cool not so much frosty , wind ... its pretty windy here once the sea breeze picks up Uraeginthus , so I'm buggered if I know... Craigs on the money when it comes to ease of purchase I think
Time to get rid of it ... its not as if I don't have enough grasses in pots taking up my yard already
Although isn't canary seed a relative of Phalaris ?
I have a tonne of seed heads on that and its chock full of green milk seed , one would assume if there were an issue (disease) or the like , it would affect the canary too ?

[TomDeGraaff]

Did you grow this plant from seed? If not then maybe it is a sterile cultivar. (Bit of clutching at straws here!)

[Bmac27]

Grown from seed yes Uraeginthus , sourced from a seed merchant via a friend .
The plant is now 1.5 years old and this is the first season it has had seed heads , and its my first time growing the stuff also so can't say I've had problems in the past .

[finchbreeder]

Maybe try pruning it into the avairy as nesting material, and see if it comes back better next year?
LML

[Bmac27]

I'm thinking I've had a severe pest invasion now , upon closer examination I've found tiny little grubs and the seed heads that did have a minute amount of milk seed are now empty , a couple of the seed heads crumbled in my hand and I can see , what looks to be insect faeces , only tiny though , some of the other new growth seed heads looked as though they have been gnawed on and inside I found the grubs .... buggers !!!