Wow! You guys are showing some fantastic seedlings! It's hard to pick a best one, but Fred's Smooth Talker X Seedling surely looks great! Doris and I have been pretty busy the last 3-4 weeks, more than usual. Maybe we'll learn some day! We've had some fairly nice seedlings, but don't always get pictures because there's too much to do around here. And now it's 90 F. Today our Emma's Curls bloomed for the first time and was crossed with Lillian's Woman's Touch, Savannah Banana Split, Rose F. Kennedy, Emerald Starburst, and assorted other spider/UFs. I've become interested in Minis and small flowers and have over 30 pods forming on minis. It's hard to spot them when you're in a hurry. Liz Salter's "Pinwheel Princess" bloomed for the first time about a week ago, and it's my favorite little one. Right now, anyway. We are maybe 30% or a little more bloom now. Our sheer numbers has forced me to become somewhat more selective in what gets crossed. Actually, the increase in the size of the clumps forces me to be more selective, as I cannot get to some blooms because of the jungle of growth. I surely don't want to break any scapes. I wish I could focus on just one trait to cross for, as we tend to like all forms and colors, so we have bought some of all of them. Maybe I will find one characteristic to shoot for, but figure we (Doris and I) will always be 5 years behind the expert hybridizers like you guys! But... even a blind hog finds an acorn sometimes. We have plenty of acorns that have sprouted, but they don't have any blooms yet. "From the tiny acorn comes the mighty oak." Well, if you look at it the other way, "From the mighty oak comes a measly little old acorn."
Enough for now,
David