Those are just awesome! I've never seen one before that looks like a decked-out Christmas tree - what a delight! The second one looks like someone has been caring for that tree for a very long time, wow!

I'll have to take a twig and start working with it! Thanks so much for posting those, John.

WOW those are beautiful

I have just added one of my new introductions to the fuchsia database. "Ellie's Charm". I think it is one of my best. It is a little cracker just like my Great Granddaughter who it was named after. More to come, now that I know how to do it.

John
"Ellie's Charm"

NICE...pretty tribute to your Great Granddaughter

I love the red, pink and white in Ellie's Charm! Very glad to hear that you will be uploading more intros!

Another new Introduction added to the fuchsias database. "Tia's Treasure". Named after my other Great Granddaughter, who is indeed a little treasure.

John
"Tia's Treasure"

Lovely blended colors!. I also find myself drawn as much to the unopened teardrop form as to the full bloom, and this one has such pretty shape and dimensions in both aspects. Did you set out to do that (colors + forms) or is that something you choose for when evaluating new seedlings? I'm always curious, as a new hobby-hybridizer, whether one can reliably cross this and that and get pretty much what they are aiming for, or if in practice it is more of a fuzzy lens we look through initially as pollen is dabbed.

And, what a lovely gift and legacy to honor your great granddaughters!

Hello Tina

I try to go for the form and colours, but it is a very fuzzy lens indeed. You can cross two doubles, one pink, and one white, and end up with a blue single. That is probably an extreme way of putting it, but it is really very hit and miss that you will get what you are aiming for. I think I have said before, but only about 1% of the seedlings I do a year make it to be registered, but what a buzz when the good one comes along. Go for it Tina.

John

Hi John,

Woot, a rainbow of possibilities, and I love surprises! I have heard hybridizers of other flowers also say 1 in 1000 may make it to registration, and that leaves me with another question. Is it 1 in 1000 survived-to-bloom seedlings, or 1 in 1000 seedling starts? Or, are both the same to you, achieving 100% survival-to-bloom rate for all seedlings?

I would have to say my nascent daylily hybridization rate is only around 10% of all seedlings started, but I am harsh on them, too. No special fertilizers, and I even subjected one year's lot to full 100-sun during a very dry summer (dropped to about 5% survivors). That and the aphids, who seem to love seedlings, make my 1-in-1000 a distant goal, but one I will pursue anyhow - it's just that fun.

Tina

Hello Tina

Start with the seeds. I get around 70% that germinate. Of them, probably another 2% will die. All different reasons, from black rot, to one year a slug got into a seedling tray. The others will then be grown on till they bloom. A lot you can tell right away, that they are no good, from colouration to bloom shape etc. They are then whittled down to probably five or six by the end of the season. These are then grown on and tested over the next three to four years. If they show any faults, they are discarded. If any are left at the end of the testing, I show these to friends, mainly at the flower clubs to get their reaction. If there is a positive response, I will then possibly register it. If I am still not sure it might be tested for a further year or so. So you see it is quite a lengthy process.

John