I know I should have hung around more around Johan and Judith, that is what many of the guests were doing. There is always something new to learn from those who are in the know. But I was too busy taking pictures and trying to remember which rows I had already been down.
Judith is really a nice person. Very folksy. I think she is from the South, Oklahoma if I remember right. Nice southern drawl.
Do Johan and Shelly hybridize? I thought they just sold Johan's dad's creations. These are hybridized by Johan senior. These were created here, just 19 miles from me. I have seen those foil stigma caps so I think it is safe to say they are hybridized here! I think Leek is a partner in the Netherlands. I do know that people from the Netherlands come out here to evaluate the seedlings.
This is not a large operation. There are two greenhouses; one for starting and growing seedlings and one for growing and continuing evaluation and hybridizing. We were not allowed in the "little" seedling greenhouse. By seedlings, I am talking about little grass like seedlings probably started earlier this year.
I am guessing that when you talk to someone on the phone it is Johan Jr. or Shelly. I don't think Sr. is involved on the retail end anymore.
I don't know. First I talked to Johan Sr, and we had trouble understanding one another, which was probably my fault, I'm not good with even regional dialects here. But my understanding was a lot of the lilies were hybridized in the Netherlands by Mak Leek corp, and then brought here for testing. Afterwards I spoke with Shelly, and she told me most of the lilies were her fathers creations and he was back and forth to the Netherlands. Beautiful creations, whoever is hybridizing them.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of the lilies from the Netherlands are tested here. It is a good area to grow lilies. I recall reading a bio of the Mak in the society bulletin a while back. I may scrounge that up and review as I get time.
I understand Johan Jr and Shelly sell lilies, but do not hybridize. Johan Sr does the hybridizing and I also understand a lot of his work goes back overseas for propagation. I also understand most of what Johan Jr and Shelly are selling come from Holland. They used to sell a great deal of Johan Sr.'s work, but it seems like that has very recently changed.
In any case, they have a whole lot of beauty out there. And I have been told by a few great hybridizers is that what makes you a great hybridizer is when you can be a lily assassin, culling for all sorts of reasons. We tend to first look at the "pretty face", but there are all sorts of things that go into it, the pretty face is just the beginning. Being a non-great hybridizer at this point as I am, I see the beauty in each seedling. I'm still happy that I get anything to bloom from seed!
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