Continued from
The thread "2016" in
Lilies forum as I thought this might be a more appropriate place...
Roosterlorn said:I often wonder how many people realize the number of seedlings one has to go through just to come up with one like that. Hopefully there are one or two more sisters in this batch that are also keepers. I hope it's as garden hardy as it is pretty. Now the fun part of yearly development and evaluation begins. Look forward to seeing pictures next Spring. 
Australis said:Having no experience as yet, I assume it's only a handful out of, say, a hundred seedlings that are remarkable, let alone do well in the garden? What sort of percentages of seedlings do you find end up being both worth keeping (from an aesthetics perspective) as well as being hardy enough for the garden?
magnolialover said:There are some I am willing to toss after one growing season. I don't have endless room here. It seems you can get a pretty good idea of any cross potential in one batch. There is a lot of junk for sure. Almost to disappointment. But every once in awhile you see something that may be worthwhile and that is what keeps you going.
Roosterlorn said: I agree with Tracey's philosophy that you only need about 20 seedlings of a cross to find out if it's what you want. But I think if you asked this question to five hobby hybridizers it could or would likely lead to five lengthy and interesting discussions depending on what Division they're working with and what their goals are. To make a long story short: if I start out with 1000 seedlings of 40 crosses this year (2016), by the end of year 2020 I may have only 5 or 10 worth carrying---and maybe less. On the other hand, if I get lucky I could have a couple good crosses and have as many as 20 or 25 left. So, what happened to the other 980 or thereabouts seedlings along the way? Well, you lose quite a few along the way, especially the first year. They simply don't survive. It's Mother Nature's principle of survival of the fittest by defensively rejecting the weak to keep the species strong--it happens in nature and it happens with our crosses, too. Many of those remaining after blooming twice ((2019) are pulled for a whole variety of reasons. Of the 100 or so left at the end of 2020, more than likely another 75 or more would likely be pulled. Those would still make good garden lilies but not what I'm after and will likely be passed out to seniors at a senior meal location or the goodwill and so on. So, a stranger to hybridizing would probably look at the numbers and say that's an awful lot of work and a long time to put in for just a few good plants. But numbers don't apply to the enjoyment you get out of it, every day throughout the year. Keep in mind also that the hypothetical I just described is for 1 year only.There are 5 more years worth out there in the works which gives me a lot to enjoy.
@Roosterlorn and others who hybridise:
I have quite a few questions/thoughts running around my head now, such as:
- How many pods do you set on a plant (I have heard you shouldn't set more than three to reduce the strain on the bulb) and does this number vary with division?
- How often do you set seed on the same plant? Do they need a rest every other year?
- Do you do multiple crosses on the one plant, or only use one plant per cross?
- What sort of traits (apart from bloom and hardiness) do you look for in your hybrids?
Thanks in advance. I'm keen to learn more about hybridising and want to try it myself next summer.
