JungleShadows said:Got another `1500 seedlings rowed out late yesterday to take advantage of the rain. There is a huge group (~350) from Lion King X my favorite cantabricum selection that I'm looking forward to seeing. The sib to Borscht X Patent Leather Shoes should be good too!
Jo Ann, I plan my crosses in the winter and then sort of refine the list when I see what is going to bloom. Still some of my best crosses are more ones of the moment. I had bagged Jungle Shadows and Lilac Time to use in crosses but not with each other. However, I saw in my mind that combining the best qualities of those two could be really good. The second generation from this cross is some of my most exciting, beautiful shapes and unusual colors. There should be several that hit the market from this group.
One thing Polly had me do was grow open pollinated seedlings from cultivars to see what sort of seedlings would appear. If the bee pollinated seed gives good seedlings then that plant is probably a really good parent and should be used in real crosses. I don't do that much any more as I have a cross in mind although I'll sometimes plant open pollinated seed from cultivars that I'm about to lose due to bloom out so that I don't lose the genes. I also plant open pollinated seed from plants that are impossible parents, like Aymon Correvon. All the rest are hand pollinated.
Kevin
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