Breeding is something very complex happening within the plant and we do not have any control really, all we do is to select a male and a female and hope for the best, more or less like the loterie.
What needs to be understood with breeding, it’s the length of time and commitment required;
• Complete recorded data from both parents and 2 or 3 previous parentage if possible.
• Grow every single seeds produced until blooming, and evaluate only those showing specific characteristic. Everything else should be discarded!!!
• The one selected should be inter-bred, and as above all seeds select and toss away again select ing only the specific characteristic and repeat again and again as you progress more and more will carry specific criteria you are after, this is a long process, usually several years in making as a spontaneous nature caprice as many time it happens.
• At this point, we will cross back with original parent for a very specific trait, size, color whatever you are after. Now you have a fairly well establish strain.
• This kind of work it’s mostly done by commercial growers toward a market profit.
*It would very interesting to have these major hybrydizers describing the road taken, believe me it will be very mush similar as the above description.
I grow mostly A. Arabicum, only a few from wild collected seeds too wide unexpected spectrum growth but a lot of Thai Arabicum and Arabicum/Soco they are far more predictable due to the extensive breeding selection done. I love Obesum bloom but honestly I truly dislike the caudex if you could that a caudex, ugly!!!
Here how I impersonally handle my seedling, try next time give it a try, it’s pretty amazing;
• Sowing in coconut coir *peat moss tends to produce skinnier seedlings.
• As soon seed have sprouted (3 to 5 days over a week to the compost pile), the cell(s) are transferred under 35% shade, entirely sprayed and drenched with salicylic acid at 325mg in 2 gallons water then plain water one or twice a day depending of weather.
• First Saturday at night sprayed with Hormex *full strength and ¼ tsp Kelp / gallon same watering pattern.
• At one week old, ¼ tsp composted chicken manure *black hen NPK 5-1-1 in one of cell corner water thoroughly.
• Second Saturday sprayed with surperthrive *full strength + ¼ tsp fish meal / gallon same watering pattern
• Third week usually done on middle of the week, Salicylic acid same 325mg in 2 gallons
• Third Saturday, repeat of first Saturday
• Fourth Saturday repeat of second, I a sure you got the drift!
• Fourth week seedling will have 3 sets of true leaves and are ready for transplant. Yes!
The main reason for this approach is to separate toss-up from keeper
By such forcing from nutrition and hormones 4 distinct s caudex size will be truly visible;
• Giant = toss-up from my experience
• Regular = keeper most will fall into that category
• Dwarf = keeper the best for BONSAI
• Nature anomalies = toss-up; low chlorophyll, variegated ext… *I normally keep the variegated one but that is a secret!
From this point I am able to select and deal only with the best, unfortunately it is not before 6 to 10 months old for me to have side branching started and to know the overall future shape. (If someone has any experience this will be more then welcome)
At first transplant I will decide the one(s) for graft root-stock from the one(s) for Bonsai and make different NPK formula accordingly.
*Feeding for your seed pods, honestly I do not see how that can change any DNA make-up
*I do not know Mr. Dimmit but I did read his articles, he is on growing Adeniums for their full size and treat’s bonsai growth as underfeed. I personalty grow addendum as Banzai and this is far more complex then just malnutrition.
And Melissa I did live in St Thomas USVI for 10 years, looking to come back one day. Hope this give you a different window of culture experiments.
Few pictures of my 5 and 6 months old 2012 seedling
My 10 years old bonsai Thai A. Arabicum/Socotranum *Khao Hin Zon, never pruned once barely 1 foot tall, right after blooming phase.
Khao Hin zon foliage details
