Gigi Plumeria: I'm bad at growing seedlings, my germination rate is quite high so I stopped growing them. I currently have 75+ or maybe more growing and I'm afraid to get rid of them, just in case one is the "special one" . Some are now over 2 years old. I kept some in small pots so they don't grow too big too fast. Especially if I have to wait 3 to 7 years.
You are exactly right in your fear of missing the "Special one". I am surprised at the caviler attitude most growers have towards seedlings and refer to them as "Common" whites...yellows etc...I have to agree, when ours first started blooming after growing and babying these things for 3-4years, they weren't anything special...they were just whites and yellows...some had some uniqueness and we had some that stuck out...but they weren't that much different than the parents. Over the growing cycles, their personalities started to emerge and after 7 years we started to find plants with really different blooms. Now that they are 10 years old...they are just like children..as different as snowflakes.
At the Plumeria Society sales I go to...it is very common for them to cut seedlings off at the base to graft a named variety...usually reds because they are hard to root. I have no idea what all they discard and they will never know what they are cutting off for another. We never noticed Kiya or Kealani before last year.
I am going to post pictures...so I'll start another thread so as not to hijack this one!
