Viewing post #908239 by admmad

beckygardener said:So basically the majority of our hybrid daylilies came from red/orange ditch lilies (fulva), correct?

Many different species were used by Stout and the early hybridizers to produce the early cultivars. It is difficult to determine whether any single species could be described as being responsible for the majority of the original hybrids. A genetic overview analysis of the species and a number of cultivars did not find the ditch lily as being particularly similar to the early cultivars.

Which would make THAT color the dominant genetic color, correct? So that would indeed make a light yellow/near white daylily color recessive, not dominate. Or as you also said ... at the very least, it would make it an additive.

So for fulva descendents, the dominant color is always red?

Now what about a different species daylily like citrina with yellow blooms? If it was crossed with another, would the dominate color then be yellow for any seedlings?

Sorry, no. There is no relationship between different species and whether a particular value for a characteristic is dominant or recessive. That is, if red flower colour is dominant to yellow then it will simply always be dominant to yellow flower colour. If red flower colour is dominant to white flower colour then it will always be dominant to white flower colour.

I am trying to wrap my brain around dominant/recessive vs. the color being a specific characteristic. Is it that a particular daylily when crossed will often throw a specific color or pattern or ruffles or teeth?

Sorry, no. Identifying which of the alternative values for a characteristic is dominant or recessive does not depend on the breeding behaviour of particular daylilies but on the breeding patterns shown by all daylilies for that characteristic.

If that shows up in most of the seedlings, it is considered a dominate trait?

Sorry, no. Whether a specific value for a characteristic is dominant or recessive is determined by the results of specific crosses (the F1, F2, both backcrosses to the parents and the test of F3 families).

And recessive is the opposite in that it can show up but not as often or as likely?

Sorry, no. The recessive characteristic must show up in the expected proportions in the appropriate crosses in the test (see above) and not show up in the other crosses.