SunnyinMichigan said:Tim, have you noticed that precocious bloomers tend to be heavy bloomers as adults?
Seedfork said:I don't think a bloom changes that much form one year to another, but bud count and branching do.
I've never seen a seedling with great bud count in year three develop poor bud counts in later years, yet, but I haven't been doing this all that long. ...stressful situations aside, like drought or pesky deer or bugs.
I'm in line with Larry on this question for the most part. I have seen blooms open like crap the first year because they were probably just barely mature enough to put up a small scape, but get better at opening as they mature. And in those cases, the color may not change much, but it seems like a huge improvement because it seems like a bigger bloom and you can see it all.
Also, your question reminded me of some advice I read here once, and sadly I can't remember who said it to give them credit. They said "once a runt, always a runt". I'm sure there are exceptions, but it makes me feel better about removing 3rd year seedlings if I choose to believe this. If a seedling has more buds in year two and year three than its siblings, I believe it's probably always going to have a better bud count than its siblings.