Digest Number 872

From: Sharon McAllister <73372.1745@compuserve.com>

Message text written by Kathy Haggstrom:

>
So where did this thread lead? I was reading it with interest because last
summer I found a broken color setosa in the wild, reminiscent of
Ensminger-type
blooms (on a less grand scale, of course!). It's the first one I've seen. I
won't know anything about its vigor or other qualities until it blooms for
me in
two years.
But my interest was piqued when a suggestion  was made (I think), that some
of
these types might suffer from adaptability, or perhaps, vigor.
The thread was sort of left hanging that the broken color adaptability may
be
the same as any other bearded, i.e., some do well in one area or another,
and
some are better at wide-spread adaptability than others. This is the idea I
picked up.
<

I believe that particular thread ended with a discussion of the selection
process itself. 

Both flower and plant are considered in choosing the "best" seedlings --
the ones considered worthy of introduction.  With ANY breakthrough color
pattern, the candidate pool is extremely small and the first selections
therefore tend to be less vigorous than their contemporaries of
long-established patterns that have been selected from much larger pools. 
The same was once said of the tangerine pinks and later of the glaciatas.  

In my own seedling patch, most of the first broken color arilbreds  had
striking flowers --  but none were vigorous enough to merit introduction.
From maiden bloom, however, the one I ultimately introduced as GRANNY'S
GRANITE POT was a strong performer.  Although I had many with flowers I
considered "better", it was hands-down the most reliable plant and the
flower was good enough to catch the fancy of many garden visitors.  So it
was introduced, while some with superior flowers were consigned to the
arroyo for erosion control.

I do not, however, consider this a trait of the broken color pattern.  It
is characteristic of NEW patterns and colors -- of which the broken color
is merely one example.  As the gene pool expands, with deliberate selection
the vigor DOES improve.  How fast that happens depends on how many are
working with the pattern and how much importance they place on vigor, as
much as on the potential inherent in the line.

Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compuserve.com

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