Re: Surrogate mother potato

G.L
      Is it possible to join your lilium-L list, I do have a few lilies and
am interested in learning more about them ( Lilies ) if it is possible
would you please email me the instructions to join the list.
         Arthur.

----------
> From: G.L. Michaelis <glmichaelis@man.net>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <iris-l@rt66.com>
> Subject: Re: Surrogate mother potato
> Date: 23. januar 1997 00:17
> 
> Dear Donald,
> 
> My name is G.L. Michaelis and besides belonging to the daylily list
serve,
> I also run the North American Lily Societies List Serve called Lilium-L. 
I
> was absolutely fascinated by the potato story and would like your
> permission to post a copy of it on the lilium-l.  Lots of us live in
> northern climes where we are regularly have to bring in pods to ripen and
I
> think that this might be of great help.
> 
> I will do nothing until I hear from you.
> 
> Yours
> G.L.
> glmichaelis@man.net
> "Perennially in Trouble" in Warren, Manitoba, Canada.
> Great Landscapes.  Gramma.
> 
> ----------
> > From: Donald Mosser <dmosser@southconn.com>
> > To: Multiple recipients of list <iris-l@rt66.com>
> > Subject: RE: Surrogate mother potato
> > Date: Wednesday, January 22, 1997 8:20 PM
> > 
> > At 10:13 PM 1/21/97 -0500, you wrote:
> > >Donald you write:
> > >>I planted my first and only hand pollinated pod from a 
> > >>TB...I can't wait to see what comes of these in the 
> > >>spring, After all, their mother died before they were born and a
baking
> 
> > >>potato was their surrogate mother for over a month. You ask "A 
> > >>potato?"...Dr. Zurbrigg gave me instructions on how to rescue the
> > premature pod.  >>If anyone is interested I would be glad to share or
> > explain the technique.
> > >
> > >Yes! Yes! Yes! I am very interested! Between my cats, & kids I am
always
> 
> > >losing some of my crosses. Oh, and I must admit to causing some loss
> myself, 
> > >pure clumsiness! So please tell me how to save these preemies! I am
sure
> > there 
> > >must be others who would like to hear this also.
> > >Jefrie Jenkins -- Kent, WA  zone 5 - AIS region 13
> > 
> > Jefrie,
> > 
> > I'm not sure that this is a foolproof method since I've only tried it
> once
> > and I've yet to see if the seed which matured was actually viable, but
> here
> > goes.  Warning! This is a long story, so if you're not interested
> exercise
> > the delete key.  
> > 
> > THE POD was produced on a fall blooming stalk of BROTHER CARL (TB) as a
> > result of my careless fondling of the flower to figure out what all of
> the
> > parts were. :)  I became enormously attached to THE POD and watched
over
> it
> > like a mother hen for about a month and a half.  Then came that fateful
> > night of first real frost and I tried to cover the entire stalk with a
> > cardboard box and oops!, I knocked the poor thing off.  
> > 
> > I happened to be corresponding with Dr. Lloyd Zurbrigg by e-mail at the
> > time and I mentioned that this particular seed pod had broken off.  He
> > suggested that I attempt to rescue the pod by using a raw baking potato
> to
> > nourish the pod until it finished maturing.  
> > 
> > I accomplished this by cutting a small hole in potato to match the
> diameter
> > of the remaining stalk on the seed pod.  I then made a fresh cut on the
> > bottom of the seed pod stalk and inserted the stalk of the seed pod
into
> > the hole in the raw potato.  It was still a loose fit, so I used the
> melted
> > wax from a birthday candle to seal the edges where the pod rested on
the
> > potato surface.  I placed this new union of potato and seed pod in a
> letter
> > tray on the top of my computer desk in front of a north facing window
(no
> > particular reasoning here, except that I could keep a close eye on THE
> POD).
> > 
> > THE POD stayed green and firm for about another month, at which point
it
> > seemed to start loosing it's healthy green color.  I checked and it was
> no
> > longer firmly grafted to the potato.  I removed it from the potato and
> > placed it in the letter tray, unsure of what to do next.  I then
figured
> > that THE POD was as mature as it was going to get at 3+ months of age,
so
> I
> > performed a C-section on THE POD to see what the seeds looked like. 
I've
> > never seen what mature TB seeds look like, but these looked about like
> > small boiled peanuts and most were a light tan color.  Being from the
> > southern U.S. I've shelled my share of butter beans (limas) and these
> seeds
> > looked "filled out" to me.:)  
> > 
> > I planted the seeds the next day, directly in my raised bed that I use
> for
> > vegetable gardening. The soil is a mixture of our natural sand with
> several
> > season of compost and manure additions, but now mostly sand again.  I
> > eagerly await the spring to see if anything germinates from the
> experiment
> > with THE POD and the potato.  
> > 
> > I guess to be scientifically objective about the effectiveness of this
> > procedure, one would have to try this with many pods of the same cross
at
> > the same time with potatoes from the same bag, etc., etc.  I'll try to
> > remember to report, good or bad, what comes of these seeds in the
spring.
> > Donald Mosser
> > Member of AIS, HIPS, SIGNA, SSI, SLI, SPCNI, and IRIS-L
> > dmosser@southconn.com
> > http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/5570
> > 
> > North Augusta, South Carolina, USA
> > On the South Carolina and Georgia Border
> > USDA Zone 7b-8
> > 
> >
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