MED: Seedling Report and The Season thus far
From: Sandy Ives <rives@home.com>
This has been an unusual season in Ottawa.
It has been bone dry, very sunny. Everything is blooming at once. A median
hybridizer's dream. The season is at least 10-12 days ahead of normal.
I still have many SDBs in bloom and many of the new TBs are open; absolutely
glorious display. So...here is Spirit World, a Keppel I believe I first saw in
Dearborn...and I want a median from it. Any suggestions? Other than ensuring
it is fertile first?
Speaking of medians, my seedling patch 'features' 11 plants from a 'Pink Pele'
(Aitken '96ish) bee pod. Pink Pele itself is doing much better this year than in
any other; even my father wants a piece. The cross was made in 1997 and grew
for the first four months in a hydroponics unit to cut the development time by a
year. So...what have been the results?
We are warned that only the very best should be kept from the seedling patch and
to be ruthless in combing them out. The very first of this cross opened last
week and, I'm thrilled to say, it is that 1% of all seedlings that is so
hideously ugly that I'm keeping it as protection against hubris. It has coarse
foliage, short thick stalk 40cm (16"), an absolutely immense bloom (I'm talking
'Thriller' size, if not larger), and garish yellowish with a slight pink cast
below the beards. I'll post a photo for a laugh.
The second opened about four days later. This is at the other end of the
scale. It is definitely a keeper, though I would have to see substantially more
medians to see whether it should go further. It is a very well proportioned IB,
clean foliage, very interesting colouring, triple socket terminal bud, good
substance. I have to look at the first plant to keep the smile off my face.
Two others have opened since, they are disposables.
I am very suspicious of the cross now, the plants are so wildly different. This
time the bees will not get an opportunity; I've selfed 'Pink Pele', and I have
back-crossed it with the nice median.
A second cross involved Sonjah Sheila with an SDB (the name escapes me).
Interesting plant, nice foliage, nice spike, empty bloom sockets.
The final cross involved Sapphire Hills; an oldie, but goodie blue self. The
offspring are much the same, but in the IB range.
Regards,
Sandy Ives in Ottawa Canada (z4ish)
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