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Re: [SpaceAgeRobin] Appendage Development (was Midnight Thunder)

Patrick Orr wrote:
Chris, I looked up the sinister MIDNIGHT THUNDER posted by Dana.  Yes, those appendages are creepy looking.  Just to let you know, DOCTOR NO, CORAL POINT, and even MESMERIZER, along with many others I cannot just now recall, have given me appendages that are similar to Dana's MT. 
 
There are two separate issues going on with Dana's MT that are the cause of the variation you were questioning. 
 
One, is that genetics sometimes creates double appendages. The double appendages have been noted on many space agers from time to time.
More than 2 actually. Poly-flounces or "rosettes" are really bundles of appendages
  Attached is a picture I took of PRAETORIAN GUARD in Tucson this last spring.  The other shot is a double flounce this past spring on Mesmerizer. 
 
The second issue I think is maturity.  It is my humble opinion that the variation in the appendage form has got to do with maturity... I look at these variations of appendage forms and think the flower opened up before the appendage was fully mature. Lack of moisture/nutrients could also play a part, but not a very big one I don't think.  I feel it has to do with how much time the flower had to mature prior to and during opening up.
We had two different weather anomalies here this year. March was a record breaking 12 degrees warmer than normal causing all kinds of rapid growth and the appearence of anomalies.(see next message about SKY HOOKS) We had 5 times the normal rain in September and October.( thats still only 3 inches in these parts).The attached photos of MT with double appendages reflect the longest possible growing season it will ever get. Comparing the fully developed appendages with the no appendage or horns only of spring bloom lends some weight to maturity and the availability of moisture/nutrients being factors for full developement. Like rebloom each Cv has its own requirements.
 When there are double appendages, perhaps the two get half the nutrients needed and don't form fully?
Don't know about the "half" part but not enough nutrients makes good sense.

 
When a bloom usually displays a big flounce like MESMERIZER, you have to wonder when it displays horns or spoons instead.  It is like the appendage didn't have time to turn into a full flounce prior to the bloom opening up. 
 
It would be interesting if someone did a study on blooms at different stages of bud development to see how exactly the appendages develop.  Do all flounces start off as horns first, or is the appendage fully formed as a flounce from the get-go, and just grows bigger.
This year we have seen enough photos to see flounces developing from the midline of the falls to say that flounces are not really beard extentions. When the appendage stem starts deep in the throat then we see the beard attached to an incomplete flounce looking like a smooth horn. If different types of beards are present then we see combinations that produce a "fuzzy" horned beard extension. We have even seen combinations that have twin fuzzy horns or one fuzzy and one smooth horn. (FANG etc.) Then there are the combinations that are grown together so that they are parially smooth and erratically fuzzy at the same time. CANARY FEATHERS being a good example.
 
Maybe Bruce Filardi knows someone who can or has researched this and would write an article for the Bulletin about it. I am sure my opinions on this aren't the only ones out there, and it would be nice to have some scientific evidence that would explain the appendage variations once and for all. Opinions are great, and they get our minds working, but if the appendage development is something science can unveil that can be controlled, then we can take that knowledge and use it to get the most out of the bloom.  For instance, if all it takes is a teaspoon of Epsom salts dug into the soil around the rhizome just as a stalk emerges in order to get fully developed appendages, we could utilize that knowledge and have fully formed flounces consistently on every flower. However, my feeling is that it is not going to be quite that simple.
I agree. In my opinion breeding SA's is similar to breeding rebloomers. You have to breed the most consist ones to get a stable Cv. We do have a major advantage over breeding for rebloom beause we can see SA potential .(BSE etc.)

Michael M. Zone 9b,Stockton Ca. Record setting cold spell last week with nights in the low twenty's :-)
   
 
Patrick Orr
Phoenix, AZ  Zone 9
USA

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