RE: Azaleas from seed?

Arnhild:

I am rather surprised that you still have unopened seed pods.  By all means 
open them now.  The seed will be like flakes.  You can germinate them 
inside.  They do not need a lot of heat to germinate but the soil medium 
must never dry out.  The soil medium must be acidic and should contain a 
lot of peat.  I actually use sphagnum moss.  The seed is placed on the soil 
surface.  Light and high humidity is required for germination.  I put the 
pots or flats in a plastic bag to make sure that they do not dry out at any 
point.  Germination should occur in about 2 weeks.  It is not a difficult 
plant to start from seed.

When hybridizing, your choice of parents will depend on your goals and your 
climate.  For me, hardiness is a major concern therefore at least one very 
hardy parent must be included.  With so many rhododendron species and 
hybrids and such a wide range of colours and plant habits, it is hard to 
recommend good parents.  I am not an expert on genetics and inheritance but 
I seem to remember reading that the maximum variation does not occur until 
the second generation of hybrids.  There is also some rules followed to 
increase your likelihood of obtaining certain colours.  This is a concern 
in Eastern North America where much effort has gone into producing a good 
hardy yellow flower.  I cannot comment further on this however.

Glenn Zone4b Eastern Ontario, Canada

-----Original Message-----
From:	Arnhild Bleie [SMTP:abbl@online.no]
Sent:	February 15, 2000 5:24 PM
To:	woodyplants@mallorn.com; 'woodyplants@mallorn.com'
Subject:	RE: Azaleas from seed?

Hello - I am a norwegian gardener and fruitgrower rather new to this list,
and maybe I have not introduce myself here - but I don't know it that is
normally done? If so I could do so in a later mail?

Anyway - Rhododendron is maybe one of my favorite plants that I would like
a lot more of in my garden,I have a climate suitable for it, and it would
be very nice to make my own, even do crossing.

- I have a question about seeds and breeding:

1. Can I take seeds now from unopened seedpods left on the plants and sow
them in a warm room now - how warm is best?
2. Do I cover them by sowing?
3. Do they germinate without light?
4. Are the rules for how seed from crossings inheritate? And is that
related to leaves and/or flowers - size? shaps? colours?
5. Do it excist a list over the best cultivars for breeding?

If it is ok I can find seeds now I have some old red azaleas in the garden,
and maybe some of the evergreens a well.

Hope someone can help me with this.

Best regards
Arnhild :)


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