Great idea with those foot sox! I'll have to try it - rubber bands don't work and the organza bags are too big. I always have seeds go flying when I harvest...

I have to ask though, what the heck is a k-cup?

I don't know if this will help, but. I have been hybridizing fuchsias now for well over 40 years, and tried various methods like you to mark the crosses. In the end I found that ordinary knitting wool was the answer. There were, and still are, family, friends and neighbours who knit, and they all seem to have wool left over. Very soon I had dozens of different colours which I use along with a note book to keep a reference to my crosses. I agree with you, it's a exciting thing to do. I still get a kick waiting for those plants to bloom, and what a thrill when you get something special. Keep going.

John.


"Samantha's Smile" 2015

Polymerous said:Great idea with those foot sox! I'll have to try it - rubber bands don't work and the organza bags are too big. I always have seeds go flying when I harvest...

I have to ask though, what the heck is a k-cup?

Thank you!

K-cups are the little Keurig cups, or pods, that you put into a single-serve coffee makers.

midnight21 said:I don't know if this will help, but. I have been hybridizing fuchsias now for well over 40 years, and tried various methods like you to mark the crosses. In the end I found that ordinary knitting wool was the answer. There were, and still are, family, friends and neighbours who knit, and they all seem to have wool left over. Very soon I had dozens of different colours which I use along with a note book to keep a reference to my crosses. I agree with you, it's a exciting thing to do. I still get a kick waiting for those plants to bloom, and what a thrill when you get something special. Keep going.

John.

• Lady's Eardrops (Fuchsia 'Samantha's Smile')
• Uploaded by midnight21

"Samantha's Smile" 2015

Thank you, John! I can only imagine how exciting it must be to work with fuschia, too....they are so bright, beautiful, and the scent.... I've only had the opportunity to sniff a fuschia once, a long time ago, but I remember it being beautiful. I like your idea about the wool. My friends that knit live out of state, so I'm a little out of luck there, but I might check it out at a craft store (or WalMart, etc.) one of these days. That could be a nice addition or alternative to the methods I currently have.

Knitting yarns also come in "variegated" colors, which change every few inches. You can get multiple colors from one skein.

The colors of acrylic yarns are pretty fade-resistant. The yarn won't decompose. You'll have to collect any that fall to the ground to keep from having multicolored soil or mulch. One way to prevent this - instead of tying the yarn around just the base of the flower, also tie it around the stem the flower is attached to, in a figure-8 if there's room to maneuver.

Pat