The research is really clear as a pointer for what we see happening in our gardens every day ... for me, with just thirty cultivars blooming last year, already one is confirmed a tet when it is listed in all databases as a dip-only. There is so much variety and experimentation going on to produce new forms that it seems quite natural for seasons, colors, heights, right on down the line, to seem very much in the eye of the beholder, and only scientific observations and instruments can really measure or help confirm the differences, when more certainty is desired. The ATP database is unique in striking a balance between what is advertised, what has been researched, and what is also seen in the garden, with the option for everyone to post detailed comments on each cultivar, including whatever experience they themselves have had with a plant.
Would a microscope, at the very least, be a useful tool to determine ploidy issues? I'm hoping someone knows what magnification is needed for both pollen examination and for looking at chromosomes. I have read that chromosomes are visible by optical microscope at the chromatin/division stage (when they become the X-shape form) but am not sure when or what part/s of a plant might have such activity happening, if at all? Is it only in seeds, or would other parts of the plant continue the division? Would I see 2-, 3-, and 4-legged chromosomes in that X-shape, or just find 22, 33, or 44 X-shapes floating around in any random cell?
I'm so excited ... my top choice for bridge triploid is all set for shipping this spring, and at the very least I feel like I'll be able to check it for trip-pollen producing status by its ripe pollen, once it blooms. I'd really love a way to count chromosome strands of any offspring! And, I'm looking forward to posting pictures of my tet-crossed "dip" seedlings as soon as they bloom, and will be curious to check on the nature of their pollen, too.
