Viewing post #959199 by valleylynn

JungleShadows said:Judith,

I ONLY use the bee set seed as a LAST RESORT. Generally this is a disaster as many of the seedlings are just poor copies of the parent or worse. One year for the clinic I planted a bed of my hand crosses and a smaller bed with just bee set seed. The results were astoundingly different. There was nothing much to look at in the seed from open pollination. In contrast, I numbered 30 seedlings out of the same number from hand pollinated seed. This year I'm only saving the open pollinated seed stalks on 'Greenwich Time', 'Tamberlane' and 'Aymon Correvon'. The first two I think are triploids as the pollen looks less than perfect so it will be the rare pollen grain or ovule that has a balanced set of chromosomes. This year there were 6 stalks on 'Aymon Correvon' and there does look to be some seed on these that looks viable. Only time will tell. I planted two stalks worth last year and got a big goose egg!

I am very curious as to what the parents of 'Aymon Correvon' are like genetically. In some ways it looks like a montanum X tectorum type of hybrid. 'Tamberlane' is that type of cross and it has the unusual pink blossoms that indicates its hybridity.

'Greenwich Time' is from 'Cleveland Morgan' (tetraploid) X calcareum (diploid). It was the only seedling from the cross. If I can get some seedlings from it they should have better fertility. It would be nice to get some really large velvety purples. The genes are there!

Kevin