Crinum breeding: which features ?
J.E. Shields (Thu, 26 Aug 2004 18:35:38 PDT)

Dear all,

I have to agree with Jim Waddick -- where he and I live (near the 40th
parallel) hardiness is the overriding concern in Crinum breeding. I have
'Emma Jones' in the ground in a very protected site; is she fertile with
anything else?

I found that the [bulbispermum 'Roseum' X lugardiae] hardy seedlings did
not have any of the roseum color, but the flowers stood up reasonably
well. Next I'll try a backcross with a better bulbispermum parent. Some
of the [bulbispermum 'Roseum' X lugardiae] seedlings, planted out in the
field, sent up three scapes in succession. Rain is a problem, but Japanese
beetles are a far worse problem where defacing otherwise pretty flowers is
concerned.

To get bloom all summer, I would have to have bulbispermum, macowanii
(might be hardy here?), then [bulbispermum 'Roseum' X lugardiae] and
finally variabile in my plantings.

And this is before we even think about flower form, color, etc.

Jim Shields
in central Indiana

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Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
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Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
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