Hi Gang, Marcelle Sheppard is willing to write up details about her various Crinum breeding successes (and failures). She's her work documented on 5x7 color photographs; she also has many wonderful photos of plants she's received from others over the years. She's been at her Crinum work since the 1950s and must have somewhere between 3,000 and 10,000 plants growing in her breeding gardens. She's a wonderful repository of knowledge; for instance, Marcelle knows how/where/when clone 'Shreck' was found and why it got that name, etc. I'm writing because I'm interested in her project and am helping her "get the information out," as she says. She's quite happy to tell about her experiences, and I return I'm learning a lot. Some of her plants are quite amazing; I was present one day when an amazingly large-flowered plant bloomed. As you might guess, when I took the photo I got the focus and light all wrong, but I've posted it so you can get some sense of her Crinum collection (see links below). Marcelle has decided to start with her "best picks," those plants that she's happiest with; the ones with best color and substance, as well as other measures like "garden worthiness," "repeat flowering ability," etc. Eventually, Marcelle plans to post many wonderful photographs, the kind that will make Crinum-addicts out of the most staid observer. She really does have over 50 years of photos and many hundreds of valuable photos to post (maybe thousands of photos). She's quite willing to share her knowledge and observations. Her philosophy is that she benefited by learning from others, as well as by sharing her knowledge with others, and she wishes to continue that tradition. For now, Marcelle has scanned some of her photos and sent them to me to begin the project. We'll be experimenting over time and finding the best ways to get the color photos up on the Web, along with descriptive text. Do you all (anyone) suppose the PBS might want to find some Web space just for this project? Conroe Joe (in hot and sticky Conroe, TX) ---------------------------------------------------------------- LINKS, Some example photos No. 1: Rose City School House Clones (scabrum-like) http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle1.jpg No. 2: Two of the Best Seedlings (out of hundreds) http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle2.jpg No. 3: C. macowanii x Rose City S.H., 2 unnamed seedlings http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle4.jpg No. 4: C. macowanii x Rose City S.H., 2 more unnamed seedlings http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle5.jpg No. 5: 'Burgundy' clone x C. macowanii, 2 unnamed seedlings (one pale, one dark) http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle7.jpg No. 6: Huge Crinum flower (not sure if this is Marcelle's hybrid or not) http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/…
