On 12 Sep 2010, at 23:08, Michael Mace wrote: > I am not a professional plant breeder, but I wanted to see if I could make > some improved forms from the bulbs Mr. Hannibal gave me: match the superior size > of one plant with the color of another, stuff like that. So I started making > crosses. Now 10 years later, the first of those crosses are finally blooming. > > I am trying to figure out what controls flower color in these plants, based on > the limited knowledge of genetics I got from taking a couple of bio courses in > college. In other words, I am a rank amateur, and I'm getting really confused > because the flowers don't appear to be acting the way the textbooks say they > should. The genetic control of flower color is very complex, almost certainly varying from family to family, perhaps even from species to species. The key thing to understanding your own confusion is that this is not simple Mendelian genetics involving only one gene with multiple alleles. Beyond that, you will have to search the scientific literature for the gory details. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada