what's bloom the week of Aug 21st ... another Boopharyllis

Ken kjblack@pacbell.net
Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:56:14 PDT
Hi Steven,
 
Thank you and good luck with your attempted crosses!  There are several folks on this
list with considerably more knowlege and expertise in the area of intergeneric breeding 
than myself ... I think Jim Lykos has posted more scientific results from his own Amarygia crosses on the WIKI. 
 
As far as my own blooming X 'Boopharyllis' crosses, dumb luck was definitely on the side of this naive hobbiest when my own attempts successfully produced seed back in June, 2000 ... on a newly purchased winter-growing Boophone disticha bulb, using fresh pollen from an abnormally early-blooming 'ordinary' Amaryllis belladonna.    I think part of my luck is due to the fact that June is a cool month here in coastal San Diego ... with early morning temps in the upper 50s to low 60s F, rarely adding more than 10F degrees as the day progresses.  I also diligently made multiple attempts at pollination early in the morning over several days,  when temperatures were at their coolest and humidity highest (perhaps 60-70%.)  Richard Doubt in his book 'Cape Bulbs' (1994, Timber Press) indicated that cooler temps might aid in successful cross-fertilization of closely related genera. 
 
I have never been able to get seed to set on these X 'Boopharyllis' ... despite many attempts to self them, pollinate them with their sibling bulb's pollen, or that of fresh A.belladonna and Amarygia pollen or saved (frozen) Brunsvigia josephinae pollen ... though I will keep trying!  I suspect they are sterile. 
 
I have gotten seed on A.belladonna and X Amarygias using X 'Boopharyllis' pollen, but the resultant plants have yet to bloom and their foliage appears identical to that of their mothers.  I am hopeful for first flowering next year and that bloom morphology may indicate some success, but I suspect apomixis.
 
I've also gotten smaller, abnormal looking seed off Boophone disticha using Brunsvigia josephinae pollen.  A few of these germinated but did not grow well and quickly succumbed despite my best amature efforts to keep them going.
 
I've also had apparent success crossing X Amarygia with Crinum moorei pollen ... although these have yet to bloom for me.  Their foliage is evergreen (with water) and similar to that of 'Crinadonna'/'Amarcrinum' bulbs which I purchased at and which are generally available yearly, at my local commercial nursery.  My excitement over these is muted a bit since this is evidently a common cross ... but I do like their reblooming cycles from June through November.  Most years I have at least a few of these plants blooming at all times during that entire period.  
 
All of my X Amarygias seem to be quite fertile and produce seed.
 
Ken Blackford
San Diego 

From: steven hart hartsentwine.australia@gmail.com


I am very interested in belladonna boophone, crinum or brunsvegia crosses.
So thank u for sharing your photos......

This year i tried to cross a SE Queensland white crinum flaccidum x pale
belladonna & also flaccidum x crinum moreii, i hand pollinated daily but did
not get any seeds at all.
I will try again this summer......They would be pretty & unusual new crosses
if i succeed.


Do your crosses, grow & produce viable seed with similar traits to the
initial cross ?

Do u or perhaps someone else, have any tips as to why i might not have been
successful so far ?

Thank u Steven




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