Mike,
Very impressive work! It looks to me like your hybridizing approach is a case study in how to do it right: stake out an interesting alliance of plants to work in, make lots of crosses, grow lots of seedlings, and pick the winners. And you definitely have some winners.
Keep up the good work.
Bob
On Saturday, September 12, 2020, 02:21:28 AM EDT, Michael Mace via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:
Hi, gang.
If you're a species purist, cover your eyes and move on to the next message
fast, because I'm going to talk hybrids.
As you know if you've been on the list for a while, in addition to growing
species bulbs I also dabble in hybridization, mostly with Moraea, Gladiolus,
and Calochortus. I've had the most luck with Moraea, where I found that all
of the "Peacock" species I've tested, plus some relatives, are capable of
crossing. I've been playing with them off and on for about 20 years, and
every year I get some cool new flowers, lately many of them speckled and
striped. In the last few years I've also been getting some nice results with
the winter-blooming Glads, with some flowers that remind me a bit of
Alstroemerias or Azaleas.
I make several hundred crosses a year, and build a new raised bed every year
to hold them. Luckily I have a large backyard!
I've attached photos of two of my favorites from this year. MM 15-36b is one
of the Azalea-like Glads. Its lower tepals start out yellow, and age to a
beautiful burnt scarlet color. In the enclosed photo you can see both young
and old flowers.
MM 15-122e is one of the spotted Moraeas. It's a cross between M.
atropunctata and M. longiaristata, and doesn't look much like either
species. Instead it's covered with purple spots, and has a pale orange
center. If you like spotted flowers, this will make you happy.
There are a lot more new Moraea and Glad photos on my blog. You can see the
best of the new Moraeas at the address below. You'll see many other spotted
flowers, some with dagger-like streaks on them, strange smoky-looking
hybrids with Moraea lurida, and unusual color blends derived from M.
loubseri, villosa, and other species. Here's the post:
https://growingcoolplants.blogspot.com/2020/08/…
And the best of the new Glads are here:
https://growingcoolplants.blogspot.com/2020/08/…
ml
As usual, I welcome feedback and suggestions on things I should try,
especially from anyone who has some expertise in hybridization. I'm just an
untrained amateur, and appreciate all the help I can get.
I'm glad to share seeds of these plants, for free. Drop me a private email
at the address above if you're interested.
Thanks,
Mike
San Jose, CA
Zone 9. Min temp 20f (-6c)
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