GORGEOUS! Are you happy with the color on RIBBONS AND THINGS? I know you got it because I said it was the truest baby pink around here but have been afraid it would bloom a different color for you. Is this the new camera on auto?

I love the seedling, looks like it has lots of substance.

Brooke

GORGEOUS! Are you happy with the color on RIBBONS AND THINGS? color>

YES!!!!! Is this close to the color of yours?

It is the new camera and still on auto. The auto on newer cameras seem to be better. I don't think I ever took one single good pic on auto with the Olympus. Each camera seems to have its good and bad. So far, I cannot get a decent picture of LINDA DANIELS with any of the cameras. Couldn't be the operator could it? (lol)

Thanks for the seedling comments. I paid more for SS than any other daylily, but have gotten lots of things from it that I like.

To my eyes and on this monitor, yes. Here is a pic of RAT taken by hubby who does all those "things" to his settings on his camera instead of like me, point and shoot on A. {{gwi:630355}} Hopefully I can compare the color now that both blooms are on the same screen - or not.

I think SS will go down as one of THE best producers to ever come along. Basically, you just never get an ugly and the rebloom I get on the offspring, for this zone, is outstanding.

Have my tools, ready to hit the great outside since spring sprung here overnight.

Brooke

ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, GORGEOUS!
I dearly love looking at the seedling pics!
Nancy

I would love to have stuff like that blooming any day, let alone in March. I am very JEALOUS.

Edward

Ain't we all suffering from the same disease!

Brooke - hanging head in shame

Brooke, I think the colors are close on our RIBBONS AND THINGS, especially considering mine is in the gh and other different conditions that might apply.

Thanks for the comments. I too, enjoy looking at seedlings and seeing the difference in seedlings from the same parents and seeing what seedlings come from different crosses. For me, next year should be fun. I made longer crosses than usual last year and they should bloom next year. I think it will be very interesting to see 40 to 100+ seedlings from the same cross.

I prefer short crosses, particularly of really good crosses. I had, for me, some long crosses last year from some really good parents and darn it, I kept LOTS of them to continue life - lol! I actually prefer a couple good ones and a bunch of dogs - weird, huh?

The RAT picture was taken when he used the Nikon Coolpix and not the Nikon SLR camera we have now. I will have him take another pic this year to see if there is a color difference. My memory cell actually thinks your picture is closer to the true color than the one I posted. But again, sometimes my memory cell doesn't 'member very well.

Brooke

I have mixed feelings about short vs long crosses. Of course, it also depends upon how we define short and long. The largest number of seeds from any cross last year was 170. I wasn't trying for that many, but got 12 pods from 12 attempts. It also produced more seeds per pod than usual for a tet cross. Only one other cross produced more than 100 seeds. A couple of long crosses were SEMINOLE WIND X ED BROWN and SPLENDID TOUCH X ED BROWN. I think both have been worked thoroughly and doubt I will get anything much. A long cross increases the odds. I rarely get anything decent from AWESOME BLOSSOM, so I crossed it heavily with one seedling, hoping to get one keeper.

I tend to make longer crosses in the gh than outside. I am now trying to do all hybridizing in the gh. It is small and space is limited. So, I tend to use fewer parents with longer crosses.

If I had the energy, I would do long crosses. I have the time and the space, it is the E word that keeps me from doing them. I also like to try little used parents with some of the really good producers and those are the ones where I pitch lots of the seedlings but will end up with one good one.

One thing I will be doing this year is adding other colors to the plan. I decided last year the seedling field was pretty boring with all the soft pastel colors. The few dark ones were actually a relief to the eye. Or another way of looking at it, I can't concentrate on one goal.

Brooke

Pretty seedling. Can someone explain short cross/long cross? It sounds like something I'd like to know, if I ever do anything myself instead of letting the bees do all the work.
Thanks!
Marcia

Marcia, short cross/long cross refers to the number of seeds/seedlings from a cross (I think). I think each person defines long/short in their own mind. Obviously, one seed would be a short cross and I think everyone would agree that several thousand seeds of one cross would be a long cross. However, what is 50, 75, or even 100 - long or short? In my own hybridizing, I think of less than 25 as a short cross and more than 100 a long cross. However, that is just my thinking in my hybridizing and I'm sure many people think differently.

BTW, I think you know this, but by a cross, I mean the dabbing pollen from the same pollen parent on the same pod parent, such as SEMINOLE WIND X ED BROWN. SW = pod parent, EB = pollen parent.

Thought I might start another thread, but as Brooke says, I ran out of E, so will post here again.

Brooke, I am in somewhat the same situation as you, in that I have the time and space, but not the E. In earlier years, I was more ambitious. One year, I collected over 5,000 seeds. Despite the best of intentions, I never planted all of them and many of those that were planted were not cared for. Rust was the breaking point. I decided to try to stay within an amount I could/would care for. As I said earlier, I am trying to spray Roundup fairly regularly to an area at least one year and preferably two years before planting in it. Hopefully, this will help with weeds, especially nut grass. My goal is to plant 2,000 to 2,500 seeds each year.

Perhaps my greatest problem is that I don't know where I want to go in hybridizing. I like the large "donut" ruffled daylilies, but think some have gone too far and are actually garish. At this point, I don't see any place to go in that direction that the major hybridizers haven't covered. Since I am doing it for fun, I can enjoy something I hybridized that might be a lookalike for something still selling for $50. It was fun. I like it. It's free. Still, how much further can I go down that road, before hitting "garish".

Right now, I don't know what my goals will be in hybridizing next year. I will probably continue to pursue large ruffled daylilies. I also want to pursue eyes with double edges and whites. I suspect at the end of this season, I will keep a few of the most desirable daylilies that are now in the gh, for use next year, but plant most outside and not use. Hopefully, I will have some new seedlings bloom this year, that I want to use. Could buy something, but I don't know what I would like to buy.

One thought I have is that if I have room for several extra pots in the gh, I might make a few dip crosses. They would probably be like somewhat older daylilies and just be for simple beauty.

Just sorta thinking and rambling.

Thanks for the explanation, Royce. I was thinking a long cross might be something like a 'long shot'--where you cross two DLs that are very different, or one a new hybrid, one an older one. :-)

I don't have a clue what direction I would try to go if I started dabbing pollen. I have some beautiful (although not new) DLs coming--I'm wondering how I could possibly improve on them!
Marcia

Even though I do not hybridize...I think it would be fun one day....two kids still at home and a full-time job makes that E word very sparce around here!
I sure enjoy looking at your seedlings and posts on your hybridization efforts!
May ya'll pop up with lots of beauty this year!
Nancy

Lack of E seems to be wide spread - I thought it was something bizarre related to this section of KY. The husband has a shortage of E too. Do you think this lack of E is spreading like the flu?

Nancy and Marcia the hybridizing and seedlings blooming is a blast. I am always more excited to go to the seedling field to see what is going on than to stop and look at the new expensive plants blooming in the garden.

I have loose goals that I try to concentrate on. I agree with the overabundance of flashy edges - how much glittering gold can be added to the edge of a daylily. I like self colored ruffles, I like contrasting ruffles in a lighter or darker color, I like big blooms on tall scapes (so I don't have to stoop to dab) but I also like the minis where everything has been reduced in size - from small blooms sitting just above small foliage.

I also would like to see appliqued throats on dark blooms. Most appliqued throat daylilies have an eye and I want to see them on dark purples and red with no visible eye. I also like highly contrasting watermarks.

Then there are the spufs in tets. This is a direction where you can actually hope to create something unique because most spufs are dips. Fertility is an issue in these long pistiled plants, muddy colors abound. For some reason if you get a great bloom, it will sit on a 20" scape but the big, fertile mud puppies are tall and strong. Ruffles, edges, (contrasting, phatted up or with teeth to bite) haven't been added with any regularity.

You definitely have more E than is available up here Royce. Our first year we had between 3,000 and 4,000 seedlings bloom. I was overwhelmed and then actually decided I needed to set goals. All dip crosses were tossed. We now do between 1200 and 1500 seeds a year and intend to keep it that low. We keep the crosses short until they bloom and if outstanding, we can redo the cross or do a linebreeding on the cross. Our first linebreeding crosses should bloom this year - if you start listening in June, you might be able to hear the barking all over the country!

I've rambled enough too. Hubby is pushing me out the door to the grocery. He thinks after working in the garden, he needs to eat - go figure.

Brooke

At least you have goals, Brooke, and they sound like neat ones. Can you show an example of an appliqued throat?

I wish our spring would hurry and get here--I'm so itching to dig in the dirt again!
Marcia

Marcia and Nancy, if you think growing daylilies is super interesting, "you ain't seen nothing yet". Try hybridizing if you dare and only at the risk of big spending, at least early on. I grew daylilies several years and liked them, but they were just one of many things I liked. Would not spend over $10 for one and that was stretching it.

I am retired and one of the joys of retirement is being able to sleep as late as I like, usually until around 8:00. When seedlings are blooming, I get up at the crack of dawn to see what is blooming each day. It is a thrill to see something really nice from a seed personally hybridized and planted.

I agree with Brooke that it is much more exciting to see my own seedlings than expensive ones that were purchased.

Marcia here are some examples of the appliqued throat. When you touch the appliqued portion, it is actually raised above the normal tissue of the bloom. It feels like there is more tissue in that area. This is SPACECOAST CATCHER IN THE EYE {{gwi:630361}} This is LIGHTER THAN AIR {{gwi:630365}} This is STOLEN WISHES {{gwi:630368}} This is one of my seedlings that has it. {{gwi:630371}} And another seedling {{gwi:630374}} The pictures don't really illustrate the vibrancy of the throat but hope when I actually learn to use the camera properly, I can get the coloration better.

Now picture this vibrant throat on INVITATION TO IMMORTALITY {{gwi:630377}} or RAVEN'S RAGE {{gwi:630379}} Most of the appliqued throats are on eyed plants and I want the darker colors to exhibit no eye and go from a dark color into the applique.

On my trip to Mecca last year, Kinnebrew had dozens of seedlings with the appliqued throat. I had to use a drool bib but they were all still showing the eye. Last year I used the pollen from my two seedlings on this seedling {{gwi:630382}} If I dream it, can I create it?

Brooke

Salter's call this appplique throat the CHINESE TEMPLE FLOWER (Munson) throat. I guess they consider CTF as the beginning of this throat.

Thanks for the encouragement, Royce, I think :-)

Brooke, thanks for taking the time to explain appliqued throats. Makes sense. A very nice goal, even if it might be a challenge. I'll look for appliques now when I see DLs blooming.
Marcia

Brooke,
I really find your idea of the appliqued throat with no eye a very, very good idea! How unique would that be!? I know you've heard me mention my measly lil FOUR seedlings from a pod off Pearl Harbor....so yes I kinda understand your feeling of getting straight to the seedling beds! I only have these four, but I'm just dying to see what the blooms look like! You all just keep rambling on cuz I sure like reading it all! :)
Nancy

Nancy I doubt if my thought of a no eyed bloom with appliqued throat is unique - it is probably growing in FL right now and invented by one of the biggies. Unique is hard to find when it takes two years for bloom.

It appears you have all the room in the world for seedling beds - get busy girlfriend.

Brooke