How are your hybridizing projects going now that it's spring?

15 years ago

Hi. Although we have had a very cold, wet spring...colder than normal, I have several seedlings, from a Feb. sowing under lights and with bottom heat. Only two of the hostas from which I gathered seeds germinated. But, one of them seems to have taken a cross I made between what I believe is Big Daddy, and a third generation green hosta, grown from F1 mixed seed. This one is very interesting...only 3 seedlings, but they are much larger than any of the other seedlings. The third generation Heucheras (self-pollinated), are also very interesting. Most of babies are green like their parent, but some are showing tracings of red. The seed from a packet of Pacific Giants Delphinium babies, proved to be very fertile. I have close to 40 of them. My biggest problem at this time, is the cold night temps. in the 30's. All of my Feb. seedlings were transplanted into communal pots. Normally, by this time of year, I would be putting these into the garden, or into individual pots. With this really cold weather, I guess I just have to thin some of the plants out and put them in another communial pot, even though the really hardy plants have been hardened off for quite a long time, under the clear fiberglass roof of the porch. So, thats were I am. As this was my first deliberate attempt at collecting seed, and trying some crosses, I'm kind of excited. How about you! Sambal

Comments (3)

boizeau
15 years ago
I've done a lot of grape hybridizing over the years. My greatest project is a cross of Muscadine x True Vitis. I will start with hybrids and cross back to hybrids, since the jump between species is a long one. It can be done, but only a few are fruitfull and most are sterile mules.
The Muscadines have by far the strongest disease resistance of the Vitis grown in America. Am also growing some Pluots from Seed, which are hybrids of plum an apricot. One cross I'd love to try is Salmon Berry x Raspberry.
boizeau
15 years ago
I've done a lot of grape hybridizing over the years. My greatest project is a cross of Muscadine x True Vitis. I will start with hybrids and cross back to hybrids, since the jump between species is a long one. It can be done, but only a few are fruitfull and most are sterile mules.
The Muscadines have by far the strongest disease resistance of the Vitis grown in America. Am also growing some Pluots from Seed, which are hybrids of plum an apricot. One cross I'd love to try is Salmon Berry x Raspberry.
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sambal
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi B. You have definitely done alot of hybridizing work! I am truely a newbie at it. I have had little experience with grapes. We had a beautiful arbor here which was destroyed on the Inagural Day Storm..the year Mr. Clinton was sworn in. Probably the worst windstorm in modern history for our area. The arbor had table grapes..a red, a purple and a white. Of those, we have kept one, but use it more as an ornamental, keeping the vines quite short. However on the south side of the house, we have a Lemberger grape given to us by a commercial grower of wine grapes in Prosser, WA. The wines made from this grape are very good, but we just grow it as an ornament on a trellis. It actually yields quite well, but it has alot of seed so we don't eat or juice it. I don't know much about growing/propagating vitis, but if you would like some cuttings I'd be happy to send some. It does suffer from mildew as the weather gets hotter in August/Sept. We trim out leaves to give it more air, etc. It is a lovely leaf. Your work in attempting to breed a disease resistant vitis is very appealing! It would be a huge, and important advance for viticulture. I would love to work with columbines to try and develop a variety with some resistence to leaf miner. There is a species Columbine that has shown some resistence to the pest, but I have yet to fine a source of the seed. They don't hurt the plants, so they say, but they certainly do blemish the otherwise beautiful leaves. Do you have a system of record keeping for your hybridizing work? I assume you do. I'm wondering if you could post it? I have notes scattered all over the place, and really do need a system! Great to hear from you. Keep us posted. By the way...my husband would love the Salmon Berry Raspberry x should you succeed at that. I hadn't even heard of Pluots! Sounds delicious! SAM