| Sam, "...would the offspring be considered f1, or better X1, simply because I had 'crossed' them?" Your dandelions have already been crossed extensively by bees, and as soon as your new ones bloom out, the bees will randomly cross many of them too, so it doesn't really matter what you call them. "The thing is, if I were to select two dandelions (that will soon be blooming in my gardens), that are 'wild' and look like all the other dandelions..." If you look closely, you might notice small differences between each of your dandelions. They are a little bit like snowflakes, in that no two of them are exactly alike. That may not be exactly true of dandelions or snowflakes, but it is approximately true, in that there is a wide variety of small differences, and some differences that are not so small. All dandelions, like all people, don't look alike. It's just a matter of close observation. "...perhaps someone could refer me to a good book..." There are several good books on hybridization and plant breeding available from or through Amazon. I have and enjoy Breeding New Plants and Flowers by Charles W. Welch. I have Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties by Carol Deppe. I also have Breeding Ornamental Plants by Dorothy Callaway. They all have some interesting material in them, but there many other books on hybridization and plant breeding as well. Since my specialty is zinnia breeding, I plan to purchase Flower Breeding and Genetics when my budget allows. It has a whole chapter on zinnia breeding, and of course, lots of other material as well. MM |
