Hi Andrew,
I have the same old problem of having my posts timed out, so here is the short version. No favorites just a lot to stay away from. Keith’s Delight was one of the best for seedlings this year with the first selections having red flowers or some red, they last longer.
Here is some of last years seedlings with glossy foliage, I’ll put better flowers on later.
These shallow trays are about the best to keep the pots and cups moist. It also saves a lot of time when fertilizing, just dump in the trays for bottom feeding.
As it turns out all of these are a test to see how cold hardy they are. My fountain froze with 4" of ice so the cups may have froze all the way thru, but looking today a lot are still growing or at least not dead.
Most what I do is open plant breeding.
Hi Neil!
What are your shallow trays made out of and where can a person get them? They look sturdy and a nice size to fill up with plants and be able to reach plants from either side.
That’s the problem David, I haven’t found a good source, so I use whatever. Some look like oil pans from auto stores, bird cage pans, furnace doors, 1/2" is ideal, and I use silicon or clay to plug the holes. The ridged steel ones in the first photo are from heating units that where scraped.
Oversized commercial aluminum baking sheets, available through Smart & Final and baking supply places, are what several of those sheets look like. Sometimes they are used as dropping collectors under small rodent/pet cages. I have one that does not fit in the oven and is 18" x 26(?)".
Hi Jackie,
I haven’t forgot you, some of the plants you sent have good traits to incorporate in the mix. It’s going take the coming year before I know.
The first tray photo front left plants are some of a population that is looking good for this time of year, something more than just twigs. Another year or two I should have some seeds you can try.
Neil
Neil, that’s amazing, I love your resourcefulness! Jackie, I’m sure you remember me right? The seedlings you sent me are doing wonderfully after repotting and I can’t wait to incorporate them into my breeding lines this spring! I thank you again; I’ll have to post pictures.
For 2014, I intend to stay on my object to create some prairie hardy yellow garden roses.
I purchased some yellow tender mostly Kordes roses.Crossing these with some of my own lines
and some of the Explorer roses to see what I get.
I also plan to use White Mountain in my programme.
It would be fun to experiment with some of the early Prairie bred roses too.
That R. davidii pollen is very good when used on moderns. It was used on various species hybrid crosses which I have developed. A cross of Carefree Beauty X R. davidii was done to strengthen the species representation for hardier roses, June 2014 will tell me .
I learned Art Nouveau creates very vigorous, healthy offspring with some beautiful foliage. The variegated petals can be transmitted fairly easily in selfs, but seem to be more easily lost in crosses, though the health, vigor and foliage beauty are pretty stable, as is the rather high level of armature.
April Mooncrest is also adept at providing very good foliage, often with strong autumn colors. This is April Mooncrest X Pookah today, New Years Day.
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That is nice foliage on the April Mooncrest seedlings. Fall foliage is a very over looked trait.
Thank you, Adam! It’s particularly overlooked here where fall foliage is often non existent, particularly in “garden plants”.
A big year for me as I learned that micro minis are easy to bred…
And that going back to species and population breeding one can easily find the (BS&others) desease resistance that minis I know all do miss so much here.
With above knowledge and implied genetical diversity I see many promises of achievements.
About desease resistance plant habit and decorative performance.
That’s what Ralph Moore advocated for many decades, Pierre. All modern striped roses very likely hearken back to his Stars’n’Stripes, a Little Darling, Ferdinand Pichard, poly and Wichurana combination. I’ve never found any record of anyone actually seeking any other striped sources.
I have made the odd discovery this warm, dry winter that Oak Root Fungus is exploding in the yard. Banksiae lutea is breaking into flower and I have collected pollen for use the earliest I have EVER experienced. Three flowers have opened on 1-72-1Hugonis, several full months early (though no buds are visible on the plant). It’s drying for use on Golden Horizon, which just happens to be in flower right now, too.