Sunday, September 11, 2016

C.Conway genetics

My hybridizing years start with some influence from others. My first cross was made in my mentor's garden. Sown there and just next spring take to my garden. There I select my first good seedling from 4 and registered it. That give me push to communicate with others and found a piece of joy with everyone.
And one of the most influent lady mentor is Claudia Conway from Running Fox Farm. Long years of communication, lots of emails, letters and seeds received from her. And I had a luck to see her garden last summer. Oh, what a year. And just this year I start seeing some beauties from her works in my garden. I meant real beauties.
All the best I captured this season. All made by Claudia, or her donated seeds from Lily auction. However, I keep her name on tags, so that always remind her in my little piece of land.
(Sea of Center x unknown)
 (Linda Chaffee x God Save the Queen) 
Pretty strong and nice seedling. But sterile. I had no luck with it as pod parent. Used all blooms. And no pods at all. Tried few as pollen parents, also - nothing. Might give some time for next season. Too good to use only as garden plant. At least for GStQ genetics.
 [(Leslie Renee x Royal Rennaissance) x Larry's Obsession]
This seedling is outstanding. Used it as pod parent this season. And I can say only one word - FERTILE. All crosses resulted with pod. So happy. First ones already collected. As it start to bloom early and then set reblooming scape. This photo is in morning.
 [(Leslie Renee x Royal Rennaissance) x Larry's Obsession]
Same seedling, just captured other day and in evening.
 (Leslie Renee x Bass Gibson)
Leslie Renee is so obvious in this seedling. Might try to push up some Bass Gibson genetics in next generations.
 (Flying Trapeze x Flirting With Disaster)
SUPERB seedling. Love this intense color. And those spots is after rain. Usually it stay pretty nice.
 (Flying Trapeze x Flirting With Disaster)
Sibling. More full form, but color a little bleacher comparing to one before.
 {A Good Woman x[(Spice Hunter x Magic Amethyst) x Ariel's Magic]}
Extra early and reblooming. What else we need? I wish it stays this way for all time. As I had first blooms of it in June and now blooming second rebloom scape.
 (Nepture's Shield x Spacecoast Multi-level Deal)
Claudia mention, that this came from Lily auction. Still nice deal.
 (Triassic Teeth x Forestlake Point Lace)
 (Castle Rock x Wings of Smoke)
This one is superb. Not perfect in bloom size, but it is still young. And I love it. Always open well, intensive color and cute edge.
 ( Castle Rock x Wings of Smoke)
 [Trump Card x (Dan Mark Mitchell x Sister of Praise)]
First blooms has something like metalic eye. But that could be frost damages. As they didn't open well. Area where it grow get some serious damages of late frost (June 16th was the last frost here..)
 [(Country Trouble x Dan Mack Mitchell) x Moriah]
HUGE bloom. 8 inch for such form is something... It look interesting to get such a clear color form that cross. But no one stop me from using it for eyes.
 [(Country Trouble x Dan Mack Mitchell) x Moriah]
And this sibling look closer to parents. Just low in all meanings. Low scapes, low bud count (4).
 [(Santa-2=Santa's Little Helper x Miss Scarlet) x Davissimo]
I wanted to see some of Davissimo kids. Thought that I do not have them this year. But after do some search for parents, I found out that this seedling have it. Got before it get a name, so just now put it on my notes.
 [(Junzi x God Save the Queen) x unknown]
Taller, about 40 inches. Bloom like crazy.
 (Wild Irish x Big Red Wagon)
 (Wild Irish x Big Red Wagon)
This seedling is pure surprise. I waited for another clear color red or purple. And I get pattern. What? Maybe there is some other interruption in.. Really like this surprise. It happens for me.
 (Chaos Dragon 1 x Angry Carrot]
Another 8 inch bloom. Always perform well. Stand out from the beds.
 (Special Anomalies x Art in Motion)
 (Special Anomalies x Art in Motion)
Love the little teeth on it.
 [(Starb1=Love is Enough x Victorian Garden Star Bright) x Eight Miles High]
 [(Jump 2=Rock Solid x Ledgewood's Jump Start) x Fabulous Black Pearl]
It is applique!!! Love this one a lot. And those little teeth on lower petal is just a great bonus.
 [(Crazy Glory-3= Crazy Red One x Glory Days) x Bluegrass Music]
 (Big Red Wagon x Magnet for Love)
 (The Hunk x Violet Femme Sheila)
Superior seedling. Strong structure, hard to break (it set scape very close to narrow path, that I cross a lot when hybridize. And never break it's petals or other parts).
(Power of Love x Victorian Lace)

That is all from C.Conway program. That is great to get genetics in a way, others do not understand well. Even some of those look simple, each of them is great genetic source to my works. And after EU ban for daylilies and other plants from U.S. closed doors for a while. Need to say that this just keep me up to work. Only with that, what I have. Seed's power is amazing.
Recently Claudia started to work with several very nice programs. Northern hardy patterns, teeth, big edges and even diploids! color changers and patterns. So I recommend to look for this lady and see what new she will show to wide world of daylilies. (note - she is using Heavenly New Frontier, so different ploidies will be new black for coming years). If you also want to get some great seeds from here, look for lily auction (http://www.daylily.com/cgi-bin/auction.cgi), under seller name Runningfox. She sell hybridizing tags, markers, bags, etc. That help in works a lot. I personally have all set and that cut lots of time for me.
Simply proud to know this lady and work together with things we know best.

Edvinas

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Webster's Pink Wonder

My observation about this variety and few seedlings I have.
 Webster's Pink Wonder (Webster-Cobb, 2003) Semi-Evergreen, Tetraploid. Noted in database, that is has 5 buds with 3 branches. So maybe they thought 15 buds... On one I have 11 buds and on other 13. So not the worse.
Webster's Pink Wonder is amazing variety. In all meanings. But most important - size. 13 inches (33 cm). In my garden it usually reach at least 28 cm. Record was 36 cm. Imagine that... And my plant is just two years old from single fan that I get last spring. So still young.
Lots of discussion already done about this variety. From AHS jury it lead to Honorable Mention in 2009, Award of Merit in 2012 and most important, and very special: Stout Silver Medal in 2014. Lots of great things done with it. So it worth all of that, because of strong impact in daylily world. Personally I would call it necessary variety for each gardener who love daylilies. Size is mater, no mater what.

But what about hybridizers... It is worth try too. It hardly set pods, if people have some luck. It is not so easy as pollen parent either, but really worth a try. I got some seeds with Webster's Pink Wonder as pollen parent.

Seedlings:

Windham Aphrodite's Nighty x Webster's Pink Wonder (seeds from AHS International Seed Bank) [*all seedlings from same cross]
Pale color. Higher than all other seedlings.

*
Richer in color, with fine shape. Sadly it is not strong enough. Lots of blooms damaged by wind...

*
Eye catcher. All garden visitors start to form a line to get it. I could just agree, it is special. Such a nice color stand from others.

*
Well, this is my goal from cross. From first glace it look like usual seedling. But some blooms show up bigger bearding in eye zone. More or less, but each bloom have something. Note, that this is not like special dip's of B.Best, but for me this was surprise. Only give more mystery to this trait.

*
This is the same seedling with beard inside. More on this bloom.

They are all fertile. I got almost all crosses resulted with pod. And big pods with really nice size seeds. Main problem with those seedlings is - wind damage. A little stronger wind, than summer breeze break petals of them. Almost all. If stronger winds - then I found just few sepals, or just pistil with stamens. So they should be planted in more protected place. But I will not release any of them, because I try to fix this issue with some line breading. Webster's Pink Wonder didn't get damages after such wind. Just strong wind break few petals. But that is normal.
I wish to see other seedlings with Webster's Pink Wonder genetics that got from AHS International Bank. And my own crosses made in last year. Usually I wait for at least 3 years to see my own seedlings bloom. So not very fast. However, it is all worth those years.

Edvinas

Sunday, July 3, 2016

News from garden beds


2016 summer meet us with new challenges again. Last year we faced some kind of draught. But it was in summer, when all plants was at least half mature. This year draught started in spring, when most of plants need water the most. My peaty soil get dry really fast and some parts of garden is impossible to gardening at all. Main border look lush and green at the moment. Mostly of grasses started to grow pretty well. Miscanthus plants are not growing (main lost in my garden). So I have to look for something else. Molinia's look average, but Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' look really good. Lower grasses like Deschampsia cespitosa 'Schottand' love my conditions and grow. Sporobolus heterolepis grow slower. But I use them confidently. Because of dry and high temperatures I didn't plant annuals in right time. They were in trays for as long as they look good. So just few days ago I planted them. Too late, but I wish they at least fill some gaps.
In autumn all meadow border should look great.

CIRCLE PROJECT UPDATE

Plantings started with orders and some replanting ones. And after rain come, I start planting seedlings from last year crop. All daylilies and nothing else. Try to make separate beds for dips, tets and different hybridizers. Sadly most of them get blended with half to half bed. But it is still better than total madness in all.

Beds get filled quickly.

Later on, I found peddling mulch. All other in market has huge pieces of bark. Sadly, after huge storm, major part of it get blown away. So not the best so... However, it is stable now. Get wet and save moisture.

And final look. Already with weeds coming. But I am cleaning and planting center of circle project. I sown some sweet peas here, but because of heat and dry weather for that time, just two sprouted. So I decided to plant with some other perennials that could make nice feature in this project. And from now on I am looking fro two clematis 'Tie Dye' plants. So it will remind me of last year visit to States (Running Fox Farm).


Back to meadow border.

Papaver orientale in meadow border. Fancy in June.

Leonurus cardiaca - new plant for me. Last spring I got seeds from States. Sown in ground, and later planted in few parts of garden. Perfect background plant.


And start with DAYLILIES

This year daylily season will be filled with way more blooms than last year. I can see that more than half of all daylilies set at least a scape. So it will be glorious madness in mid-season.
And here are few early blooms.

Ruckus (Rice 2007)

Foar Bizar (Riggle 2001) 8:30 am

Foar Bizar (Riggle 2001) 10:30 am

Foar Bizar (Riggle 2001) 3:30 pm

Deep Impact (Peroni 2013)

1902-4 [Purple Pinwheel x (I Can Fly x Malachite Prism)] Gerald Hohls

Mitsu (Misiukevicius 2013)

3029-2 (Sunbear x Ruckus) Gerald Hohls