Date: Thu, 22 May 97 05:52:31 GMT From: saharris@iafrica.com (Eric Green) To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2023$foo@default> Subject: Hybrids and Heliamphora
Hi!,
> > I don't like hybridization.
Adrian Slack wrote regarding Pinguicula "There is much scope for the
judicious and selective hybridizing......my belief that these plants will
achieve a horticultural importance in time approaching or even equalling that
of the African Violet".
Not many (as yet) have seen the flowers of Pinguicula immaculata, butterfly
like, and pure white, small, but large for the minute adult plant, and then
there is P.zecheri with it's large wavy, bright blue-ish petals. NOW TRY to
visualize a combination of the two!!!. The easy to cultivate P.agnata crossed
with another easy one, P.hemiepiphytica produces amazing pinkish flowers, with
darker spots stategically placed on the petals, a beaut!!. I am hooked on
hybrids!!!!!. Take a look at Sarracenia x excellens (leucophylla x minor), not
one of the runts, but a good clone!!!, it surpasses either parent. What about
leuco x oreophila, now there is something to marvel at!!!!!, with its
leucophylla like pitchers, and it's incredibly large wavy, white, reddish,
green hood. Another!!!! S.x melanorhoda, now we are getting there!!!!!!!!!!!.
Heliamphora: The seeds are not easily produced in cultivation!!!!!!.
I received my first 3 species, heterodoxa, minor and nutans (THANKS Ron
Gagliardo) many years ago, and since then, with a lot of help from Friends,
have added an amazing array of hybrids and the other two species (tatei and
ionasi) to my collection. When any flower I self and cross pollinate, it
accounts for many of the ABCDEF crosses being distibuted in the past few years.
About 10 years ago I received two clones of H.heterodoxa x nutans, (tissue
cultured plants), within 2 years one of them had produced an adult pitcher, and
have since taken 20 to 30 adult flowering cuttings, the other has remained a
juvenile until this year, when it produced it's first small 7cm adult formed
pitcher. With experience!!! I now know, not to feed bugs to the first adult
pitcher, and to wait for the second to be produced, having supplied insects to
a first time adult producing nutans 3 years ago, it died back, and am still
waiting for it to try again.
ALL THE BEST Eric
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