Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999 21:52:06 -0500 From: "Richard Brown" <esoft@ix.netcom.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg970$foo@default> Subject: Re: The weirdest Nepenthes Cross
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>The weirdest Nepenthes cross I'd like to see is:
>[(N.hamata X aristolochioides)X(N.bicalcarata X
>villosa)]X[(N.ampullaria X inermis)X villosa] X [(N.hamata X
>bicalcarata)X aristolochioides.]
Interesting conjecture..but..in reality, a different story. I have recently
(last several years) been involved in the creation of a number of new
Nepenthes hybrids, along with several other south Florida based Nep growers,
and it has been an educational experience. Guess what? Certain Nepenthes do
not like to be crossed with each other. It seems that once four different
species are intertwined in a cross, Nepenthes start to become difficult-
seedpods yield few, if any, seed, germination is nil to poor, and the
seedlings lack vigor.
Most Nepenthes hybrids are simple, and display wonderful vigor, but complex
hybrids are a different case. It seems crossing within a few select species
will carry further, but mixing widely varying species types seems to soon
lead to a near dead end. As an example: hybridizing with N. maxima, N.
veitchii and N. mixta (northiana x maxima) seems to readily work, but our
recent cross of (N. ventrata x Nagoya) x (N. mirabilis x N Mixta) resulted
in a few sterile seeds. There are other examples of this, but I am trying to
be brief here. I believe this is a whole new realm yet to be discovered;
Nepenthes genetics.
Until later,
Trent Meeks
Pompano Beach, Florida
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