Springwood Gardens

The season begins:-)

2012-01-02T13:16:00.003-06:00

After giving the greenhouse a month of chill time in December (min temps at 35 and max at 50 - would love to take it 10 degrees colder, but below freezing temps inside impact the structural integrity of the greenhouse and freeze the pipes), it is now time to take up the temps and begin the new season:-) A couple of hours ago I increased the minimum temp to 50 degrees and will be setting it higher in coming weeks.

This year the greenhouse includes a little more than 5000 sdlgs (see earlier blog posts for what I planted), past intros plus those for 2012 and 2013 (including the gift plants for the 2013 national convention) and some for 2014. I brought in only a handful of other "mama" plants, as I wanted to leave all my sdlgs outside for testing and thought it would be a great test to use one of my proven intros in each cross to improve hardiness. But I did bring in a lot of pollen from special seedlings:-)

You will notice a lot of green flags - I use those to tell me where my white marker tags are, indicating each cross. There are lots of flags, as I like to do short crosses (usually 3-5 seeds of each). Many of the seedlings are already blooming size - it really helped to plant them June 1 - a couple of months earlier than usual. I'm hoping to see a much larger percentage of bloom.

The next picture shows the different types of foliage of my introductions. It is hard in Minnesota in the spring to figure that out sometimes since it is so cold and the snow leaves so late. And there are lots of sdlgs to keep track of. But the differences are obvious in the GH - the yellow in the foreground is a dormant, and the one next to it is an Ev or Sev - it is very hard to tell the difference.

The picture below shows sdlgs where there is a lot of dormancy - the pollen parent is the same in this whole bed (while I don't do long crosses, I do make big bets on pollen parents, using them on many pod parents)

Some genetics produce mostly Ev and Sev seedlings, as in the picture below. I have found many of them to be just as tough as the dormants.

2012 Introductions

2011-10-16T13:35:00.002-05:00

The new introductions for 2012 are now on-line at springwoodgardens.com/daylilies.html. There are multiple pictures of each one, plus pictures of their offspring.I'm really excited to be back in the swing of things and love this collection. Large, colorful flowers. Lots of teeth. Lots of great genetics for hybridizers. Everything is on-line, but feel free to e-mail me at springwoodgarden@aol.com if you'd like a pdf of the catalogue.

Back to normal:-)

2011-10-01T13:58:00.002-05:00

What a difference a year can make. I finally feel like I have my life back:-) Take a look at the September 14, 2010 post (just type in empty in the search box and it will come up) when the greenhouse was completely empty and the one from June 2011, after I had just finished planting my seeds. The greenhouse is now basically full again - I had vowed never to do that again, but just couldn't resist. After all, it costs the same to heat and fertilize no matter how many plants are in there. I'll probably regret it in the spring, when I pull out all of the seedlings for outside testing. Note the size of the seedlings! A number have already sent up baby scapes (in just 3-1/2 months), so hopefully I will get terrific bloom next spring. I normally plant the seeds in early August and am lucky if I see 35-50% bloom. The rest of the plants are the 2012 intros and most of the ones for 2013, including almost all of the gift plants for national. Will soon be posting pics of the new intros, and then over the winter, the best things I saw this past summer.

New seeds planted

2011-06-19T14:03:00.003-05:00

Finished planting 5100 seeds on June 13. Hoping by planting this early that I will see a bigger percentage of bloom next spring. But that will depend on sun, genetics, etc.

Christmas in April

2011-04-20T10:33:00.008-05:00

Woke up to find the ground covered with snow - again! Sure am glad I told everyone not to expect plants from me until the end of May - many are not even out of the ground yet - those are the smart ones:-)

Although this has been a long, cold, cloudy, snowy, dreary winter, dreaming about the crosses I made has made the winter go faster. 6410 was one of the very special ones I saw last year. It goes back to Desire of Nations, Kingdom Without End, Gnashing of Teeth, Entwined in the Vine, 40807 and 29504. These are all wonderful parents, so I'm hoping 6410 will be as well.

I'm planning to plant more than 100 seeds from it - and wishing I had made more. The longest crosses I'll be planting with are out of 22305, 13107, 47607, 12708, 6109, 9009, 15209, 17809, and 21709. I chose some of them because of their "echo" eyes and others because of related genetics.

Going for size

2011-04-19T12:51:00.016-05:00

I first saw this beauty (seedling #14210) exactly one year ago - see blog post of April 15, 2010 which describes it and its parents in more detail (out of 9608 x 47607). Very fancy, very tall and 8"! (keep scrolling below for rest of the post - big space that I can't figure out how to get rid of)

I'm planning to plant about 170 seeds from it, primarily with fancy parents with similar color and flowers in the 6-1/2 to 7" range - in the hopes that I can get more 8" flowers into my program. As usual, I'll be doing a lot of line-breeding. I'll be planting the most seeds from it with these pod parents: 22305, 16809##, 19309#, 34709##, 34909#, 38409#, 43509#, 11810* and 13310*###. Those with a * are out of 47607 and those with a # go back to A285 or 5006, which are the parents of 9608. 13310 goes back to both, and has several doses of those genetics as marked by multiple symbols.

Not sure I can wait a year to see the results

2011-04-03T12:03:00.005-05:00

Pictured above are two pics of 13810. It makes my heart race, with it's beautiful ruffles, echoing lavender eye and edge, green throat and a hint of twinkles. It will be my 4th most planted pollen parent, with 250 seeds. It's out of 28709 (below) and 47607.

The longer crosses I'll plant from it are with 1809, 9009, 17809, 21709, 2310, 3910, 10310, 14210, 14510 (14510 is the longest with 20 seeds) - all shown elsewhere on the blog, and mostly related genetics out of 47607. I will also plant a number with Reach for the Sky, as well as 28909 pictured below. I want to see if the white swords from 28709 will combine with the white swords on 28909.

All of this is way too much info for most folks reading this, but I'm hoping the blog will be a useful tool for me over the years as I make visual notes on what I'm thinking.

Second thoughts

2011-04-02T12:03:00.008-05:00

Until yesterday, 8110 was going to be my 3rd most planted pollen parent with 250 seeds. (I did an anatomy of 8110 on my blog on April 9, 2010 - it includes lots of parents, including Kingdom Without End, Gnashing of Teeth, Desire of Nations, Heartbeat of Heaven, and sharky 29504.) They were some of the first seeds I sorted - many days ago when I was still thinking about cutting back on the number of seeds I was going to plant this year. I chose only the best and most obvious crosses - the ones that are genetically related, those with twinkle midribs, feathery or echo eyes, and patterns - and all in the clearest colors. As I was thinking about what to write about 8110 and the seeds I had chosen, I thought again about the fact that I've never seen anything like this before. In addition, the color is good and the parents are hardy and making nice kids, so why not try to figure out as soon as I can if there is any chance of the pattern being passed on. So I increased the number of seeds by 50% to 375 - with 90 different pod parents. Will know in a year if swinging for the fences worked:-)

Most of the crosses I wish I had made with 8110 bloomed late in the season after I had stopped hybridizing. But hopefully the 90 different parents will give me an idea of how recessive the pattern is and if 8110 has any juice as a parent. I used it a lot with related genetics - anything with Gnashing of Teeth (like 11808, 22305, 13207) or Desire of Nations (like 6410, 34209) or Kingdom Without End (like 43509) or 29504 (like 1208, 34507). Plus 47607 and lots of its kids (17809, 27609, 11810). And some of the neon lavender eyes out of 17305 breeding (like 13109, 3910, 21610). Most of these seedlings have more than one of the above parents in their background. (The seedling mentioned can be seen elsewhere on the blog or on my website)

Safer cross - part 3

2011-03-30T15:47:00.003-05:00

The rest of the longer crosses I made with 33109 involved Desire of Nations offspring (26809, 27809, 15209, 17309) - because of their color, form, scapes, hardy genetics.

I also used it with 9009 (out of 13107) because I love the huge lavender eye. And with 11808 and 22305 (both out of Gnashing of Teeth) - in order to start introducing the possibility of teeth into this line.

Safer bet - part 2

2011-03-29T13:45:00.004-05:00

33109 = 36207 x 47607. Although I didn't set out to do it intentionally - I just let the flowers "talk" to me when I hybridize - many of the crosses I chose to make in 2010 with 33109 turned out to be close line breeding. For example, the first 3 pictured below - 38409, 34909, 43509 - are all out of 36207, and the last 3 - 14210, 14510, 17809 - are out of 47607. Before I decide which seeds to plant, I careful review the genetics, and deliberately plant more seeds where there is line breeding. I find that this almost always improves the odds of coming up with the traits I'm looking for.

Safer bet - using a proven seedling

2011-03-29T12:33:00.004-05:00

My second most used pollen parent in 2010 was 33109 - pictured below on its fanciest day and a less fancy day. It's out of 47607 and hot pink 36207. A relatively strange result given the cross, but I was pleased to see 47607 giving me strong solid colors in addition to the more typical seedlings with echo eyes.

When I first saw it in 2009, I got really excited and used it on 20 pod parents. Some of the seedlings I got from it are shown below - 13310, 1610, 25510, 11710, 12410, 33610, and 20610.

Because it proved to be such a good performer, I dramatically increased the number of crosses from it, using it on 75 pod parents - this spring I'll be planting over 300 seeds with 33109 as a pollen parent and a bunch with it as a pod parent. This is more typical of the way I hybridize - I'll make enough the first year to get a sampling of a seedling's genetic power, and if it proves itself, really ramp things up the next year. In addition, because I have such faith in 33109's genetics, I will plant almost 100 seeds from one of its offspring - 25510 (the third seedling above).

Rolling the dice - part 2

2011-03-28T14:37:00.005-05:00

I'll be planting seeds from 52708 crossed with 100 other seedlings - about 30 of them will be 5 or more seeds, which is a "long" cross for me:-) Most of these 30 are either closely related to 52708 (they also have 40807 in their genetics), or are out of miracle-worker 47607 and its kids, or 13107 and kids (making neon lav eyes) or are out of Desire of Nations breeding (making neon lavender eyes on hardy kids), or Gnashing of Teeth breeding (might as well see if I can get some sharks on this). Ones with related genetics include 34609, 28909, and 23010 (8",tall) below.

47607 is pictured below (pic from Dan Robarts).

14510 is a 7" beauty out of 47607 and a 13107 seedling, 13710 is also 7" out of 47607 and 40807, and 2210 is out of 47607. There are lots of others pictured elsewhere on the blog (1809, 17809, 21709, 35309, 39409, 12510, 18010, 27410), but these will give you an idea of what I'm looking for. Big, fancy, nice eyes - and hopefully not too much tangling.

Rolling the dice

2011-03-27T14:04:00.007-05:00

I am a cautious hybridizer by nature. I cross similar colors with each other, related genetics with each other, only plant an average of 3-5 seeds of a given cross on new genetics, etc. Every once in a while I will fall in love with a new, unproven seedling and use it heavily on many of my mamas - but still just 3-5 seeds a cross, and usually only up to 100-150 seeds in total with the new genetics. If the seedling proves itself - like 47607 has - I might increase that to 600 or more the following year (with it and its kids).

This year, for the first time since I began hybridizing in the mid-90's, I am making a huge bet on a new seedling (52708 pictured below). 10% of the seeds I will plant in May will have it as the pollen parent.

So what's so special about this seedling that I would take such a big risk? I saw it bloom outside for the first time in the summer of 2009. It's size and plant habit and fancy bloom took my breath away, and I realized it could be an important parent for hardiness, height and bloom size. This hardy, dormant, first year plant had a consistent 8" bloom, was 30" tall, 2 laterals plus a V with 20 buds, instant rebloom with 3-way branching, still stunning in late August, and killer genetics: 10907 x 40807. 40807 is out of seedlings 4106 x 8305, and has been giving me beautiful, large, hardy kids. See my comment about 40807 on the blog on November 29, 2010. 10907 is out of 4106 x Secret of Contentment. So 4106 has been used twice.

Unfortunately, 52708 may have a big flaw - in its first year its ruffles got tangled up 50% of the time (plus some of the blooms had spotty days - probably from dew). I collected pollen like crazy and later decided to bring it into the greenhouse to use as a pod parent as well - something I have never done before - once a plant is outside, it stays outside until its evaluation is done. It turned out to be so dormant that it lost it's wonderful scape in the greenhouse - but the ruffles settled down. It's back outside now to start the testing process all over again, but I have what I want from it - the seeds:-) In my next post I'll show pictures of what I crossed it with the most. And this year, I'm not limiting myself to planting just 3-5 seeds of a given cross.

My goal? Lots of new hardy seedlings with fancy flowers in the 8" range (other than Entwined in the Vine, most of my seedlings seem to max out at 7") with good height and great plant habit.

Seed sorting finished:-)

2011-03-26T12:52:00.007-05:00

During the hybridizing season, I make crosses primarily with my heart (although my head also figures into it, since I instinctively know the genetics of most of the mama plants). I pick a flower that makes my heart sing and then walk the rows with it and wait for each potential recipient of its pollen to cry out "choose me". I know that once the seeds are harvested, I'll be able to use my brain to decide which of them to plant. That's when I pull out all of my books and pictures on the computer and see how the genetics and outdoor performance line up.

I usually sort my seeds in early August, just as soon as I've harvested the last pod. August is not the best time to do it, since that's in the middle of the outdoor seedling evaluation season, so I need to get the sorting done in just 3-4 days and then get them in the ground if they're going to have a chance to bloom in 7 months. I usually make about 2000 pods with about 20,000 seeds and plant about 5,000.

Because I closed the greenhouse this year, I've delayed planting until this May. That's meant I've had the luxury of really thinking through which of the seeds to plant. I did it on and off over about 3 weeks and just finished late yesterday. When making crosses last spring, I made some really big bets with pollen parents, and have chosen to plant seeds from all 105 of them. This is down from nearly 200 in a typical year, but in those years I have also abandoned whole crosses, not satisfied with the performance of their genetics over the summer.

This year I will be planting about 5200 seeds. The vast majority will be from my own seedlings and introductions. 40% of the seeds will come from just 12 pollen parents, including 500 from 52708, 300 from 33109, 250 from 8110, 200 from 13810, 150 from 23010 and 14210, 125 from 28709, and about 100 from 22305, 4110, 39409, 25510, and Desire of Nations. In subsequent posts, I'll discuss why I used each of these so heavily, what I crossed them with, and what I'm hoping to get.

Sorting seeds

2011-02-11T13:51:00.003-06:00

Each year I collect about 2000-2500 pods - for a total of about 15,000 to 20,000 seeds. I sort them first by pollen parent. It's easy to do (although it takes a number of hours) because I give each pollen parent a unique color combination of paper clips that I hang from the base of the flower when I make my crosses (and then pop into clear ziplog bags). I then sort the pollen parents by type. This year it was: sharks, neon lavenders, 47607 genetics and other echo eyes, patterns on dark backgrounds, patterns on light backgrounds, Desire of Nations genetics, purples, roses, pinks, eyes, yellows, and reds. The first picture is what they look like sorted by category. You can see that some categories have a lot more seeds than others (the longest one is 47607 genetics and other echo eyes). Over the next couple of months, I will sort the seeds from each pollen parent by pod parent, and decide which I want to plant based on what I've learned over the summer. That will take many, many days. Since I will only plant 4000-5000 of them, tough choices have to be made! As I'm making decisions about what to plant, I pull up pictures on my computer of both the pollen and pod parent, and then consult my notes on how their related genetics performed outside over the summer.

Right now all the seeds are in the refrigerator in the bags below. What's fascinating to think about is that if all of these seeds were planted (which I can't do because of time and space and cost), the gross sales value of the introductions from them could be well into six figures. The only problem is that the cost of getting from here to there (depreciation, property taxes, labor, fertilizer and chemicals, machinery, repairs, rent, soil, soilless mix, mulch, natural gas, electricity, water, catalogues, etc.) - especially if you're operating a greenhouse - can easily exceed revenue. For most of us, we're lucky to break even or make a few dollars an hour. It's a good thing it's a labor of love:-)

New powerpoint of 2010 results

2011-01-24T16:08:00.001-06:00

For anyone interested in getting into the mind of a hybridizer and seeing lots of color this dreary time of year, I added a brand new powerpoint to my website which includes the most interesting flowers I saw in 2010 and how I got them (many of which are in this blog - but now they're all together in one place). Each slide shows both parents of the intro or seedling, and I've also included a list of all the crosses written out so you can follow along. FYI, it's the same presentation that I showed at the Shirley Farmer and Chattanooga meetings in case you weren't able to attend or you want to see it again.

You can find it at http://springwoodgardens.com/daylilies.html Go to the middle of the page where you will find the following paragraph:

CLICK HERE TO SEE A POWERPOINT OF THE SEEDLINGS (AND THEIR PARENTS) SEEN AT SPRINGWOOD GARDENS IN 2010 and CLICK HERE TO SEE A LIST OF ALL THE CROSSES WRITTEN OUT. Please note that this is a large file (88 slides and 93MB) and is not recommended for dial-up. Because of the file size, for some internet services it may take 3-5 minutes or longer before you see anything happening on your computer screen - but it is worth the wait if you have the time:-) Your screen will eventually ask if you want to open or save the file - if you want to see it more than once, you'll probably want to save it. It is also probable that you will need powerpoint software on your computer to open the file.

Hope you enjoy it:-) Karol

Gnashing of Teeth - the gift that keeps on giving

2010-12-31T14:48:00.005-06:00

In several previous posts, I've included pictures of Gnashing of Teeth offspring. Last night I finally got around to updating my master file for seedlings I numbered last summer and found even more - it's the gift that just keeps on giving:-) See below - 63808, 63208, 47209, 62309, 61109, 55009, 51209.

Gnashing of Teeth/Heartbeat of Heaven great grandkids

2010-11-29T12:12:00.012-06:00

40807 (above) is a 7" beauty that is breeding large lavender-eyed kids with triangular form. It's still in the testing process. (The verdict so far: super parent for hardy kids; hardy itself and gorgeous, but still watching whether height and budcount will make it a good garden plant).

It's a great grandkid out of Gnashing of Teeth and Heartbeat of Heaven.

Its pod parent is 4106 (below), which has just about everything in it: Light of the World, Way of Life, parent of Eyes on the Prize (twice), Fortune's Dearest, Tet LBB (twice), Lake Effect, Pirate Lady, Uppermost Edge, Wolf Eyes, Regal Majesty, Clothed in Glory, Heartbeat of Heaven, Storm Shelter and Jane Trimmer.

The pollen parent of 40807 is 8305 (below), which is out of Gnashing of Teeth and 21303 (the 2 smaller pictures below 8305). 21303 includes Regal

Majesty, Clothed in Glory, Heartbeat of Heaven, parent of Eyes on the Prize, Fortune's Dearest, tet LBB and Lake Effect.

The following five pictures are offspring of 40807. In order: 33909 (out of 13107 x 40807), 59109 (out of 13107 x 40807), 40909 (out of 47607 x 40807), 57609 (out of 13207 x 40807), and 22908 (out of Creation Rejoices x 40807). Information on and pictures of 13107, 13207 and 47607 can be found elsewhere on the blog by using the search function.

GNASHING OF TEETH offspring

2010-10-24T14:14:00.004-05:00

I've previously posted on the blog a number of pictures of offspring from GNASHING OF TEETH - 12510, 6410, 31810, 33910, 42110. (You can find them by going to the search box on the upper right of the page). It is also the parent of MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST, which was introduced in 2010. Several others are posted below and are proving to be very hardy: 11808, 22305 (will be a 2012 intro), 13207 (includes ENTWINED IN THE VINE), 38310 (out of 13207), 40807, 44108 (out of 13207), 42608 (out of 13207), 57109, 61809.

GNASHING OF TEETH

2010-10-24T13:31:00.002-05:00

GNASHING OF TEETH (see the 5 pictures below) will likely be my only 2011 intro for the reasons stated in an earlier post. It is an outstanding hybridizing plant if you're looking to add teeth to almost any color (most will be white to ivory). The first picture is a typical good day outside and is an accurate color. The second picture is also accurate, although it is usually not that dark or that purple. The third picture is its maiden bloom in the greenhouse. The fourth is the reason it is being recommended only to hybridizers - it spots way too much to meet my standards of an outstanding garden flower. The last picture is of its outdoor scapes this year. See the bottom for a complete description. There will be more pictures of it on the website when I get that updated. See coming posts for pictures of its offsppring.

GNASHING OF TEETH TET 35502 {[(Lifting Me Higher x Fortune's Dearest) x (Forbidden Desires x Tet LBB)] x [(Fortune's Dearest x Lifting Me Higher) x Doyle Pierce]}, 29" (24" in rough winters or until established in zone 4, and on rebloom), M (to late-mid), Ev, fr, reliable MN instant rebloom, 6-1/2" (up to 7"), 3-way branching with 18 buds (2-way with 12 buds at Springwood in years 1 and 2 after planting, higher thereafter and with more snow cover), good opener. Grape cranberry with pale lavender eye and edge plus pale ivory to white teeth; yellow to green throat. Amazing parent for large, very sharky, introduction quality kids in all color ranges and forms (see MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST and future intro 22305, and there will be many more once testing periods are completed). Slower increaser (one fan will only go to two the next year). Sharky even when temps are in the high 60's to mid 70's, but will lose them all in the 50's. Not the best garden plant at Springwood due to frequent spotting from heavy dew, but it doesn't pass that on to most of its kids. Tested at Linda Agin's in Alabama and evaluated by her as outstanding as both a garden and hybridizing plant. Flawless in greenhouse settings. Super rust resistance. I won't be able to ship this year until late May/early June, since it emerges very, very late in the spring - it seems to know not to come out of the ground until all danger of frost is past - please don't worry and go digging around looking for it. Also, the fans may look small and somewhat tentative as they emerge for you in 2012, but they will be large once the season gets going. Fertile both ways - easy pollen and average to above average pod fertility (hits in GH 50-70% of the time)............$250SF

Why the name? Obviously because of its huge teeth, but also because of the mis-steps on its way to introduction - from my putting it in a dumb location for its first northern test, to all of the southern test plants inadvertently being thrown away, to the spotting.

Desire of Nations kids (continued)

2010-09-25T14:16:00.003-05:00

These are Desire of Nations kids that were planted outside in June for testing. The first three are from 2010 (11410, 23110, and 38110) and the last two were ones I held over from 2009 for hybridizing (21709, 29609). 38110 also includes 35502, Kingdom Without End, 29504, and Entwined in the Vine.

More Desire of Nations kids

2010-09-25T13:49:00.003-05:00

DESIRE OF NATIONS has turned out to be one of my very best breeders of hardy, well-branched and budded seedlings in the looks that I like. These five are a few that I saw for the first time this summer: 48010, 56509, 56409, 59409, 41509.

End of the season/empty greenhouse

2010-09-14T13:44:00.004-05:00

Hard to believe it's been 2 months since I last posted. Bloom came so fast during the summer that it was hard to organize my thoughts and pictures. I like the posts on the blog to be helpful, and there was just no time to make sense of it all. Have just updated my powerpoint for club visits this fall, and have everything organized by theme and parent, so will have lots to share during coming months:-) When I pull the powerpoint together, I always learn all sorts of helpful things about which parents are the most powerful and how they breed, and this year was no exception. It's tempting to show everything on the blog all at once, but winter is long and it will be fun to re-live the season.

Have moved back to the city and won't be returning to Springwood until May, when I'll plant seeds from crosses made in April and May 2010 and ship spring orders. The seeds are always planted by now, but when I got rust (for the first time) this year, I decided to let the winter kill it off rather than fight what is clearly a losing battle with sprays, since all they do is mask what's going on inside the plant and never kill it off. The thought of spraying 26 times a year for the rest of my life (plus almost as frequent spraying for insects) made it an easy choice. (My apologies to those of you who got rust from plants I sent - I will do my very best to see that it doesn't happen again!) So the greenhouse is now completely empty - the first time since it was built.

I will really miss hybridizing in the spring, but after going flat out with the daylilies for 15 years, a short break will be good for me. It's a blessing in many ways: in addition to the rest, I'll have all winter to select just the right seeds to plant (rather than doing it all in one frantic week in late July), to figure out the best plants to bring back into the greenhouse for breeding, and to spend time working out all the details of a remodel and addition to the house at Springwood (where we hope to be able to live year-round some time in the future). I'll also have almost a year's break from worrying about the greenhouse heaters working properly in sub-zero temps, and what poison I have to use next on whatever insect is then chewing on the plants. It will also be a good opportunity to learn about shipping from the outside. I've been really spoiled by being able to ship from the greenhouse in any kind of weather, but have also learned that many of the dormants do much better outside, so in the future will have plants to ship from both inside and out.

Will have very few intros for 2011 - maybe only one - but will have lots of beauties in 2012 (including many very strong parents) when I have the number of fans I'd like to have.

Flower pictures coming soon:-)

Pod city

2010-07-15T07:21:00.002-05:00

Stripping the greenhouse and sending the plants outside for testing means I have to cut a lot of scapes before the pods mature. This is what I had about 3 weeks ago. I just put them in about 2 inches of water and let them mature. It gets kind of stinky but I dare not touch the pods for fear of losing the tags, so I just keep adding water as it evaporates. No germination problem at all doing it this way. This season have collected about 2000-2200 pods for me and will plant in the spring. It's nice to be able to make them in a controlled environment in the greenhouse in the spring - I can adjust the temps and keep the rain off and they're all close together - this summer has been so hot and the plants spread out all over the place outside, that it would have been difficult to make and collect seeds.

Something completely different

2010-07-15T07:12:00.002-05:00

Busy collecting seeds, lining out and making seedling evaluations. Imagine my astonishment when I saw this yesterday among the seedlings. Petaloid tissue growing out of the top of the anthers - oh, my. Happened on 2 different anthers on two different flowers of the same plant. Out of Light of the World breeding, which itself often has extra tissue or doubling as do many of its kids.

Running a marathon

2010-06-23T17:29:00.004-05:00

Breeding daylilies is very satisfying, but also exhausting work. We started transplanting 4500 seedlings from the greenhouse on June 8. Lots of rainy days and torrid temps since then to slow us down plus spending time lining out plants for next year's regional and the upcoming national but about 3900 are now outside. In the middle of the process there are days when it feels like there is no end in sight, but I can see it now:-) Have also collected nearly 2000 seed pods and anticipate 3000 in total.

Greenhouse seedlings continue to bloom while we're emptying it out. These are 42710, 44310, 45010, 45410, 45810, 46410, and 46610.

Some of today's new seedlings

2010-06-13T15:42:00.002-05:00

This is #43210 - out of Desire of Nations, 13107, Storm Shelter, bluish 17305, etc.

#43310 - 7".

Seedling #43410

Seedling #42810

Seedling #42410 out of Keep the Faith and 37106.

Rain, rain go away

2010-06-12T14:28:00.004-05:00

Rain is the lifeblood of daylilies, and we've had just the right amount of it this year. The fans are huge and the plants look great. (Most years we get very little rain from May through the end of August - thank goodness for the sprinkler system - about 40 zones that takes 40 hours to complete). The constant drizzle makes working outside pretty uncomfortable, so we had to call it quits this morning after a couple of hours. But the greenhouse was warm and cozy with lots of new seedling bloom. This is seedling 42110 - out of 47607 x 34609 (which is the second picture - it's out of 40807). Tall and 7", and I didn't even mind that I had to untangle it a bit. Too late to use in breeding this year (I have to quit by the end of May in order to plant seeds by early Aug, which is what's needed to get bloom by next spring), so will hold it over in the GH to use next spring.

Seedling 40110 = 5409 x 28809 (which is out of 47607).

Seedling 42210 = 15303 x 35309 (which is out of 13107).

The really hard work of the season begins

2010-06-09T20:41:00.003-05:00

Today we started moving out of the greenhouse the approximately 4500 seedlings from seeds planted last August. It takes 3 of us about 3 weeks to do it since they're so large. Have made more new beds to put them in across the street in the gravel pit - there are now 7 beds that hold about 2000 seedlings each. The achingly beautiful faces with great branching inside have to show their stuff outside. In Minnesota that's a harsh test and few pass. The goal is to obviously increase the passing rate each year. I try to include one hardy parent in each cross, or use a seedlings where all or most of its parents are hardy, but it is so easy to forget.

New seedlings the past few days include 39410, out of Fear Not x It is Finished.

This is 39110 - out of 15303 x sharky 11808.

Seedling 38910 is out of Mount Ararat. I was delighted to get a beautiful edge in one generation. Have seen a couple of others out of Mount Ararat and am very pleased with the color and form. Mount A was always an "outside" plant (meaning I first saw it and numbered it outside rather than in the greenhouse, and left it there for several years of evaluation), so it didn't get used in breeding until 2009. Wish I'd known a few years ago how good it would be as a parent. Just like 15303 - serendiptity that it ended up in the greenhouse.

Seedling 38710.

Seedling 37210 - tall and 7" and thick substance with great opening - just what I'm looking for.

All the bells and whistles

2010-06-04T20:21:00.002-05:00

Saw this for the first time yesterday - seedling 38310. Out of 47607 (of course) x 13207 (which is a sharky lavender out of Entwined in the Vine, 35502, and a few other things). The flower has everything (at least in the GH)- good branching, multiple eye and edge, sharks, green throat. Love it:-)

This is seedling 35310 - out of (Intelligent Design x 40807) x (13107 x 47607). Fascinating echo eye.

The next two seedlings - 37410 and 37110 come out of Entwined in the Vine breeding.

Magical cross

2010-06-03T04:34:00.005-05:00

This is seedling 15303 - out of Heartbeat of Heaven x [(Chance Encounter x Shaka Zulu) x sib of Heartbeat]. Gorgeous color, 6+", hardy, sharky, good budcount and one of the favorites of spring fling visitors - but outside it's only 18-20" tall. So the challenge was to recreate this look on a taller flower.

This is seedling 12708 - out of 25107 x 34507, where 34507 is out of hardy 38104 (ruffly) and 29504 (sharky). Will see 12708 bloom outside this summer for the first time, but it is large and very tall in the greenhouse.

I planted about 15 seeds using 12708 as the pod parent - a really long cross for me as I usually just do 3-5 - but I really believed this could be a winner and and am grateful for the results. So far, 5 of the 15 have bloomed and all are large and well-branched and tall and have great color. In order, they are 10710, 33910, 35410, 5510, 37310. I also made the reverse cross, with 15303 as the pod parent, but haven't seen any of them bloom yet. It will be interesting to see if the height comes from 12708 either way, or if the pod parent is dominant (lots of folks say that, but I've never seen it in my short crosses).

2010 seedlings

2010-05-28T16:25:00.005-05:00

Seedling numbers 26310, 26010, 25110, 33110, 31810, 31310, 29810, 29710.

New seedlings

2010-05-25T20:33:00.006-05:00

One of my friends was concerned that I hadn't posted in a while. All is well, but it's been peak shipping and hybridizing season and am pretty wiped out at the end of the day. Plus running a greenhouse that you always have to stay on top of. Right now I'm fighting spider mites and they're winning. Have used 4 different insecticides plus soap and ammonia and the bugs are laughing at me. There are MILLIONS, maybe even BILLIONS of them - confined right now to the first 20 feet of the greenhouse but moving a couple feet a day. Need to wait a week between each application in order not to create a phytotoxic reaction. The water boom motor stopped working yesterday, and there were many anxious moments until we figured out the motor hadn't busted - just blown a fuse. Water is the lifeblood of daylilies, and I'm always antsy about the water system.

And now it's hot! We haven't had a frost at Springwood since March and it's been warmer this year than all of last year. So that wears on the body too:-) My same friend suggested his goal was to keep hybridizing until age 88 - oh, my, I can't even imagine running a greenhouse that long with so many things to stay on top of.

Anyway, since I started the blog I've tried to come up with themes for each post and have been drawing a blank these past 2 weeks, so am just going to show pictures of some new 2010 seedlings. No cross info as most of them have a dozen parents. I know that's not very helpful, but it's what happens when you use your own seedlings for many, many years. The following are
15610, 14710, 20810 (2 pictures), 21010, 21610, 24410, 25510, 25710, 27410, 27610, 27810, 29210.

2010 Spring Fling - May 2

2010-05-08T15:22:00.004-05:00

On Sunday afternoon, May 2, we held our annual hybridizers Spring Fling at Springwood - sponsored by the Daylily Society of Minnesota and Region 1. 25 attendees came from Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. We had a great time getting to know each other, sharing ideas and exploring the greenhouse. As science chair, I put together a number of exercises designed to teach the basics, as well as to stretch the thinking of even the most experienced hybridizers. A great day:-)

Pictures by Kyle Billadeau.

Visitors to Springwood

2010-05-08T15:08:00.004-05:00

Although off the beaten path, a number of folks find a way to get to the greenhouse for spring blooms. On April 21, Phil and Luel Korth (from Wisconsin) were in the area to visit their family. Their pick of the day was huge 7 inch, thick, puffy 33109 - a kid out of hot pink 36207 and 47607.

Can't say they liked my 7-8" brownish "root beer" ones: 26509 - out of 47607 and 39809 - out of ID, EITV, HOH, etc, but I like them because they're so odd.

Oddity at Springwood

2010-05-08T14:50:00.004-05:00

On April 24th I saw 3 very large gray spots (about a foot in diameter each) on the concrete driveway outside the greenhouse. It was a gray day, and I thought at first it must be a mold growing on some daylily bloom juice that had acidentally spilled onto the driveway. On closer inspection, the spots were "throbbing" - hmmm, I thought maybe I was watching mold grow before my eyes - like the white and yellow foamy mold that grows on bark. About that time, friend Kyle Billadeau drove up to see the new greenhouse blooms and her sharp eye noticed that they were insects. Out came the bug spray, as they were too near to the greenhouse for comfort. Kyle sent a quick e-mail with the photos to Sue Bergeron - who is an expert on almost everything plant and insect related - and Sue indicated that it was a springtail swarm - insects that feed on decaying plant material. Perhaps they were attracted to the decaying daylily blooms sitting in buckets outside the greenhouse waiting to be taken to the compost pile. I understand a springtail sighting like this is a rare occurrence - and the first time I've ever seen anything like it - and hope not to again:-)

More 47607 kids and grandkids

2010-04-28T17:00:00.002-05:00

47607 (above) continues to crank out beautiful kids and grandkids (13710, 16210, 18810, 20410, and 20510). Note what's going on in the eye area of the last two.

Desire of Nations and kids

2010-04-28T16:14:00.005-05:00

Desire of Nations is one of my favorite flowers and it has been an extraordinary parent for very dark flowers and for chalky lavender eyes.
The following four seedlings(12910, 17210, 17610, 18010) are kids or grandkids of Desire of Nations that I saw for the first time in the past two weeks. Clear, saturated colors and distinctive looks.

The next three seedlings out of Desire of Nations (17309, 26809, and 39409 in order), first seen in 2009, were held over in the greenhouse for further hybridizing. They will all be sent outside in June for testing. Note that 17309 is the pod parent of 18010 above (and 13107 was the pollen parent).

Interesting patterns

2010-04-24T17:10:00.002-05:00

This is seedling 28709 (lots of parents). Tall and more than 7". Note the pattern in the eye.

I crossed it last year with 47607 and got this beauty, seedling 13810. Again, an interesting pattern down in the throat.

Seedling 10510 is what one can expect to get when mixing flowers like Julie Newmar, Intelligent Design, and Entwined in the Vine. It also has neon lavender 17305 in it.

Seedling 42509 is a cross of Handwriting on the Wall and Tet Crystal Blue Persuasion. Although I like the pattern on Tet CBP, most of its kids are small and reportedly not very hardy, so haven't used it much.

I saw seedling 20110 this morning. 6" scape with 3 flowers, which is what sometimes happens on a 7 month old plant that tries to bloom. Lots of interesting parents including Entwined in the Vine, 13107, 47607 and 17305 which is the parent of most of my neon lavenders. Super ugly self color, but I've personally never had a seedling with a pattern even close to this so am excited about using it. Will put it on plants with better colors and branching. Will likely keep this one in the greenhouse next year to see what it does, as I doubt I'll see another pattern like this one any time soon.

Pink eyes and edges

2010-04-24T16:28:00.007-05:00

I think pink eyes with matching pink edges are enchanting. Mine all go back to previously pictured 5006 or 36207 (see google search) or the next two pictured 38104 and 17106. Complicated lineage in each.
.

Some of the following seedlings(6810, 7509, 8109, 10110, 13310, 27809, 38409, 46709) have two of the parents in them.

Bridge crosses

2010-04-24T15:03:00.003-05:00

In the last "comments" section, I was asked the parentage of 13107. After reading the next few sentences, folks will understand why I sometimes omit the detail. The unpleasant reality in hindsight is that 13107 is made up of 39 seedlings (some of which go back 7 generations, and all turned out to be "bridge" crosses rather than intros) that go back to 21 named varieties - including 5 of my own intros (Heartbeat of Heaven, Born to Reign, Eyes on the Prize, Way of Life, Light of the World) and 16 from other folks (Tet LBB, Fortune's Dearest, Doyle Pierce, Wolf Eyes, Uppermost Edge, Only Believe, Lifting Me Higher, Clothed in Glory, Lake Effect, Pirate Lady, Regal Majesty, Reason for Treason, Dixie Rhythm, Blackthorne, Tet Dragon's Eye, and Shimmering Elegance). So 13107, like many of my seedlings, includes a bizarrely diverse group of parents, so anything can happen:-) I never intentionally set out to make a "bridge" cross (which is when you put 2 things together hoping to get a trait you want but knowing that the resulting plant most likely will not be introduction quality but will hopefully get you there the next generation), preferring instead to make crosses so good they'll be intros right away. I suppose if I'd known how long my quest to get "neon" lavender eyes would be, I might never have started, but I guess that's true of a lot of things in life - better that we not know and just put one foot in front of the other.

"Neon" lavender eyes

2010-04-21T19:21:00.000-05:00

"Neon" lavender eyes make my heart race, as they look like they could glow in the dark. Perhaps the most important parent I'm using for them is 13107.

I kept a large number of the 13107 offspring from 2009 to use as "mama" plants for spring 2010 hybridizing. Some of them (below) include 9009 (oh, my, what an eye), 13109, 13909, 35309.

Some of the kids and grandkids out of 13107 that I've seen so far in 2010 are the 3 pictured below (14510, 10310, and 11010) as well as the previously shown 2310 and 3910 (to find them, go to near the top of the blog on the right for the "search" box).

Predictable parents with dominant genes

2010-04-17T16:24:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you find a parent which passes on color and
form with cookie cutter precision. 5006 (first picture) has
been one of those parents for me. It is made up of Man of
Sorrows (second picture) and 4705 (third picture). 4705 is
a combination of Way of Life, Filled to Overflowing, Regal
Majesty, Clothed in Glory, Heartbeat of Heaven, and Rock
of Salvation.

Below are seedlings 12210, 15610, 37509 and 3510. I know

when a seedling out of 5006 blooms it will almost always

have a pink watermark, and at least half the time a matching
pink edge. I've used 5006 heavily to expand my hot rose

and hot pink programs.

Today's seedlings from 47607 breeding

2010-04-15T16:29:00.002-05:00

During the spring of 2009, I did lots of experimenting with
47607. I chose this red seedling 9608 as the pod parent - the
color and watermark goes back to Man of Sorrows. 47607
was the pollen parent. Both are in the 6+'" range. I don't normally
mix these colors (red with lavender), but had indications
from 2009 blooms from 47607 that it would make nice pinks.

I ended up with this tall 8" behemoth:-) - seedling 14210.

I more typically stay in the same color family with my crosses.

So would use "neon" lavenders with 47607, like seedling 35309 below.

The results are more in the color range one would expect.
Seedlings 14510 and 11010 below - both 7". Gorgeous saturated

color on 14510, but had to pry it open because of the lower

left ruffle. Am hoping it calms down and opens on its own.

More 47607 kids and grandkids - in all colors:-)

2010-04-14T15:28:00.005-05:00

Kids and grandkids of 47607 (my most used parent in 2009)
continue to bloom in all colors. Pictured below are: 13810 (love
the eye and ruffles), 1610 (hot pink!), 2210, 10110, 8910, 6010
and 19809 from last year.

More patterns and new seedlings today

2010-04-13T17:05:00.004-05:00

This is seedling 8110 on its second bloom - not quite as
dramatic as day 1, but still very interesting - someone thought
the marks look like giant Sequoia trees. More blooms to come,
and I wonder what look it will have next. The seedling below
(6410) has the same pollen parent as 8110. Note the lighter
"watery" pattern in the eyezone.

While I'm thinking of eyes, the next one is 12310, a grandkid
of 47607, and the one after that is 10910 - also out of 47607,
which consistently throws what I call "echo" eyes.

Also new for today is this sharky beauty 12510, out of two super
sharky parents - 35502 x 11808.

Seedling 12610 is Born to Run x 36109. (You can see all
the seedlings ending in 09 on the website under 2009 GH
seedlings, 09 under 2008, etc.)

Startling new pattern

2010-04-09T16:41:00.002-05:00

New seedling this morning - 8110 - a pattern I have never seen
before (note that continues onto the sepals). No idea how it got
there given its parents, although Desire of Nations makes some
funky looks every once in a while. Anyone have a way to describe
it? See close-ups below plus the 2 parents.

Pictured below is the pod parent 27507. Out of my 8305x6205,

which includes sharky 35502, a double dose of 21303,etc.

The pollen parent is 26709 = (Kingdom Without End x 29504)

x Desire of Nations.

Wish I knew what I did so I could repeat it:-)

Powerful parent

2010-04-07T12:00:00.004-05:00

Every once in a while you stumble across a parent that is
magic for you and for others who use it - where a large
percentage of the kids are keepers - like Heartbeat of
Heaven (pictured at the top of the blog). Or a cross of 2
parents where most of their kids are great. And then
there's the flower that comes across perhaps once in a
lifetime - where virtually everything you cross it with
produces beautiful, distinctive faces. (Obviously, not all of
those kids will pass final hardiness and budcount and lack
of spotting tests). For me, that flower is 47607 (below).
Hardy and well-branched and passing that on to its kids.
Not a perfect flower, though, as it starts to open the day
before - so is subject to spotting some days from the dew.
(Because it's such an important parent to take me in new
directions with hardy, well-branched, "neon" eyes, it won't
be introduced any time soon.) Complicated parentage, but
includes Heartbeat of Heaven kids and Fountain of Life.

What follows are just some of the many offspring I've seen
from 47607. In order, they are 0910, 2210, 27609, 17809,
33109,17609,17409. Others previously pictured on the
blog include 1809, 2310, and 13909 (you can find them by
going to the beginning of the blog where it says Search this
blog - a very handy gadget that the website provides).

Easter morning

2010-04-04T13:40:00.002-05:00

I love waking up Easter morning to a greenhouse full of
bloom. After downloading the pictures I took this morning,
I discovered that the flowers which had caught my eye tell
the story of Easter. The first flower is COSMIC STRUGGLE -
the battle going on in the world between good and evil.
("Our struggle is not against flesh and blood...but against
the spiritual forces of evil...")

VIA DOLOROSA (meaning Way of Suffering) was the path
that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his
crucifixion.

On Easter, He rose and became our DELIVERER.

And our STORM SHELTER (shelter from the storm).

Today's favorites

2010-04-03T15:23:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite flowers (above) is Kingdom Without End. It's out
of (Tim Kornder x Born to Reign) x Darla Anita. Its rich color comes
from Born to Reign. Perfect every day - no spots, easy and early
opening, self-cleaning, good scape, large flower, good breeder.

I like large flowers in bold colors with velvety, saturated finishes, as can
be seen below in 35208. Note that the sepals are just as saturated as the
petals. Not everyone looks at sepals, but I think they're just as important
as the rest of the flower and can "make or break" it.

Below is new seedling 4110, About 6-1/2", and out of Be Fruitful
and Multiply, Intelligent Design, Entwined in the Vine, etc. I like the
color contrast, the dark velvet eye, the pattern in the sepals and the
green throat.

Neon eyes and more hot pinks and roses

2010-04-02T17:30:00.008-05:00

I love neon lavender eyes that look like they could glow in the dark,

like this new one today - 3910. The self color is darker and more saturated

than pictured due to low light levels today, but you get the idea.

Parents are 1909 and 13909 (below), which go back to my

1604, 15207,13107,47607, etc.

Lots of new hot pinks this year. The first one below is 1510, out of

5108 (which goes back to Man of Sorrows, Heartbeat of Heaven,

Shores of Time) x 1209 (out of HOH, SOT, etc). The second is

2710, out of 3409 (HOH, Secret of Contentment, SOT, 47607, etc) x 1209.

A couple blooming from last year (below) are 37209 (5006x36207) and

46109 (34406x36207). Love the lavender pink eyes. Most of the

seedlings numbered are on the website. Wish I could show the

whole lineage, but there are so many seedlings in the mix. The

third picture below is 36207, which is in both of them. It's great to
finally have a critical mass of hardy pinks to work with. In my early

years, I tried to get hot pinks using the stunning pink Tet Painted Rose

from Tom Wilson and crossed it with Pat Stamile's pinks. No hardiness

in the line, so am back at it more than 10 years later on firmer ground.

Be still my heart

2010-03-30T18:32:00.005-05:00

What a day it was! Seedling 34709 from last year (above) was
really showing its stuff as I entered the greenhouse, and it ended
up being put on the pinks and roses and reds. And then I saw the
heart-stopper below. I promptly gave it a number (2310) and
began spreading its pollen to the music of the Messiah.

Two exceptionally nice pinks also bloomed for the first time, now
numbered 1610 and 1110. The paler one is out of Arctic Lace and
a hot rose seedling. The season has sure started out in an exciting way:-)

New directions

2010-03-27T12:23:00.006-05:00

For years it was purples that made my heart sing. My current passions are roses and hot pinks, most of which are coming out of Man of Sorrows (Tim Kornder x Joan Derifield, where Tim Kornder = Seminole Wind x Senegal). I saw seedling 7009 (above) for the first time in the greenhouse last spring - just a few buds and not very ruffled, but I liked the color so decided to use it for hybridizing this year. It ended up with incredible branching and lovely ruffles. It will be sent outside in June for several years of testing, and will hopefully make the grade given the hardiness of its parents (which are 14307 x 8307) - see below.

Joy

2010-03-24T17:03:00.004-05:00

My last post was called "Anticipation". After waiting nearly a week for the bloom to open, I walked into the greenhouse this morning to see this 7 inch beauty smiling at me. Super-ruffled and no hang-ups. I whooped and hollered:-)

Its parents are pictured below . Complicated breeding that includes Secret of Contentment,

Heartbeat of Heaven, Rock of Salvation, Storm Shelter, Lake Effect, , Tet LBB, Remembering Joan, JT Davis, Shores of Time, etc - you get the idea:-)

In making the cross, I'd hoped for something a little "hotter" in color, so will take it back onto my dark roses and hot pinks to add size and color.

I also saw this beauty from 2009 - seedling #1809 - a great-grandkid of Fountain of Life. Love the echo eye.

Anticipation

2010-03-22T18:41:00.004-05:00

A lot of the fun of hybridizing is the anticipation of what's coming next. The goal is to get flowers that take your breath away, but early in the season, I'll settle for a bud that does that. The flower below has been in the process of opening for over a week, so I have no idea when it will make its debut. The first picture is from 2 days ago, and the second one is from today. It's from hot pink and hot rose breeding, but it sure looks like it will be a soft pink or yellow. Will let you know how it turns out unless it's too ugly to be photographed:-) Looks like it will have a "green sepal" problem - which happens early in the season when the temperatures are cool. The ends of the sepals are green and hard, so the flower doesn't look its best. I don't usually see later in the season or on outside blooms.

In the meantime, a number of selected seedlings from spring 2009 have started to bloom. The one below is 16809 - a grandkid of Man of Sorrows. Perfect color and form every day and a killer scape.

Moving Day:-)

2010-03-16T16:28:00.005-05:00

It's the middle of March, and time for the move back to Springwood where I'll stay for the next 6 months. After hauling and unloading 2 carloads full of paperwork and clothes and groceries, I headed straight for the greenhouse and made my first crosses of the season. Seedling scapes everywhere and I should see the first one tomorrow:-) A couple of my intros looked good enough to eat.

Greatest Gift of All

Keep the Faith

Also blooming was 1709 - out of Storm Shelter, Jane Trimmer, and a grandkid of Fountain of Life. I love the multiple rings in the eye.

Spring Fling - May 2 - mark your calender

2010-03-12T11:48:00.006-06:00

Want to see and smell a greenhouse full of daylilies two months before outside bloom? Learn more about hybridizing? Share ideas? Whether you've been hybridizing for many years or are just a beginner, this event is made just for you! (see picture above of last year's attendees) Sponsored by the Daylily Society of Minnesota (aka HSM), this year's Spring Fling is being held on Sunday, May 2 from 1-4PM at Springwood Gardens in Jordan, MN. Past exercises have included making dream crosses, selecting the most distinctive flower, finding the parents of a seedling, figuring out which 2 parents might help you take the next step toward reaching your hybridizing goals, etc. In the past, we've had attendees from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. Please e-mail me at springwoodgarden@aol.com for directions or if there are specific topics you'd like to cover.

2010-03-07T14:00:00.006-06:00

First scapes on the new seedlings

Greenhouse on March 7, 2010

Some of the dormants have only recently broken ground, despite warm temps in the GH since early December.

Note dormants in the middle, sevs to the left and right, and monster foliage in the back. It's fascinating to watch each cultivar behave in its own unique genetically programmed way.

The season has begun:-)

2010-03-07T13:12:00.003-06:00

After months of waiting, it looks like the season has finally arrived:-) As I opened the door to the greenhouse this morning, I saw the first bloom of the season - 0309 - one I saw last year and held over for possible hybridizing this year - it's out of Intelligent Design breeding. There are scapes everywhere on both the mama plants as well as many of the seedlings, so I should start to see plenty of bloom in about 2 weeks.

Welcome to Springwood Gardens

2010-03-02T18:19:00.001-06:00

Never in a million years did I think I'd be doing a blog:-) but during hybridizing season so many folks e-mail and ask "What new look did you see today?" Because I'm always going flat out from about March 15-September 15 with hybridizing and shipping and evaluating, I'd send out a picture here and there and say "Everything will be on the website in October." Pretty unsatisfying answer for me and for them. So it looks like doing a blog might do the trick:-)

I can hardly wait for the new season to start:-) This year I turned the heat up in the greenhouse in December instead of January in order to speed up the season, and now there are scapes everywhere on the mama plants - am still waiting to see them on the new seedlings (about 4500 seeds planted in the ground in August and now most are blooming size). My guess is that I'll be able to begin posting pictures at the end of March. In the meantime, feel free to stroll around springwoodgardens.com to see pictures of my 2010 introductions (and those of previous years), seedlings from 2009 that I'll be using as "mama" plants for hybridizing, and possible futures - as well as the landscape and gardens at Springwood. It will be fun to have you with me as we watch the results unfold.