New Bridges in the Seedling Patch

My curiosity keeps driving me to save seedlings that don't look suitable for naming and registration, but that carry what I suppose to be "promise" in their genetic profile.  I intend to start crossing some of these right away, as soon as the weather will cooperate with dry mornings under 93 degrees.

Let me show you a few.

The first two are siblings from (Clarification x Maltese Falcon) x Meet Joe Black.  Neither parent carries a bubbly edge, but Maltese Falcon does, so here we have a genetic mix that favors the expression of the edge that went recessive in all the kids from Clarification x Maltese Falcon.  I thought I ought to try the pollen from Mort Morss's GOD SAVE THE QUEEN on these, but the convenient thing to try is a sibling cross, since they are right next to each other in the row.  More interesting would be to cross them with the INTELLIGENT DESIGN offspring pictured below.

This is a surprise result from CLARIFICATION X MYSTERIOUS EYES.  It's all about raspberry colors and that big washed and webbed band.  It compels attention, as it is tall.  I have to try some crosses with it to see if it will set seed pods.

This is BRIDGETON FINESSE X COSMIC ODYSSEY.  Cos Od is pretty tender here, and I'm always surprised to see it survive.  It's a good breeder for complex blue eyes, so I took it to a hardy plant with great growing habits, Bridgeton Finesse, which has a blue eye on a white background.   I have to try a cross on this with a seedling that shows a patterned eye.

This is CLARIFICATION X COSMIC ODYSSEY.  Once in a while Clarification throws white kids with very dark eyes.  I don't think you would guess that Cos Od is one of the parents from the look of this.  I'll try crossing this with other patterned blue eyes to see what pops out in the next generation.

This is a break from the normal look of the offspring from INTELLIGENT DESIGN X MEET JOE BLACK.  Every other kid looks like a take on ID.  Because of the extreme recurve, the flower only measures 5 inches across.  This is a first-year bloom, so there's no way to tell what a mature version will do.

Here's a surprise from INTELLIGENT DESIGN X COSMIC ODYSSEY, the only white one in the row and only hinting at a potential for patterned eyezone.  It's ugly sister (below) has the best scape in the cross.

The blossom is some kind of disaster.  Maybe on subsequent days it will look more presentable.  The scape, however, is fine. 

This is JUST LIKE CANDY X POINT OF DIVERGENCE.  The flowers don't open flat, which is a must, but the eye pattern is what I hoped for in POD crosses.  This might be one to take to the other seedlings pictured here.

This is MYSTERIOUS EYES X THIBODAUX TANTALIZER.  The eye is an expression of ME, while the form is TT all the way.  Color is pastel charcoal pink, if you can imagine such a cadaverous color.  I'll try crossing this with the others just to see what happens. 

Here's one that will be de-selected.  The photo I took yesterday matches a photo I took a year ago.

No amount of wishing for a better day will make this into something it is not. 

It's rainy all day today, but I can't wait to get over to University City, where this seedling patch is in its final season, to see what's open today!