Policy & Two Non-Yellows

[David Clulow]

This is a friendly scientific group for the exchange of information between our members.  I believe secrecy has no place in this group.  We are all here to help each other (or should be). 

I have always tried to be ultra fair when dealing with commercial growers.  But one grower, Chris Durham of Durham Botanicals in Florida sent me a most hurtful message.  This I found very discouraging.  At the same time my hard drive crashed and I lost most of my photos of the last two years. I have therefore not posted any messages for some time.

Do our members really not wish to see new seedlings showing the parentage?  I always thought this was helpful.  If you really do not want to see any more then I will stop. 

Last September we had over one thousand messages.  We will probably have around 300 this September.  What has changed?

Anyway to happier matters.  We recently had a discussion on what benefits grafting had to offer.  One which I don’t think was mentioned was to speed up the flowering of unusual seedlings.  I ordered 10 seeds of ‘Canary Bird’ from Mr Ko, 15 arrived but the postal service here in Venezuela has become painfully slow.  The seeds were sent by EMS and were date stamped just two days after sending when they arrived in Caracas, but they took almost three months to get to Cojedes, a 3 to 4 hour drive.  Consequently I had poor germination, just 2 germinated.  When they were around 2 inches high I cut the tops off them and grafted them onto small but vigorous seedlings.  This had two objects:

1            As I had only two seedlings, this provided an insurance in case the original seedlings should die and

2            Speed up the flowering, which it did.  The original seedlings are still quite small.

The seedlings were grafted on 24 April and the photo taken on 26 September, just 4 months after grafting.  The flower is very small but quite pleasant.  Not as good as ‘Canary Bird’.  Interestingly I have not been able to use ‘Canary Bird’ as a pod parent.  It is a ready pollen parent.  Are the seeds Mr Ko sells a remake of the original hybrid? I do wish Mr Ko would let us know both parents when he sells seeds. 

The second photo is of ‘Super Perfume’ x ‘Canary Bird’.  You can see from the last photo ‘Super Perfume’ has some yellow in it and I was hoping to intensify it using pollen of ‘Canary Bird’.  It didn’t!  However the result is rather nice.  I have no other Adenium in my collection similar.  This was a very difficult cross.  Some 54 seeds were produced and in my cross book I noted that they were unusually small and fat like little barrels.  They germinated well but slowly faded away.  I was left with just one biggish seedling which again I cut the top off and made 4 tiny grafts which fortunately all took.  The original seedling then died.  So grafting saved this clone.

I am having to attach the photos, as when my hard drive crashed I lost my Outlook Express which let me put photos into messages.  I still have Outlook Express but it asks me all sorts of questions to re-establish it which I don’t understand.  Does anyone know of a simple program which allows photos to be put into messages without having to use attachments?

[Mark Dimmitt]

David,

 

As a hybridizer, I really appreciate knowing the ancestry of flowers posted on this forum. Avid collectors who know the influence of the species and some better-known hybrids in breeding should also benefit from the information. I included the influence of the species in hybrids in the adenium book, and I'm getting some inquiries about inheritance from amateur hybridizers. The majority of collectors don't care, and they are free to ignore the parentage info.

 

There is a parallel situation at my museum, where we have an exhibit on convergent evolution. The scientific explanation goes over the head of most visitors, but many of them comment that they appreciate knowing that there is more than superficial substance to our exhibits. The adenium forum should aim to serve all levels of members, from those who just want to see pretty flowers to those who are seeking technical details.

 

 

[Judy Pigue]

David,

 

I'm just a hobbyist with a love of growing adeniums since 2000.  Of all of the messages that come through the various Adenium Yahoo Groups, I find yours the most interesting, as a rule, and always look forward to them.  I have bought most every seed that Mr. Ko sells.  I love seeing the pictures of your crosses and read the lineage.

 

I'm really sorry to hear your hard drive crashed and you lost most of your pictures.  I've dealt with that before.  I have a folder of most of the ones that you have sent the past several years.  Let me know if there is something I might have that you lost. I go back to June 2007.  I lost everything before then.  

 

Is your growing season where you live in Venezuela year round?  I'm amazed how fast your crosses flower.  I realize grafting speeds things up. I do some but have never tried seedlings.  I'll give it a try.

 

Your pictures did come embedded in my message.  Please do not stop sending your pictures with the parentage.   

 

Judy in Kansas City, MO 

 

Mid 40's predicted overnight for the middle of next week.  I leave my adeniums outside until upper 30's, low 40's for short sunny periods. Not looking forward to bringing them inside - my collection has gotten totally out of control.

[cheryl]

Hello all--my name is cheryl and I have been lurking and reading on
this forum for a couple months--I have 2 adenium and wanted to learn
more about them. I enjoy all the information--and to include the
parentage of the crosses is fine--why not? Because they are all
hbyrids they will not come true from seed---so someone else could make
the same cross and get completly different plants. I had often
wondered if many of the new crosses were not grafted-as it does allow
the seedlings to come into bloom faster. As I said I am a newbie-and
have already learned much by reading here--still a long ways to go yet
however in my adenium knowledge.

Sorry to hear about your harddrive David--hope you are able to get
someone to help you with it. Take care cheryl

>  Canary Bird seedling #1.JPG
> 192KViewDownload
>
>  Super Perfume x Canary Bird.JPG
> 246KViewDownload
>
>  Super Perfume.jpg
> 62KViewDownload

[gar...@aloha.net]

Dear David,
I am sorry that you lost copies of your photos. I have in my hard
disk drive many of them but the older not with the text of emails.
I learned a lot from your post and am very grateful. Please do not
be discourage by person who does not appreciates your big
contribution - it is not for him that you are doing this.
gratefully yours
vladimir - avid reader of all of your emails to this group for
several years already
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>
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