This saga started early last year and is an exercise in patience. It may or may pay off. I like to root my cuttings on top of the kitchen table which sits in front of two windows, one facing northeast and the other southeast. The cuttings get about an hour of sunlight really early in the morning and bright light the rest of the day. I have a very good success rate rooting cuttings there so I'm reluctant to move them elsewhere. In March 2008, I purchased cuttings of Adeline, Cherry Slush, Ila Marie, Infinity, Jesse Noel and Painted Lady. I placed six identical jars, each with 3 cuttings of the same variety, on the table. I have to admit I should have had a better way of labeling the cuttings, but I placed a plastic label with the cultivar name under each jar. The cuttings were rooting and everything was fine for a while until my DH decided to do something out of the ordinary and set the table for dinner. He moved the jars to the counter and stacked the labels in a neat pile.
The only way I could think of salvaging the situation was to give each variety a number and wait until they bloomed to identify them. There were 6 varieties thus the designations of 1 of 6, 2 of 6, etc. The cuttings didn't grow much last year because they went dormant in the summer heat. This year they fell prey to the grasshoppers. Those that survived are growing back from little stubs. 3 of 6 has finally produced 2 blooms. This is the first bud to open. It's small since the plant is only about a foot tall. The calx is short. I sure hope this is Painted Lady. Time will tell. I may have to label it a noid later.
