Most of us covered some where during our years of education why two brown eyed parents can have a blu eyed child. Brown is dominant gene B and blue is recessive b. It takes two recessive genes b, one from each parrent to = blue eyess bb. But if one parent BB mixes genetic material with a bb, then offspring will all be Bb with the dominant brown eye color. If a brown eyed parent Bb mates with a blue eyed parent bb, or two brown eyed parents Bb, then offspring can be mixed BB,Bb, or bb. And then there are green eyed, grey eyed and Elizabeth Taylor violet!
It would take many many generations to get a white blooming Lobelia whose offspring were consistentle white, just like breeders have yet to produce a black tulip or rose. So if all of us wanted a white Great Blue Lobelia we could ask Muddy or GT for a start of theirs, sow oodles of seeds and hope one will be white or send a white bloomer to a company like AgriStarts to have that plant 'tissue cultured' onder strict laboratory procedures and conditions and contract with AgriStarts to produce plugs from that tissue culture which will if grown out produce clones of the original plant material, ie all would bloom white ad infinitum. Probably should name and Patent the variety while we are at it "Muddy Greenthumbs Great White Lobelia" PPAF.
Anyhow, tissue culture is now a standard procedure for plant propagation and many of the plants we see for sale out there are produced this way industry wide .
Have you heard that there is a variegated leaf Milkweed coming to a market near you soon?
FIRST FLOWERS OF SUMMER!! AUGUST Edition :)
ahhhhh coleup... you're bringing me back memories of Mendelian genetics with corn at Rutgers!
1) my fav zinnia this year: Queen Red Lime
3) Tarahumara Popping Sorghum along the veggie garden back fence. Note: white stripe down leaf center. I'll try and take a close up next time; it's quite interesting
4) baby Turkish eggplants
Love variegated anything... will definitely be looking for that milkweed! Any idea what species it is? asclepias, syriacus, or something other?
I have a variegated Heliopsis that's a more compact and well behaved than the H. helianthus v. spicata in the same bed. Volunteer seedlings are also variegated... I'll try to get some seeds of both this fall before the birds eat them up.
Ha ha Coleup. "Muddy Greenthumbs Great White Lobelia" PPAF has a ring to it, but unfortunately, Lobelia siphilitica 'Alba' plants and seeds are already for sale so there's no money to be made there.
I also have a pale lavender-flowered Lobelia. Maybe I could try for a dark purple one.
coleup you are the Font of Information as usual
wind, such nicely composed pictures!
critter, did you just find that Heliopsis plant? I'm afraid to my eye it looks sick rather than variegated, no offense!
Sally, I've had the variegated form for 3 years... really isn't just a sick one, although I know what you mean as I feel the same about many gold-variegated plants! These are recent photos... the newer spring foliage is a more crisp looking green & white. I guess it's one of those that just doesn't photograph well! :-)
oh, ok, sorry I doubted you! Apologize to the plant for me, will you?
New blooms in my garden:
1) Sedum John Creech
2) Impatiens Fiesta Purple Stripe (rebloom)
3) Helenium autumnal Mariachi Siesta
4) Sedum Dazzleberry
5) Dianthus Wicked Witch (what a name, huh?)
Nice pics everyone! No worries Sally, I was thinking the same thing about that Helianthus :) Oh Wind, it seems too early for Anemones! Oh geez I guess that means autumn is right around the corner :( I'm getting buds on one of mine but my others have yet to produce any buds.
LOL, I can see I won't have many wanting seed from that plant! I was chuckling imagining Sally's reaction, "Oh geez, how do I tell her that plant isn't variegated, it's just been attacked by spider mites?!"
It really is a favorite of mine, about half the size of the "regular" one, holds down that corner of the garden with a nice color echo. The variegation doesn't catch your eye from across the yard, but it does add interest up close. Maybe I have to pot up a little one for "show & tell" at the swap. :-)
lot of pretty pinks there Catmint
I've seen variegated Heliopsis before (I forget where...) and I remember doing a double take. Definitely a good show 'n tell.
nice blooms Cat - esp like the Helenium color
this is the super huge heirloom tomato on the vine now... by far the largest one we ever grew - will have to take a tape measure out - it's a double fist in size!!
I waited and waited with the camera for a hummer to come along yesterday morning; of course, she wouldn't look at the camera and smile like I wished lol
wind, you have Nicotiana! nice. I found two seedlings now from growing it years ago, looking forward to blooms and scent.
thanks, Sally and WInd! Yes, I guess it was pink/red day. Maybe I'll try for yellows tomorrow! :-)
I think my 2 biggest tomatoes so far have been Yellow Brandywine. I'll have to weigh them before I eat them!
Glads have been randomly blooming here & there. Those ADR corms sure were nice & fat! My friend Martina's yard is quite colorful with them also.. in fact, I think every neighbor ended up with at least 1 bag!
Catmint, I have missed your early morning posts of what is blooming in your yard. What a way to start my day! And you get to enjoy them for real. Yes, bring on the yellows!
I've been so concentrated on Milkweed and nectar plants that my sedums have taken a back seat this year, Happy to say that they have survived my neglect.. I like the Dazzleberry!
Nice tomatoes Wind. My big ones still are far from ripe. Sigh. Do you eat the popping sorghum?
Sally, I like the old fashioned nicotiana too. Sometimes the seeds of reseeders will remain viable in the soil seed bank for 5 years. Read about one species research on seed viability that said some % of seeds produced were programmed to not sprout until second or third season. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" If all seeds of a season only grew that season then if they got wiped out, there would be no more.
Jill, I was excited to see all of my first ever Glads sprout up to about 15 inches! Since then the deer have munched them back to stubs so I doubt I'll see any blooms.
No rain here but my rain lilies popped up with just a sprinkle.
thanks, Coleup. :-) Love that rain lily! That's a huge tomato, Wind! And that's a beautiful glad, Critter!
A few yellows/oranges for today:
1) Cosmos sulphureus with Crocosmia 'Lucifer' from the ADR buy this spring
2) R. hirta 'Prairie Sun'
3) R. fulgida
4) Marigold 'Sweet Cream' from Holly & Ric from the spring swap
5) Heliopsis helianthoides from seed from Gita from the sweed swap
Beautiful blooms Cat :)
Jill, is that glad from the ones you gave me this spring? I'm not sure those are going to bloom for me this season.
Thanks Seq! :-)
I am a bit miffed about how tall my Glads grew (from the $5 bargain bag).
I imagined them to be Med. height--like max of 2'. NOT 4' and 5' like mine.
I planted many of them around my BIG pot in the WS bed--and now the Glads
have obliterated it.
The ones in my raised bed have yet to bloom....not enough sun...perhaps....
Pic--"Where's the BIG pot?
Oh well G, next year you can lift them and put them somewhere else now that you know what to expect :)
Like I said above, the deer munched off all 60 of mine!
snif snif,...better to have six too tall than sixty all eaten down...I planted mine late so I'm waiting to see
Yeah I planted mine really late too so I'm not sure I'll get a bloom.
Actually--I planted mine kind of late as well.
EVERYTHING was late this spring!
I'm not sure I planted mine until the beginning of July.
AHHH--got my pictures uploaded..my own fault it did not work before...
SO--some new shots....
1--This very tall Amaranth came up from seed (/) in my small front bed.
It is not the same ads the other one. see next picture...
2--The other Amaranth. I grew this one from seed. Will have oddles next year.
3--The Acalypha--looking good!
4--Brazilian Plume flower
5--August Lily Hosta
Some more....
1--Mandevilla--breaching it's 8' trellis...
2--Top part of Mandevilla. I buy one of these every year. $20 well spent.
3--White, perennial Hibiscus--Luna
4--Kopper King Hibiscus--late in the evening
5--Ma blooms--close up. These open white--then fade to salmon a couple days later..
I love that Plume Flower G, that looks beautiful. Is that something you overwinter in your basement?
Wow, such gorgeous blooms! I'm waiting to see if my brugs are going to bloom this year.
Jeff--
Can I put you down for a rooted cutting? I have several....
It will grow and bloom for you next summer.
I need to get my "haves" in. Not that i have many--mostly rooted cuttings.
Here is a picture from 2007. As with all my fancy plants--they are from years ago.
Sure, I can keep it at the office over the winter if it will grow with office lighting. And you'd have to tell me how to take care of it :)
It should not be hard--Jeff. They do not even like full sun.
They DO need a lot of watering--once they get bigger. Like mine...
Every time I check it--it is dry.
It is a woody plant--and breaks easily. My Big one got blown over 3 times
in high winds this summer. That is why I have all these small rooting cuttings...
They DO root easily. I will have more after it is done blooming.
it is too big--need to cut it back.
Gita
I saw a pretty little yellow flower in my vegetable bed. I knew I hadn't planted any flowers there (except for alyssum) and thought maybe it was a volunteer. Then I noticed the tag: Hamburg parsley!
The parsley that Catmint thought that she grew from seed was actually a celosia flower volunteer!
:) Catmint, do you have yellow celosia?
I think David had seed for Hamburg parsley.
SSG--so sorry about that! Yes, I had hamburg parsley seed from David, but apparently the yellow celosia from last year had reseeded in the same area where I sowed the hamburg parsley. I have yellow celosia too but no hamburg parsley either. Sigh.
I think when I gave it to you as a seedling I mentioned that I suspected it was not actually hamburg parsley after all. ;-)
This message was edited Aug 14, 2014 5:31 AM
Oh I don't mind! I just thought it was funny! I knew it wasn't parsley because the leaves were off, but I was just surprised by the little yellow flowers in the vegetable bed. :D
My yellow celosia has been so robust! :-) I like it though. I just pull up the ones I don't want and leave others where they are for some extra color.
Coleup, I know you're wanting different colors, so what about whites? :-)
Oh me oh MY Cat, look at that Agastache front-and-center in pic #3!!! LOVE it!!!!! < =D
thanks, Speedie! :-) I really love the Golden Jubilee! Such a pollinator magnet. Thanks to Donner! :-)