I was just checking out the American Brug society and wanted to bring this point to anyone who hybridizes attention:
"It is advisable to save a few of the weak and scrawny looking seedlings that your seeds may produce. These plants are more likely to produce unusual looking flowers than healthier looking plants.
The robust seedlings are commonly the ones to produce flowers that closely resemble the species.
It normally takes a seed grown Brugmansia 4 months - 2 years to flower for the first time." (do not know who printed this statement)
http://home.att.net/~brugmansia/brugseeds.html
Kyle, Eric, and Monika
I won't breed for weakness. Over time, several generations of breeding for weakness....Strength over beauty...may take longer, but I think thats the way to do it.
Hope I've been doing the right thing. I've been throwing out all the little seeds and just keeping the bigger ones.
snow, I'd bet that my new baby came from a small seed. Some crosses make smaller seeds than others. I sow them all. I don't have room to keep a weak seedling though, you can only grow so many, feeding and raising them is expensive.
Ooopppps! I've been just keeping the bigger ones in the pod and throwing the little tiny ones away. Wonder how many Isabella x EP beauties I threw away last night. :(
you never know what's inside that little seed!!
tiG, now I feel bad thinking I may have thrown away that "special" one.
can't do that, it won't do any good!!! I bet you didn't, was just saying that if I get a packet of seeds, I sow all of them in it.
It depends, how to interprete this statement. I dont keep weak and scrawny looking seedlings. But I keep those, which need longer for germination and therefore are smaller as the early birds. Slow germination is not like weak plants.
Monika, Do you keep your small seeds and use them or just use your bigger seeds.
Snow, I use all seeds with exception of the tiny, flat looking ones, which are not mature. I learned that big seeds do not always germinate early or bring stronger plants. The seedlings are selected by healthy look. Slow but healthy growers get their chance also.
Last year in November, I potted about 100 fresh germinated seedlings and placed them under Gh roof. 50cm above them, the roof was glittering from ice crystals inside during severe frost outside, the house was kept just frost free.
I was away for weeks, one weekend, I came home, they were standing dry and partly wilted. But they recovered and I lost no more then 3 - 4.
I plant several seeds from each pod..but not all..I don't have the room...and i pick out any with unusual characteristics..leave variations,speed of growth,coloration. etc,but if the growth is erratic I don't bother.I have had plants grow as long as 4 years before flowering..then when they did..the flower was dissappointing..so grow them as you wish...like you said ..you never know which seedling will be the greatest flower the world has seen till you grow them all out.
Thanks tiG and Monika, I'll start saving those little guys.
I plant them all,and treat them all the same,but in my house ,only the strong survive....
Isabella x Ecuador pink sounds like a great cross. Can't wait to see those pictures.
I also keep smaller seeds, if they are ripe and also seeds, that take long time to germinate.
I got three seedlings from B. hybrida (don`t know its real name), that took several months to get up. aurea x RK was also slow to come up, and even - if my mind don`t fail me - there were 4-5 seeds only one germinated. BTW. I thought that B. hybrida was an illegal name for B. x insignis, but these seedlings grow serrated leaves.
What I would cull instantly is seedlings, that are weak. Weak plants are susceptible to disease not to speak of virus and I won`t risk a collection of good Brugs on that. From the point of view of a businessman weak Brugs would be just great. LOL Instead of selling one strong one that the customer could grow for life, he or she could sell one to each customer per year. LOL
Its true of course, that a few weak seedlings can have exceptional beautiful flowers, but many strong growers have flowers as beautiful as any and I will continue to grow out the strong one and cull the rest.
JMHO