Ok, I understand that if I grow Brugs from seeds chances are I'm probably not going to get something that looks exactly like the parent. What I don't understand is will it look like something new, will it look like one or the other parents or if all involved are hybrids is it going to go back and maybe look like one of the granparents? What I would like to avoid if possible is ending up with white. So, if chances are it will look like either of the parents and I like them well that's fine, or something new based on those parents that would be fine but if chances are it could go back to a white grandparent then I don't know if I really want to grow from seed. LOL Did any of that make sense?
Robin
confusion about seeds
Hi Robin -- welcome to the brg forum! Chances are when you grow from seeds you can get anything! In all likelihood you'll end up with a baby that has a shape similar to one of the parents. As far as color, its a gamble. Many whites have come from colored parents. Many of the hybridizers have figured out how to properly cross for color. Out of 100+ seedlings I grew out last summer, 70% were white. But the 30% that were colored were beautiful. And many of the white ones were quite nice too.
Hopefully one of the experts will come along with better advice.
Gretchen
hhhmmm sounds like for the most part, I may just stick to cuttings.
Robin
Growing from seed is so much fun though. Out of all the seedlings I grew last year, I'd say that 75 percent or more were colored. If you stay away from crosses that have a lot of suaveolens in them or some of the versicolor crosses, you can get away from a lot of the whites. Knowing what is in the background of your brug seeds helps too, but we are just beginning to learn that information. Like Gretchen says, you can get different colors from the same cross, but as we hybridize and keep records we may eventually be able to come very close to telling what color we will get from our seeds. Don't give up growing from seed just because you might get a white or two. Some of them are gorgeous. I can also say that growers and traders can make mistakes and you could grow a cutting all year thinking it is going to be pink or yellow and it might end up being white too. It has happened, tho not as likely as having a white seedling. Many people grow hundreds of seedlings and without them we wouldn't have some of the newer brugs, but your chance is good for getting a new and beautiful brug in your garden too. I would also suggest that people who haven't grown brugs before, grow some of the less expensive brugs to begin with to learn the in's and out's of growing them, fighting the elements and critters, and learning what fertilizer works best for you, etc. Here is a case where seeds are cheap or free for the asking and are a great learning tool. This is just my opinion and something I wish had been available to me when I first started.
Thank you Brugie that was informative. Ok, so I will grow some seeds because as you point out it is a good cheap way to learn. Plus it would be really fun to be pleasantly surprised with something really beautiful. I will remember that about the suaveolens. Thanks for your insight.
Robin
I agree with everything that Brugie said. Old reliables like Dr. Suess & Frosty Pink are easy to come by & easy to grow. Wouldn't you hate to spend a lot for something & kill it because you didn't know what it wanted? I feel the same way about seeds. The first seeds that I grew weren't from the newest crosses, but they were a chance to learn what to do. Even if I completely screwed up, it wouldn't have been a big loss. I did get 2 yellow ones from a white sauveolens mother with an unknown father!
Brugie -- so well said! Thank you!!! You too, Ronna :)
If you want to try some seeds that I have, email me your address and I'll get some out to you.
That's so sweet of you, Shirley!
Yes, it was. Very nice.
Thanks
Robin
You're welcome. The rest is up to you. LOL!
Could I be so bold as to ask if you have actually seen and smelled the blooms of an established white? I think white is under-rated. They often have the strongest fragrance, and how they glow in the moonlight is breathtaking. That's just me though.
If you end up with white and really don't like it, maybe you could sell it? I tell you what- if someone at work said they had a white to sell for 15 or 20 bucks, I would pounce on it.
Brugie sent me seeds, and if they all grow and I wanted to keep them all, my husband would kill me. I intend to keep the darkest pink and give the rest away, giving her any "first picks" and the rest to anyone here.
As far as genetics- like others said above, it is all a gamble. Just like the possibilty of brown-eyed parents having a blue-eyed child, etc. You never know.