I've got about five or six seedlings taken from seed off Cercis canadensis "Forest Pansy." All of them have got purple new growth which fades gradually to a deep, ruddy green. I took this picture yesterday of a leaf that is beginning to change color. I'm excited by these plants.
Scott
what time of year did you sow? what was germination time?
congratulations on growing such a beauty
It was pretty simple. I collected the seeds last fall. Just kept them dry and cool over the winter. In the spring I nicked the seedcoats with a razor blade, sowed them in potting mix in gallon pots outdoors, and within a week or two they popped right up.
The main thing that surprised me was that the purple coloring has been so consistant, but there was one other "Forest Pansy" near the tree I collected from and probably not too many wild trees around, so that might account for it.
Scott
The Forest Pansies that I saw recently all were grafted. Why would that be done if they can be grown from seedlings?
Well, they really can't be grown from seed. That the seedlings seem to tend toward purplish foliage color really doesn't mean that much. The purplish color varies, is not standard, and other factors remain unknown, such as overall health, vigor, and form of the growing trees. This is typical of any sexual reproduction. Indeed, that I made note of it in my original post regarding the strong tendency towards purple in the seedlings was because it was somewhat surprising.
To get a true "Forest Pansy" that you know will have all the same characteristics as every other FP you would need to graft, or use some other manner of cloning or vegetative reproduction. Since most folks want to know exactly what they are getting with a tree, both in terms of aesthetic value and in terms of health and longevity, and because it is far more efficient to propagate material via grafting, this is what you will see in nurseries available for sale.
Indeed, if I had my own nursery, I doubt I'd put "Forest Pansy Seedlings" out for sale even though they MIGHT turn out to be terrific trees; indeed, they might even turn out to be superior trees. It is hard to sell a seedling tree's potential and undoubtedly some of the seedlings will turn out to be duds. For now, I will keep them and watch them grow, if some of the trees look to be sound, decent trees, they will be given to friends. The trees that languish will be composted, and (if I'm very, very lucky) and one seedling turns into a purple, weeping, variegated redbud which performs well in all parts of the country, then I will patent it, become stinking filthy rich, become friends with Bill Gates and the Rolling Stones, divorce my wife, marry a twenty-something knockout (pre-nup, of course), and over eat and drink until my liver explodes.
Scott
This message was edited Oct 9, 2006 6:50 AM
Like all the other nursery people you know who've coddled a choice plant to market...rock stars one and all.
Thank you for the explanation, Decumbent. Best of luck in obtaining a patent. (I think... your post-patent fantasies sound a bit disturbing, but the liver is one organ that can regenerate.)
ViagraVigor, Yep, it's almost a cliche, isn't it?
Gotnojeans, Sorry to disturb you. Worse case scenerio: I get on a donor list, clean up my act, have my operation, and bore everyone with the story of my reform.
Or, this could happen: The gluttony and liquor abuse will predate the patent. Like all struggling nurserymen, I will not have insurance. Therefore, I will not have the operation. I will go to my maker the day before the patent is approved and all those millions of dollars will go to the wife I would've dumped for the bombshell. She will move to a Beverly Hills mansion, run around with movie stars, and sell the house to a developer who will bulldoze all my prized plants so as to build a quickie-mart.
Scott
Oh dear.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Okay, I'm going to live right and be healthy. If one of my seedlings becomes a hit, and I make millions, I will continue to live simply and carefully invest my fortune so as to provide for my old, old, very old age. What I don't need, will be put in trusts for my two boys and maybe a little something for favorite arboretums. But I might indulge myself a Budweisser or two on the weekends.
Scott
Scott,
Tom Ranney, NCSU, is already ahead of you in the weird Cercis division. I heard him speak last year at the Southern Plant Conference and he has been playing with the genus for a little under a decade, perhaps 5 years. A weeping/variegated form was mentioned, but not purple/weeping/variegated so you still have a chance at fame. There should be some really cool (bizarre) stuff hit the market in the upcoming years from there. Dwarf, gold, purple, variegated and weeping forms have all been incorporated into the C. canadensis breeding program. I think he has been getting some Asian species involved and even tried ploidies. Perhaps the wife and liver are breathing easier?
Regards,
Ernie
Ernie,
No, I fear the disappointment has cast me over the edge. I feel the overwhelming need to despair. Both the liver and the wife are concerned, very concerned!
Scott
Despondent:
If you are serious, then dump the Cercis and develop a species that you can "distill" the best qualities from. I'm thinking Vitex (at least), or maybe one of the Rosaceae. If no ornamental traits turn out, you can "still" roll around in the fermenting fruit and get your jollies.
LHDP:
You are the second person that noted they attended the Southern Plant Conference in Louisville. Show yourself! I participated as well, and led one of the tours of Cave Hill Cemetery. I suppose you were in the Dirr/Cappiello crowd, and learned nothing. Maybe you'll come back to KY for the real thing someday. I can be had for the least odd viburnum.
Tom Ranney had quite the resource there at NCSU, due to the profligate collecting of the late JC Raulston. They ought to be the Cercis capital.
VV,
I skipped the Cave Hill tour in lieu of the Bernheim having been to Cave Hill a year or so ago. I didn't hang around Dirr, Cappiello too much except when we were at Yew Dell Gardens and they were sort of going back and forth with each other, testing. I did enjoy hanging around Don Shadow who is the ultimate trip when it comes to discussing plants. However, I really just bounced around, not really knowing anyone, just meeting some of the other attendees. Memory test: if you went to Gainesway, I was the younger fella with the big camera. If not, I probably just blended in. If you insist, I will post a picture. So, who was the other SPC attendee? I was actually, considering Bernheim this weekend and if not this weekend, the next. Where are you located?
Regards,
Ernie
You need to ring my bell.
I didn't go on the Gainesway trip...but I had a good excuse. I started the horticulture division there circa 1991. Ryan Martin has and still performs the laudable task of keeping that farm in tip top shape.
Don Shadow is prime. I may be seeing him again at the Great Rivers chapter HSA fall meeting at his place in a couple weeks. Near him is Hidden Hollow Nursery, home to myriad clones of the Cercis clan that started this thread.
Bernheim is a great place, even though emphasis on horticultural collections has diminished in the recent past. It is well worth visiting in every season of the year.
Yew Dell, home to the late Theodore Klein. What a fine gentleman and fabulous plantsman. He left a legacy that we today can only strive to emulate.
rcn48 was the other attendee I'm aware of. There could be more lurking.
I work for the Louisville Metro Parks; I live outside Lexington in Scott County. You will have Dmail.
Lurking here :) Don Shadow, what a character - especially when he starts talking about his zoo! Haven't had an opportunity to travel to TN but did meet one of his wallabies in its new home at Highland Creek this summer.
VV, never got a chance to collect those Viburnum seeds last winter, but ripe for the picking now if you still want them?
Debbie
Thanks, Debbie.
My viburnum vocation has not varied.
