Last year's crosses, this year's vines/blooms!

Becky, what a flower to wake up to - this one really brings out the smiles

Thanks, Karen! This vine is really starting to bloom in flushes now. This is where it reminds me of the I. purpurea gene. The blooms aren't quite as large as the showy I. nil Lady Laura gene, but they are bigger than I. purpurea. The number of blooms greatly increase as the vine ages. It has many characteristics of the Yaguruma Blizzard, though the bloom patterns are not as consistent and predictable. I wish I knew more about the Lady Laura cultivar genes.

Becky,
I have a blizzard that should open tomorrow again.. looks a lot like frosted ice around the edges with some specks. I love the colors on yours.

A - Thanks! Be sure to get a photo of your Blizzard and share with all of us. I am such a fan of the blizzard strain of MGs! They are always a surprise with each bloom! :-)

Today's blooms:

Vine is growing well and sharing the broken pot with a trumpet creeper vine! LOL!

The light blue is still showing up in the blooms! I am soooo glad about that! I've been hand pollinating them every day with the hopes of lots of seeds to share. Right now this vine and my Kawaii are the only MG vines I have blooming. My starts around the picket fencing are growing nicely, but still too small for blooms.

These colors and patterns on the blooms just jump right out at you. I always find it amazing to get such a diversity in blooms from a single vine. This vine is also putting out vines all over the place. I wonder if it is because it is sharing the pot with an aggressive vine?

BTW - This vine grew from a seed collected from my Lady Laura (Pink Form) vine that I grew out last August. It was NOT a seed from the Yaguruma Blizzard vine, but it sure is picking up the traits of YB.

This message was edited Apr 27, 2008 9:46 AM

How nice those look, did you say they have some blue in them?

A - Yes! There is a pale blue color to them. Not white. I had to use the flash on my camera which washes out the pale blue, but you can still see streaks of the blue in the close-up photo above. That is what makes it such an eye-catcher! It's a cool tone color that is soothing on the eyes. :-)

Becky, From what I know so far about crosses it is not unusual at all for the F1 to look more like one of the parents and practically nothing like the other parent or even appear to be a self seed of one of the parents. Sometimes F1 looks absolutely Nothing like either one! It can make you wonder if you labeled your seeds correctly though you know you were careful and did it right. If one parent has genes that are dominant to the other then it may not be apparent until the following generations that a cross was done in the first place! That is why depollinating and tying the blooms is so important because this keeps the flower from self pollinating. If you did the proceedure carefully to the letter than don`t worry..you did it right. When you get the F2 selfed seeds then you may possibly see some chracteristics recombining in different ways. Karen

Thanks, Karen. I am not really worried about how the genes carry on with future generations. I just grow them because I love them. I don't sell, just trade. Most folks know that about me and hopefully will just enjoy what they get when the seeds grow into blooming vines!

The Yaguruma Blizzard gene has been apparent to me of it's dominating characteristics in this cross. I expect it to continue with future generations. Which is also why I hope to get plenty of seeds from this baby to share! I am hoping that folks will want some seeds and grow it out and photograph the blooms for me to see! I am also thinking of crossing some of the blooms with others eventually. I just love the YB traits and how beautiful of a vine it is! It's characteristics appeal to me very much! I loved the YB vine that I grew out last August. It was one of my favorites. Still is, but this new cross vine just beat it for 1st place in my garden! :-) So ... now I want to cross it again to see what else I can get! I consider the YB a wild card and it can create some great crosses! The YB vine that I grew out last year was supposed to be Yourjio Yaguruma. But apparently a blizzard crossed with the Yourjio and produced the YB. Lucky for me! It was a seed I received from Emma. It is of special personal value to me because of it's gorgeous traits! It has some of the colors and patterns that I personally find most attractive in a MG!

Becky, When you say it has some of the colors and patterns you personally find most attractive in a MG and you plan on using it for crosses and collecting and giving away all the seeds then you are concerned how the genes carry on with future generations and you are officially selectively breeding. This is a good thing. :)

Karen

P.S. Besides, I never mentioned anything about selling. That has nothing to do with the subject. I don`t know what that has to do with jmg genetics.kwim?

Edited: for typing errors

This message was edited Apr 27, 2008 11:32 AM

Hi everyone,
I just noticed this thread- I ususally hang out in the NE forum, or hostas, dahlias, or container gardening...
I just got bitten my the MG BUG! I ordered some ridiculously high-priced Ipomea seeds off of ebay! I am a SUCKER for unusual bloom colors, and I was wondering if you could cross the plants. I hand pollinate my hostas, and have too many F1's now. I assume you dab pollen from the anthers w/ a q-tip from pollen parent to pod parent.
Do you save and trade pollen anthers? Any tips for a new MG grower? (I know the soil has to be "poor" or "lean".)
BTW, the seeds I have are Fuji No Benji, Rose Feather, Monet No Fuji, Morning Storm, Keniaki (yellow!), Akazyouhantensibori (Rasp. Red Flaked), plus the more common ones inc. Pink Star, Kholian's Black, Chocolate, Blossom Star...plus others...told you I got bit!
-Melissa

Melissa You need to check out the fantastic sticky Becky and blluespiral have prepared:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/824965/

You will find a goldmine of information on care of various species and how to do crosses.

Karen

Hi Melissa!

Darn! I wished that you woulda checked with us first. I would've sent you some seeds for postage! :-) I am very interested to see what kind of blooms you get with the Monet No Fuji. Many of us here are in a grow-out which has only produced solid blooms. (Beth originally purchased the seeds on ebay too.) See this thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/794337/

I use good potting soil. Most here grow theirs in pots. I personally use Moisture Control by MiracleGro because of the heat here in central FL. They need something like Bloom Booster every few weeks after the vine starts growing to get lots of blooms. You might want to read the sticky thread on this forum for more advice. Then ask away!

You can cross MG vines cultivars with the same cultivar of vines. (Also see sticky for more detailed info.)

Hi Becky! What's a "grow-out"?

I have sooo many container plants that I mix my own container mix. I concocted a lean mix using coir and polymer watering crystals. Too lean?? You can buy the watering crystals cheaply from ebay; there's a seller that sells 10 lbs for $60ish, s&h included. He also has 5lb bags for about $25.

My mg's haven't sprouted yet. I have a few winter-sown, but the rest will have to wait for our z6 temps to warm up- 3 or 4 weeks. :0( Or, can I sow them now? I'm going to have to print those stickys out! Thanks for the info.!!!!!!!

My helper, Jax...

Melissa - There was a co-op here on DG selling the crystals for very reasonable. I got 5 lbs. I use a rich soil with lots of compost. My experience has been that the "native" wild vines like sand. The hybrids like good rich soil. :-) I have grown mine in the ground (sandy) and in pots with good potting soil and the pot soil wins hands down! :-) To me they are like any plant ... start them in the best conditions and they will perform nicely for you!

You can start seeds NOW in small pots or styrofoam cups and then transplant into bigger pots or the ground when the temps warm up. They need light - a sunny window or grow lights. They germinate pretty fast when the temps are warm. (In a matter of days!) Just my .02 cents worth!

FLA is a world away from New England! You guys can grow anything!!! I guess I have enough pots & seeds so I can experiment with which vine likes which soil- I just have to remember to take notes!!!!
Too bad about the soil crystal co-op. I am head over heels for that stuff! It's a miracle. I've used it to grow grass in spots that I can't reach w/ the lawn sprinkler. One word of caution, though- it makes the ground VERY slippery!!! That's why I'm head over heels ;0)

I'm going to go start some seeds!!!!

Jax I have been growing seeds here in NH that so many wonderful folks here at DG and the MG forum shared with me. The folks here at th MG forum are VERY generous!! I have started many seeds inside my house starting in the beginning of March. The I. nils are sooo different from I purpurea. I am sure you will be delighted. I have just simply soaked them for a day in water and most are sprouting in the water when I pot them up. I am sure there are some varieties that are more difficult, but so far EVERY seed I have started has sprouted. I just can't wait for blooms, which should be coming sometime soon! They are an addiction and I can't wait to try other varieties.-Kath

Do the nils and the purpurea interbreed? What about the "Ivy leafed"? I've got lots to learn!

I got only 6 seeds each of those fancy "Japanese" mgs, but I know what great little sprouters they are! At least the good ol' blue ones I used to grow were. They actually became a bit weedy and invasive in my main sunny bed. (Our NE winters couldn't kill them! I was impressed!)

I fertilized this vine with Bloom Booster and Fish Emulsion about a week and a half ago and look at all the blooms I had this morning! That fertilizer mix sure does the trick to jump start the blooms! There were more blooms on the back side of the vine too! This is just one vine!

Very impressive Becky, guess I'll try some too.

Outstanding Becky. Totally inspiring.
Keep posting pictures because they make me really happy.

Nice flowers Becky, I love them!!! What is your fertilizer mix?

I just follow the mixing directions on the back of the Bloom Booster (MiracleGro) and Fish Emulsion (whatever company) and mix them both up in a gallon (or more) watering can or my new sprayer and apply to my entire garden beds and to the MG pots! Within 2 weeks, I get tons of blooms from everything! It works great!!! :-)

Thanks Becky, I'll try the fish emulsion this year...

Me too Becky! Just bought it. Going to give it a try. You seem pretty happy with the results! Thanks! Michelle

Me Too Becky! I wanna be in the Bloom Booster Fish Emulsion club!

Those first few set of blooms look like they were taken with a blacklight shining on them...cool!

This one vine bloomed up a storm today! I am so surprised at how many blooms a single vine can produce on any given day! This plant aims to please and does a nice job of it!

Here is a photo from this morning! Love it!!!

That is a totally awesome display of flowers, Becky, congrats!

Joseph

Thank you, Joseph! I honestly believe the I. purpurea "gene" is what causes so many blooms like that. I got many blooms on my standard I. nils, but nothing like this! But I have noted that my standard I. purpurea vines produce an abundance of blooms just like this Youjiro Yaguruma cross. Just outstanding! Amazing that one vine can actually sustain and produce a flush of blooms like that! It is well worth celebrating when growing this gorgeous vine! Got my fingers crossed for seeds!

The seeds from this vine crossed with Kawaii will be very interesting because of the mounding gene. I would love to have this vine in a mounding form in a hanging basket! Wouldn't that be lovely?!!! :-)

absolutely stunning & jaw dropping Becky.

You Are My Hero.

Thanks, Shawna! I'm no hero ... just a lover of MGs!!! :-)

Just so you don't think that yesterday's flush was unusual, here are the blooms from today. Not nearly as many, but who's counting! LOL!

It looks like it is producing seed pods. But they are fertilized from the pollen of Kawaii and whatever other mounding/trailing pollen I am crossing them with. Still NO pollen whatsoever on a single bloom of this NOID!

More forming seed pods.

Another nice bloom color and pattern. Showing the Blizzard gene in a pretty pattern.

This message was edited May 11, 2008 8:51 AM

Maybe you should try propagating this one vegatatively, like blue dawn flowers...?

I'm sure there would be lots of interest in clones of your special mg.
-T

Trail of tears. This is many of the spent blooms from yesterday. They just fall off the vine onto the ground below. I think these are tears of joy! This vine celebrates life everyday with a gorgeous flush of blooms as it kisses the sunlight before expiring! So beautiful even on the ground.

T - I've never grown one from a cutting. Interesting idea. Hmmm ...

Not to worry though ... the Yaguruma Blizzard gene is a strong one! It just comes in many forms depending on where the pollen comes from! That gene just keeps going like the Pink Ever Ready Bunny! LOL!