Hand-pollinating Caladiums?

Becky, I would avoid the saucer of water, especially since you mentioned not having much soil in one container. At this stage I don't think they would be happy with wet feet, just moist!

As far as reversion mutations are concerned, "parentage history" refers to the whole line of crosses going all the way back to the wild types used in the first hybridizations. In the process, sometimes you get what is known as "crossovers", in which adjacent chromosome strands overlap or cross over each other, then sort of trade pieces with each other. This is one way in which you can get unexpected combos in a cross.

I wrote an article where I covered some of this; here's the link:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1649/

Interesting stuff!

LariAnn - Oh thanks for that article! I started reading it and saw the words: zygote, meiosis, and mitosis! I had a flashback of biology from High School! LOL! And that was many, many moons ago for me! Great article! Explains a lot about mutations that show up in ALL living things! :-)

Actually ... I was thinking of putting a bunch of the babies (when they are taller) into a much bigger pot and sitting it in a saucer and adding water to the saucer to help keep the soil moist. It is quite hot here as I am sure you know, living down there in the southern part of Florida.

You've been a big help! I am sure I will have more questions as the seedlings grow. I hope you will post some photos of your hybrid Caladiums as they sprout and grow. I would love to see how the colors and patterns on yours turn out! Just curious ... how many crossings with American Caladiums do you think it will take to make them more cold hardy? That seems to be the main disadvantage of growing the Thai Caladiums here in the USA.

This message was edited Jul 21, 2009 1:54 PM

Becky,
Thanks for the compliments! I remember when I was studying about genetics and such, that much of it was presented in a manner that was not clear. So when I discuss it, I want to do my best to make it clear and understandable.

In my crosses with hardy vs. tender Alocasias, sometimes it takes just one cross to change the hardiness. With the Caladiums, I don't think it would take any more than two successive generations to get the plants to behave more like American Caladiums. Of course, commercial breeders are looking for other characteristics besides cold resistance so they wouldn't stop at that. Trying to get just the right mix of different characteristics in one plant is why many crosses are often required.

As soon as I've got something to show, I'll post pics. Meanwhile, here's a look at one of the ones I got from an earlier set of crosses.

And here is another;

Becky,

My Thai-American Caladium hybrid seeds are germinating already. Most of them have put out their little heart-shaped first leaf so we're off to the races now. The hard part is to be able to wait patiently for enough growth to show colors! Once I see something interesting, I'll post a pic.

LariAnn

LariAnn - I love the posted photos of your past crosses! Those are beautiful. Mine are doing well. Sprouts in both containers. I neglected to put them into a deeper container so may have to figure something out. The lid is almost touching the oldest batch of seedlings.

I can't wait to see colors on mine! And I can't wait to see what you get, too! I bet yours are going to be stunning! :-)