Hulthemia Traits, the Good and the Bad

This new 2011 seedling shown below is probably the showiest Hulthemia that I have had to date.  Because I liked it so much, I propagated it early (click here to see first bloom).  These blooms are on a 10 inch cutting, and there were a total of 5 blooms in the cluster, so it appears to be fairly floriferous even at a smaller stage.  To me the coloring looks almost brushed on.  

Unfortunately, this seedling also seems to be carrying some of the "bad" baggage that is sometimes seen in the modern Hulthemia hybrids.  It seems to have a tendency to dieback.  This is a characteristic of 'Tigris'.  Although it might represent an adaptive trait in desert type environments for the original species where dieback would protect the plant from dying due to lack of water, it certainly is not a good trait in modern Hulthemia hybrids.

Fortunately, I have seen that many of the offspring of seedlings with dieback, do not have dieback themselves.  This seedling will therefore probably still have its place in the lineage of future Hulthemias.  There is another new Hulthemia that I hope to cross it with. It is vigorous, healthy, and sets a ton of hips. If it's germination proves to be good, it will be used extensively in the coming year.