Saturday, December 13, 2014

Hulthemia Persica Seedlings (Part 3)

Since I did not baby the Hulthemia persica seedlings, they did not fare that well.  Only 4 have survived so far.  None of them were very vigorous.  If they were rose seedlings they would have all been culled for lack of vigor.  However, I was very pleased to see that one of the Hulthemia persica seedlings was putting out some root suckers.  The suckers seem more vigorous than the rest of the plant.  I suspect that the species in the wild builds up a root system that ultimately puts out new growth from root suckers each year. I have never seen Hulthemia persica in its native home, but would like to in order to better understand its natural growth pattern.

Shown below on the right is one of the original seedlings with the 2 suckers coming up from its roots seen on the left.



After digging them up, it is easy to see how long the suckers can be.  I can imagine that this characteristic is an adaptation for survival in its usual desert environment.



In addition to the Hulthemia persica seeds, other non-rose seeds that I planted this year in the seedling benches included crape myrtle, strawberry, lilac and blueberry seeds.

Below are seedlings of open pollinated Pink Lemonade™ blueberry seeds.


I also planted regular blueberry seeds coming from several of my favorite blueberry varieties.  These had already been potted up as seen below.


Most of the pots contain several blueberry seedlings.  I am hoping that a few of them will produce some blueberries this next summer.  The most vigorous, fruit producing seedlings will be planted in separate pots next year.

5 comments:

  1. Hey Jim, it's me Andrew again. I think that's awesome about the Hulthemia persia seedlings and the blueberries. As a side hobby breeding project, I've started experimenting with crepe myrtles and blueberries as well. My favorite cultivar of blueberry is 'Emerald' but I'm not sure what would perform best in your region. Has some seedlings from 'Emerald' but they didn't make it this year. I have the common Climax and Premier too, and lesser know Arapaho, Sunshine Blue, and Legacy.

    I'm having much better success with crepe myrtles though, have about 9 healthy vigorous seedlings from 'Black Diamond™' since I discovered that the series isn't patented. I was sure my one tree was isolated from other pollination sources, yet only one seedling is displaying the characteristic dark foliage? Yet another curious mystery of how plant genetics works itself out lol!

    I have some seeds I collected from a rare Lagerstroemia species at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens that isn't indica, fauriei, or a hybrid. It's flower's aren't that showy but it's bark is a pure pure smooth white. I would be happy to send you some material!!

    Hope you and your family are having a great Christmas and holiday off,
    -Andrew

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  2. Hi Andrew, thank you for your comments! Though roses are my favorite seeds to plant, I enjoy planting all kinds of seeds - sounds like you do too. I am not familiar with Lagerstroemia - will have to look it up. Thank you for the offer! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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  3. Hi Andrew, okay, so now I've learned the Lagerstroemia is the genus that crape myrtles come from! Yes, it would be fun to try some seeds. Do you know if it is possible to cross with indica hybrids?

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  4. Jim, hey! I'm not sure if it is possible to cross with indica hybrids but I see not reason why not. There are several indica hybrid cultivars such as 'Natchez' that are fertile. We have 2 rare pure blooded L. fauriei cultivars by the LSU Horticulture building and WOW the red bark is so beautiful, I'm hoping to incorporate them into my breeding program as well. In fact the CocaCola headquarters in Atlanta just bought 100 L. fauriei to line their main entry road because of the red bark, very clever and creative lol. I believe you still have my email right? Just send my your address and I'll mail you some goodies!

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  5. Hello,
    Iam looking for Rosa persica seeds, do you have some left and would you mind sending me some? Thanks.
    Regards.

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