Enjoying Seedling Photos With The Camera+ App

I've come to rely on my iPhone camera for most of the photos that I take, but I have been frustrated with the autofocus feature preventing me from choosing my focal point especially when doing close-up photos of new seedlings.  The Camera+ App, at only $1.99 has been a great add-on App for the iPhone camera.

This first photo demonstrates the ability to focus through closer leaves to the center of the seedling bloom, producing an image with crisp anthers.

Here are some other new 2014 seedling photos.

'Singin' in the Rain' X 'First Impression':

'Gemini' X 'First Impression':

'Darlow's Enigma' X "Mixed 2013 Hulthemia seedling pollen":

And yes, just like it's seed parent, the above seedling is fragrant and blooms a ton (has been nearly continuously in bloom from the very first blooms).

The next seedling resulted from a cross of a 2011 Hulthemia seedling with 'Eyes For You'. It is the only 'Eyes For You' seedling that I have kept, but looks to be a good one and is fragrant.

The last photos are of two of my favorite 2014 seedlings, the first coming from a cross of "O212-1" X "Q247-3", and the final photo of a seedling from a cross of "N159-5" X "Q62-1".

The last seedling appears to be thornless, a trait that comes from it's grandparent "Basye's Thornless".  I especially like the clarity of this photo where not only the anthers are clearly in focus, but so is the fuzz on the inside of the reflexing sepal.  I can hardly believe that the Camera+ App only cost $1.99 (this is not an advertisement by the way!)  I'm looking forward to having more fun with my iPhone camera.

My Current Favorite New Seedling (from 2013)

This is the third photo of this seedling that I am posting on my blog, and it will probably not be the last.  While there are several Hulthemia seedlings both from this year and from last year that resulted from crosses with 'Darlow's Enigma' as the seed parent, this is my favorite.  It seems very floriferous for a young seedling.  Also, since it appears to not set any hips, I am hopeful that it will have a rapid repeat on its bloom cycle.

Hulthemia Blotch - Not Always Visible

When breeding with Hulthemias, it is important to know that the blotch is not always visible, especially in young seedlings.

When I first mentioned this 'Darlow's Enigma' seedling in the July 7, 2013 post (the last photo in that post), I was certain that it didn't have a blotch.  Now, nearly a year later, growing outside on a more mature plant, it is easy to see that actually the seedling does have a blotch.  The blotch is best seen with the petals removed.

A new 2014 seedling shown below will probably "lose" it's blotch on the next bloom cycle (blotches fade as the weather warms up).  Can you see the blotch?  It is just barely visible in the center yellow zone of coloration.  I suspect that the blotch will be way more visible next spring if the seedling survives.

My mentor in Hulthemias, Mr. Ralph Moore, was surprised that I got a repeat blooming Hulthemia from 'Persian Sunset' the first year that I used it.  Mr. Moore had never gotten a fully remontant Hulthemia seedling.  All of his Hulthemia seedlings bloomed only on "old wood", similar to most species roses.  The last 2 years that I visited Mr. Moore I pointed out to him several seedlings in his seedling benches that were repeat blooming Hulthemias.  I don't think that he believed me though because with his poorer vision of old age he was not able to see the faint blotches in his young seedlings.

Another 2013 'Darlow's Enigma' Hulthemia Seedling

There is a very wide range of Hulthemia seedlings coming from 'Darlow's Enigma'.  One thing they have in common is floriferousness.  Here is a photo of one that I took yesterday.

'Darlow's Enigma' Hulthemia X "Basye's Thornless" Hulthemia

I am very pleased with this brand new 2014 Hulthemia from a cross between two 2013 seedlings:  ('Darlow's Enigma' X "Mixed Hulthemia Pollen") X ('Eyeconic Pomegranate Lemonade' X "Basye's Thornless"). 

First, here are the parents. 

Seed Parent:

Pollen Parent:

I took the chance on making this cross with the new seedlings last year and am very happy with the results.  It appears that this seedling is thornless.  The sister seedling behind it got all the prickles!

'Darlow's Enigma' Hulthemia

Several of the 2013 'Darlow's Enigma' X "Mixed Hulthemia Pollen" seedlings are blooming well outside.  This is one of my favorites (this one was also shown in the 4/13/14 post, fourth photo down).  I wonder what it will look like as a mature plant in 2-3 years.

Hulthemia Persica Seedlings (Part 2)

The Hulthemia persica seedlings continue to be affected by powdery mildew.  It appears that all but one are highly susceptible.  Some have died due to the infection, while most of the others seem to have had their growth stunted by the infection.

The lone seedling below appears to be resistant.  It is also the most vigorous and is just starting to put out side shoots.  The prickles (thorns) look very much like what you might find on a noxious weed.

I wonder if it will bloom next year?  I sure hope so.

Sister Seedling to 'Family Holiday'

I took this photo today, and I hesitate mentioning that it is a sister seedling to 'Family Holiday' because it appears to be much showier with regard to color.  This rose was also from the 2012 batch, but was very slow to grow because I had planted another seedling in with it when it first was transplanted out of the greenhouse (I often combine 2 or 3 seedlings into a single pot so that I do not have to use so many pots.)  Consequently, due to its small size, it was not even considered as a contender for the ARS Convention.  That other seedling was culled from the pot late last year and has allowed this seedling to thrive and show its stuff.  If it continues to do well, it might be released at a future date.

A Few 2013 Hulthemias Seen Outside

Each spring, I look forward to seeing how the surviving seedlings, from the year before, perform outside of the greenhouse.  There are always surprises.  Some seedlings do better than expected, while others really fall apart badly from weather and disease.  Here are a few that have looked good.

The first photo below is of a miniature that blooms quite a lot.  The bloom on the left is the older "faded" bloom.  I think that the color seems to improve as it ages.  The blooms hold for several days and hold that aged color without browning.  It seems to want to sort of flow, so I am wondering how it might look in a hanging basket.

The next seedling is a cross of 'Midnight Blue' X "N159-5", a Hulthemia seedling.  It is actually much more purple than the photos shows.  I suspect that when the plant fills out, it will get rather large.

The next 2 seedlings are Hulthemia crosses with 'Darlow's Enigma'.  Both appear to have early signs of having good floriferousness similar to 'Darlow's Enigma'.  My favorite so far is the second seedling below.  It has very dark foliage to contrast with the white blooms. In the last photo, there is a new shoot having 65 buds on it.  Looks like a good sign for lots of blooming power.

Introducing 'Family Holiday'

One of our new seedlings from the 2012 batch is being introduced at the American Rose Society's 2014 Spring Convention in San Diego, California.  The convention will take place from May 8th to May 12th.  

Linda Clark contacted me about donating a rose for the Convention almost two years ago.    Bill DeVor of Greenheart Farms agreed to do the propagating and growing of the rose.  There were 2 seedlings that were offered: "P144-1" and "P163-1".  Ultimately "P144-1" was chosen by Bill DeVor due to it's ease of propagation and vigorous growth.

This rose is a seedling of 'Pearl Sanford' X 'First Impression'.  It is a miniflora with petals of a creamy yellow blend and light pink edging.  For those interested in rose breeding, it makes an excellent seed parent - sets hips well and has a good germination rate.

Introducing 'Family Holiday'

Come to the Convention to get one!

'Euphrates'!

From my earliest memories of wanting to breed roses, I remember pouring over rose books to select possible prospective parents for my breeding program.  One of the first roses that caught my eye was 'Euphrates'.  At the time, I had no idea what Hulthemia hybrids were.  I only knew that I was disappointed to read in it's description that 'Euphrates' was infertile.

Last year I was so excited to receive a rooted piece of 'Euphrates' from Kim Rupert.  After I planted it, all of the foliage died.  I thought that maybe the smaller roots may not have been able to support it's growth.  I had already failed twice in trying to root cuttings of 'Euphrates', so the thought hit me that I would just simply not be able to grow 'Euphrates'.  I had wanted to try it in hybridizing after hearing that it had been used by others to produce seedlings, even though I had previously read that it was infertile.  I was glad that I kept that piece with a root on it because after a few more days, it started to put out some new growth.  Although it didn't bloom last year, it has developed buds this year, and just started blooming yesterday.

Somehow, I had thought that the blotch would be much larger, but I suppose that even 'Euphrates's blotch was dependent on several variables just like the modern Hulthemia hybrids that I have grown.  This bloom and 2 others have been crossed with hybrid Hulthemia pollen in hopes that better compatibility will exist than when crossing with regular roses.

It may just be an unproductive exercise, however, I would like to see if 'Euphrates' will be able to bring any other interesting traits to the Hulthemia hybrids.  Below are photos of some of the new 2013 seedlings that are just now blooming for the first time outside of the greenhouse.  Blotch size and intensity continue to increase.

Hulthemia Persica Seedlings (Part 1)

These most ancient of roses, Hulthemia persica, from Persia (Iran), have now begun to grow here in Bakersfield.  Though their cotyledons appear rose like, their first true leaves do not.  They are not compound like roses (having many leaflets), but just have a single leaf coming directly from the stems.  It hasn't taken them very long to germinate and grow!

As can be seen in the lower left seedling, powdery mildew is already affecting some of these seedlings. Germination has been fair so far with 16/73 seeds sprouting (22% germination rate).  This is very similar to the average germination rate that I see in rose seeds (varies widely depending on the rose seed parent).  I wonder how many years it will take these seedlings to bloom?

Hulthemia Persica Seeds (Part 2)

In order to rehydrate the Hulthemia persica seeds, I decided to wrap them in a damp paper towel, place them into a zip-lock bag and put them in the refrigerator.  After about 2 weeks, I took the seeds out of the paper towel and found that the paper towel had been darkly stained from the seeds.

The seeds were removed from the paper towel and placed back into the zip-lock bag and put back in the refrigerator for another 6-8 weeks.  Upon removal from the bag, much to my excitement, I found that one of the seeds had germinated!  I knew then that at least some of the seeds were viable.  This was great news.

Additionally, I noticed that the seeds were covered in a yellowish green material, something that I had never seen on rose seeds.  I suppose that it was a fungus.

Next, I divided the seeds into two groups: one group (43 seeds) was planted into the seedling benches along with the rose seeds; and the other group (30 seeds) was planted into a sandy soil mix taken from the native soil in my back yard (5 seeds per pot).

The story will continue…..

Hulthemia persica Seeds! (Part 1)

Last April I received the most amazing gift - Hulthemia persica seeds from Iran!  They came to me by way of Dr. David Byrne of Texas A&M University.  The seeds were brought to the U.S. by doctoral candidate Mahnaz Kiani.  She is working on a genomics project on sorghum with Dr. Patricia Klein.

Since it was already after my usual planting time and having already had experience germinating 'Tigris' seeds that were more than a year old, I thought that it would be prudent to put the envelop containing the blackened seed pods into the refrigerator for safekeeping until I could plant the seeds along with my rose seeds in 2014.

This is what the contents looked like when I opened the clear plastic bag last November.

The hips looked almost like they had been scorched and were completely dry and crispy. It made me wonder whether any of the seeds would be viable.

Seen close-up below, you can imagine how "unfriendly" the hips were.  I had to be careful removing the seeds so as not to puncture my fingers!

I noticed that unlike rose seeds, Hulthemia persica seeds were more uniform in shape and size.  Additionally, the seed covers appeared rather smooth.  Approximately 20 hips yielded 119 seeds.  73 of these seeds were placed in a damp paper towel and returned to the refrigerator in a zip-lock bag for further cold stratification.

The story will continue…..

2014 Sprouts!

Getting such a late start this year I was very happy to find that the rose seeds had already begun sprouting yesterday.  I counted about 30 brand new sprouts, and was very pleased to see that the cross with the most germinations, 12 of them, came from one of my newer Hulthemia seedlings (new seedling in 2011 code-named "O-04") that was crossed with 'Blue for You' pollen.  O-04 is a complex Hulthemia cross that has 'Eyeconic Lychee Lemonade' as a grandparent.  Despite the late start, I think that we should have as many seedlings as usual.  The main downside is that they will start to bloom at the peak of hybridizing season.  Should be exciting!

2014 Seeds Planted in New Seedling Beds!

I didn't think that it would ever happen, but it finally did!  All of the new seedling beds were built, filled with fresh new potting soil and planted.  So thankful for all of the help from the kids and my wife.  Should have first blooms in about 8 weeks.  Better late than never!

Seedling Benches, Starting Over

I suppose that 17 years is plenty long enough for seedling benches made out of wood, wire fencing and screen to last.  For the past 3 or 4 years in fact, we have been propping up rotting 2" X 4"s on one of the seedling benches that has been threatening to collapse.  So this year we decided to rebuild all of them and replenish them with brand new potting soil.  Each raised bed is 20 feet long by 5 feet wide and all of the boards are put together with screws so as to increase sturdiness.

Two down, two to go!