Soon, it will be time to clean out the greenhouse of all of the surviving 2011 rose seedlings. The last of the culls, much larger plants than the earlier culls, filled our green waste container.
A week ago, I finished tagging the survivors, 250 in all. We really don't have room for that many new seedlings. That means that many of the seedlings that have been saved from years passed will have to go.
For the last few years, I have been using the metal tags shown below (the best that I have found so far) to tag seedlings. I attach a piece of plastic ribbon so that the tags are easier to find when the plants begin to grow out in the springtime. "Color-coordinating" each year's seedlings has made for easier identification. Last year was orange, and the year before was bright pink.
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.
It is very exciting to stand in a field of roses, among which are some of your very own seedlings. I remember exactly where the original seedlings of 'Thrive!' and 'Eyeconic Lemonade' sprouted in the greenhouse. Both seedlings stood out from the others.
I still have the two original seedlings. It is truly amazing how it is possible to make so many exact clones in such a short time. Thank you Star Roses® for seeing a future in my roses.
