Okay, so no roses in this post, but keep reading because this smoothie will rejuvenate you after working in the rose garden. I have one every morning for breakfast.
First I put in a tangerine (or black plum when they are in season). Then comes the kale and 1/4 to 1/2 avocado (depending on the size). Next add 2 teaspoons of sugar (Splenda, Stevia or Nectresse for diabetics, or you may choose to not add any additional sweetener), and a tablespoon of flax seed oil.
Then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of almond milk and about 3/4 scoop of your favorite protein powder.
Blend all of this together with your Ninja blender (or similar amazing blending device). After blending in the photo below, I have added frozen berries - strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries (you can also add frozen bananas and there is a "tropical mix medley" available at some stores). To make a pleasing color, I always make sure to add either blackberries or blueberries.
If there is still some space at the top, I will add a bit more almond milk, but be careful to not overfill or you will have a mess (this is experience talking!) Blend again, and you will have the best rejuvenation smoothie, or breakfast smoothie you could ever dream of. I add a handful of roasted or raw (un-salted) almonds (10-15) on the side to make the meal complete.
Try it - if you replace a meal a day, you may also find that it will help you to lose weight. To your health!
Since the beginning of my work with the Hulthemias, I knew that I wanted to get the Hulthemia blotch into all kinds/types of roses. Although we haven't been able to do that yet, this past year we made some good progress getting the blotch into some interesting rose types. We now have blotches in crosses with "Basye's Thornless", 'Darlow's Enigma' and with the crested mosses. All of these seedlings are fully remontant. What I am most excited about is those with "Basye's Thornless". Here are two of the best.
In a previous post I already showed a couple of new seedlings coming from 'Darlow's Enigma' that have the Hulthemia blotch. There have been a few more, but I think that the one shown below probably has the best blotch of this group so far. The bloom lasted several days.
There has been one crested moss that has the blotch. Although the cresting and blotch are not that impressive, it is a start into new territory and I am very happy that it seems to have good powdery mildew resistance.
Seen below are a couple more 2013 seedlings. Because of their novelty, they have survived "the cut" so far.
The final seedling below is shown both "with" and "without" anthers. Because of the superior cleanliness of it's parentage, the anthers from this it's first bloom, were used in crosses with other roses. There was enough pollen for 30 crosses.
About 1/3 to 1/2 of the seedlings have yet to bloom for the first time.
I used 'Double Knock Out' extensively in 2011. It was crossed with nearly every seed parent that I was using at the time. One cross that I much anticipated was one where I replaced 'Home Run' with 'Double Knock Out' in the cross that gave me 'Thrive!'. So the cross looked like this: ('Marmalade Skies' X 'Baby Love') X 'Double Knock Out'. Usually seedlings look better in the greenhouse than when grown outdoors, however, this one looks even better when grown out in the elements.
When breeding for the Hulthemia blotch, I have found that when a cleaner rose is used in the cross (any of the Knock Out series, 'Carefree Sunshine', 'Thrive!', "G168-2" - the seed parent of 'Thrive!' and some others) that there are very few resulting seedlings that exhibit the blotch. It's as though there is some other dominant factor that is inhibiting the blotch (which in other crosses the Hulthemia blotch seems to usually be expressed as a dominant or co-dominant type trait). You can be sure that I was very pleased to find out how well this 2012 seedling has been doing outside for the first time this spring. It is from a cross of <({'Halo Today' X ['Geisha' X ('Tobo' X 'Singin' in the Rain')]} X 'First Impression') X "Mixed Hulthemia Pollen"> X 'Double Knock Out'. Despite being fully one-half 'Double Knock Out', it does a very good job expressing the blotch (see photo below). Needless to say, I have used this seedling, code name "P85-2" very extensively in crosses this year.
The albino branch that I mentioned in a previous post has continued to grow. It appears that although the leaves are lacking chlorophyl, the branch itself seems to be somewhat green. It will be interesting to see if the blooms open normally and whether they will look anything like the regular Hulthemia bloom of this particular seedling.
There was another Hulthemia that I noticed today that was sporting. As you can see in the photo below, most of the blotch is missing. Somehow without the blotch it looks rather plain. The last photo shows a bloom of that same seedling with it's blotch intact. Many sports are not more desirable than the original.
This is a rose that I really like. It was a seedling from 4 years ago and was from a cross of 'Pearl Sanford' X ('Gemini' X 'First Impression'). Since finding out that it set hips well and that the seeds germinated very well, I decided to use it in the greenhouse for the last couple of years. This year I put it outside the greenhouse to make more room inside for other newer seed parents. I am still using it as a seed parent, but found out that I like it even more outside. And it's fragrant.
Inside the greenhouse.
Outside the greenhouse.
During the last few days, the new seedlings have started to bloom so much that it has been hard for me to keep up. Below are some seedlings of "G168-2", which also happens to be the seed parent of 'Thrive!'.
Over the last couple of days, several of the 'Darlow's Enigma' seedlings (pollen parent was mixed Hulthemia seedlings) have started to bloom. A few of these appear to be resistant to powdery mildew and have the blotch. The first 2 photos show one of them that has many petals. Because of that, the blotch is seen easier by pulling back the petals. The 3rd photo is of a sister seedling that is pink and with fewer petals. Both of these are producing multiple flower buds on the first bloom cycle. This characteristic usually suggests good floriferousness, which is one of the traits that I like so much about 'Darlow's Enigma'.
There are several 'Midnight Blue' seedlings that are also blooming. I did a large cross of it with one of my better mini Hulthemia seedlings code named "N159-5". The majority of them are exhibiting a larger "streaked" form of the blotch. The first photo is a semi-double seedling that is really more of a deep purple/red coloration (digital cameras seem to have trouble picking up that color), while the second is a single pink.
The last 2 photos are of a couple of the 2012 Hulthemia seedlings blooming for the first time outside of the greenhouse. Both appear to have glossier disease resistant foliage. The first came from a cross of 'Pearl Sanford' x "N210-1" ("N210-1" is the seedling featured in the post, The Huthemia in the Striped Pajamas), while the last one is a 'Double Knock Out' seedling. I am hoping that the last one has good black spot resistance and have already started using it in crosses this year.
