Becky's garden - Summer 2010

I thought I'd share some of my garden blooms here with everyone. If you aren't interested, then you can just ignore this thread ...

Debra - I miss seeing your garden threads! I loved all the plants you were growing. You have the biggest green thumb when it comes to growing anything and everything! I won't even try to compare my garden plants/blooms with yours, but I do miss seeing your thread.

I'll start off with a few MG blooms. Most of my vines are dying or already gone. New ones are right behind, but no blooms yet ... so figured I'd also show some other blooms in my garden, too! :-)

This is Diluted Fuji no Muraski. No, I haven't changed the name. I know ... I guess I'm not very fashionable. It's easier for me to remember a cultivar by it's original name before it's crossed along with some "additional" name added in to tell me why it is different. In this case the "Diluted" means that there is a blending of colors in this cross. Amazingly, it has grown out true for me. I am very pleased! And I see others here have had the same excellent results! Congrats!

This message was edited Jul 27, 2010 7:33 AM

This is a cross of Diluted Fuji no Muraski with Keiryu from last year. I love the pretty blue in this cross. If I get any seeds ... though so far there are no seed pods forming yet ... y'all know I will share. Please be aware that just because this vine came out this way on it's first grow-out, there is not a guarantee that the F1 vines will look like this. This is not a hybrid. It is simply a cross that may or may not be stable.

Many times there are recessive genes that come out in the F1 or F2 that make it look totally different than the original vine/blooms. I don't know if folks have been disappointed by any seeds they've grown out from me but none of my seeds are hybrids yet. It takes 3, sometimes 4 generations of seed/vine self-pollinating to get a good stable new hybrid. So just be aware of that and you won't be surprised or disappointed.

This is the typical Silver Wolf bloom on my particular vine. Nice contrast between the lighter foliage and this darker bloom. As the bloom ages it turns very dark (almost a gray-black) but mine rarely stays open in nice form to photograph once it starts wilting. Most of the blooms on this vine look like this one.

But ... Silver Wolf has produced several "mutant" blooms like this one. It could be a recessive gene in my particular seed or something else. Remember ... every seed can produce a unique vine. Unfortunately, I didn't get but a few seeds, so will be growing out the F1s to see what happens. Who knows ... maybe that is a recessive gene on those blooms and I'll get a vine with blooms like this instead of solid color.

The two photos above were taken several weeks ago. Being an annual vine, it is now dying, but today I got two more mutant blooms. When the vines are on the decline, the blooms aren't always fully open and pretty, but you can see what I am talking about concerning more unusual blooms. It may be interesting to see what the F1 seeds produce ...

Blue Speckles is a new cross this year. But seeds from this vine could produce solid color blooms instead of this speckled pattern. The genetic pool is very vast in many MGs! This is only a cross, not a hybrid. So it's unknown what the seeds will produce...

Full Moon (Ukon) came true as an F1 from Dany. But it is considered a rare MG because of low seed production. I found that to be all too true. Most of the blooms did not have pollen. So I had to cross it with other vine blooms. I am growing an F1 currently to see what happens to the yellow gene when crossed.

This is Yuuzuki. It originated in Japan. At some point, it was renamed here in the USA to Rose Silk. I don't really understand why some of the Japanese cultivars are renamed here. It is confusing because when I look at the two names, I initially think they are two different cultivars, but often they are not. I know that there are quite a few Japanese MGs that go by several different names, but when you compare them side by side, they are the same. Go figure!

This message was edited Jul 26, 2010 4:01 PM

I always get a kick out of how the bloom colors change as the day goes on. If I didn't know that these bloom in the photo were the same bloom taken in the morning and then later in the afternoon, I'd think they were two totally different cultivars. It's almost like you get two MGs for the pleasure of one!

The Speckled blooming vines are always fascinating. This one is currently growing ... actually almost done with it's life cycle. But here are the typical blooms. Very large blooms with speckles on them. No two blooms are exactly the same.

But it's neat to see the solid blooms on these vines! So is this the solid color that was crossed with a speckled bloom to get this color of speckles? It's all so interesting!

And sometimes ... you get something completely bizarre such as this bloom that is mainly solid purple with a speckled margin. Isn't Mother Nature grand?!!!

This message was edited Jul 26, 2010 4:23 PM

Unfortunately, some cultivars are low seed producers as is this vine. One pod on the entire vine. But I was warned that would happen. At least with 1seed, I can try growing it out again! :-)

I am growing my vines in 5 gallon containers. They grow quite large. The root system extends down to the bottom of the containers by the time their life cycle is done. I place my vines at least 4' apart, otherwise they grow and spread into each other. They sure are gorgeous when they get this big!

One of my favorite new cultivars this year was Sidare. It is a weeping MG. Perfect for hanging baskets!

I enjoyed your thread very much. You have been blessed with a MG
green thumb but then you also grow lots of other gorgeous plants too. Congrats on your amazing blooms!!

Thanks Helena for reading my thread.

I hope I get lots of seeds to trade/share from all my grow-outs this year. I just hope folks understand that all the crosses I am growing are NOT stable and can produce entirely different blooms than what you see here. Only some, mostly the Japanese, are likely to come true. But that is only if they weren't crossed by open-pollination with another cultivar. No guarantees with my seeds! I don't know how the seed companies do it to ensure their packs have a specific cultivar.

I love Brugs, too. This is Equador Pink that I thought I had lost, but it began producing new leaves, so I transplanted it in a self-watering container and look at it now! :-)

This message was edited Jul 26, 2010 5:10 PM

The hummers love this Crocosmia!

Some cyber-friends shared/traded their crossed daylily seeds with me. I had about 60 different NOIDs this year. This one is my favorite. Large bloom and fan and has been blooming for almost 2 months. Still going strong while all the others have stopped blooming for the season.

The hummers also love the nectar from the red Shrimp Plant. I have a lot of red blooming plants in my garden for those little birdies. :-)

I am growing Ixora shrubs to divide garden rooms. These are native of Malaysia and referred to as Flame of the Woods. Love the bloom clusters!

It's not even Fall yet, but my Sweet Autumn Clematis is already blooming! These vines are doing a wonderful job of covering my mini-pergola trellis. I hope it eventually covers the entire sides and top of the pergola! :-)

All of my Plumeria were killed to the ground this past Winter except this one. I moved it into one of the self-watering containers and it has gotten to be a nice size. The root system on these are very modest for such a large plant.

This is a pink coral vine that I started from seed a year ago and potted up this year. It has taken off! I tried to shape into a heart but it's not cooperating. Though it is blooming! A really pretty vine!

Oops! Here is the Pink Coral Vine...

I dug up some Boxwood shrubs in the front yard and then didn't have the heart to toss them in the trash, so I pruned them back hard ... really hard to the point you could say they were butchered. I didn't think any would make it because of being cut back so drastically, but 7 out of 8 did! These are tough little shrubs ... now Bonsai trees. LOL! As you can see, I am still learning about the art of making Bonsai plants. LOL!

This is one of my favorite plants ... Rainlilies! Whenever it rains here, they grow seemingly overnight and bloom for several days!

My Chinese Evening Glory vine is still going strong! It's a perennial MG and blooms in the late winter/early spring.

Becky, just spectacular blooms. So happy you finally shared some photos with us. I am crazy about your mutant, the diluted Fuji, and the cross with Keiryu.
I love all your speckled blooms. The color blocked bloom is impressive
and this photo is a beauty #8575

Thanks so much for your kind compliments, Jackie!

I love that Purple Speckled vine. Only one seed pod on it with one seed. I'll be growing it out again! I was told when I got the seed to grow this vine that it is a stingy seed producer! LOL! They weren't kidding! I got seeds from other MG vines not posted here, but these are the stubborn seed producers photographed above. Thanks for taking a look at my blooms!

Becky - thanks for the garden tour! Love all your pretties! You certainly have a green thumb (or two), LOL.

Joanne Ü

Becky, looking good!!! you have got some great crosses here, now, to keep them going and testing them, that will be a real treat when you get to see what you have created. Once you decide which are worthy of keeping, be sure to name them before you trade any of them. Something like I. nil Blueberry Sprinkle, or I. nil Twilight... They could go along with my Kikyo Lt. Blue - Dracula.. (Just a thought)

Glad to see some new stuff coming out. Keep up the good work and I'll be back soon, gotta check on my little fellows.

A.

Thank you Joanne and Antoinette!

You are right Antoinette ... Making a cross is the easy part, getting a cross to be stable from seed can be another story entirely. It takes a lot of time and commitment! Which is why I haven't created my first true "hybrid" yet. I've made plenty of crosses though! LOL!

Over the years, I've gotten trades that looked nothing like what they were labeled. I always assumed that maybe the wrong seeds were put in the baggies or were mislabeled, but it could be that they were not stable crosses to begin with. They carried recessive genes and looked very different than the parent (mother) vine's blooms. Being a trade, I wasn't too upset. It happens probably more than not with crosses! :-)

It does bother me though when I buy seeds and they don't grow out true. Sometimes I get a nice surprise cross. But if I am spending my hard earned $$'s, I want what I paid for, you know?!!! It's disappointing to say the least.

This message was edited Jul 26, 2010 10:10 PM

Some one here has some gorgeous babies!!!

Clemen - Hey ya! I'm happy to see you here! Thank you so much for your kind compliment on my crazy blooms! :-)

They are not crazy, I love them. Can you believe your seeds have not given me one bloom? i cannot understand it. Anyway, they are growing, maybe they are getting too much fertilizer from the other plants. I know they do not like it. I like those rain liliies, have never seen those.

Clemen - Are they in full sun? Have you tried Bloom Booster by MiracleGro? I swear by that stuff! Hopefully you will get some soon!

Becky, blue speckles and silver wolf are stunning...

Thanks Martin!

I hope to have plenty of seeds of Blue Speckles to share! All the seeds were self-pollinated by hand. I didn't cross pollinate that vine at all. And it is away from all the other vines. It has the speckle trait that I like and plenty of pollen. I used it for most all my crosses. But not sure what the seeds will produce since a solid blue bloom is a recessive gene! I also used Sidare for many of my earlier crosses. And may use it again when the new vines start blooming.

Blue Speckles has been the pollen plant for blooms on every vine that is sterile (at one point or another). So it will be very interesting to see what those seeds produce. Sometimes you have to grow out the F1 (which has to be "self"-pollinated) and then grow the F2 to see what you might really get! But even an F3 can produce something different if it is not a stable hybrid. Those dominant and recessive genes can be rather tricky! Of course the goal is to get speckles, but that doesn't always happen. Which makes crossing genes for a particular trait and stabilizing it so difficult! My hat is off to folks who do TRUE hybrids. Anyone can make a cross, but it takes a lot of work to make a new hybrid cultivar.

Anytime you get seeds that are a "cross", don't be surprised if the F1 seeds gives you something quite different than you were expecting. Sometimes that is good and sometimes it can be disappointing.

Silver Wolf is a stingy seed producer and so far I've not gotten but a couple of seeds which I am planning to grow out to try to get more seeds for next year's trades and sharing! :-) With any luck...

On a side note: A dominant trait does not mean "more potent," and recessive does not mean "weaker." Rather, the terms simply refer to the visible trait. And the hidden "recessive" trait can show up in any seed/vine!

In this post above ( http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=7998623 ) you can see the vines in their containers all lined up along my fence. Most of those vines were spaced anywhere from 2 -3' apart. I have decided to now only grow one or maybe two vines per 4' x 6' bed. The I. nil and I. purpurea vines get really large here. And they like to climb everywhere ... including to each other. If you have ever had that happen, then you know what a bear it is to separate them without breaking or cutting the vines. I have to try to stay on top of it every day. After a while it is a lot of work to babysit them. Which is also why I only grow about 15-20 at a time.

I know everyone got a LOT of seeds in the seed swap. And I apologize for not growing at least one seed from every packet, but I just don't have the room or time or money it takes to do that! I am a selective MG gardener. I personally favor the the I. nils and I am selective about growing cultivars or crosses that are new to me. There are so many cultivars (not to mention infinite crosses), that I could never grow them all in my lifetime even if I started at 15 years old! lol And new hybrids are developed every day in Japan and around the world including here in the USA! :-)

I also like other plants as well as other vines as you may have observed by the other plant photos in this thread.

Trying to keep a vine from being crossed with another cultivar is tricky. If they are too close together, open pollinating can often occur. I know there are a lot of folks here who like the true "pure" named cultivars/hybrids. If you are very careful, it can be done. Vines have to be some distance apart, not right next to each, to prevent that from happening. But even then, bees do fly across my yard to land on a different cultivar's bloom and you know the rest is history!

I gave up trying to keep mine pure two years ago. And I became fascinated with crosses. How else would we get some of these mind-blowing vines/blooms? So I warn everyone who doesn't already know ... if you trade with me, you're very likely to get a cross! It's no secret as many have traded with me in the past and were often surprised by their blooms. The blooms didn't look like mine. And that is probably the case with any crossed cultivars. And it DOES happen a lot!!! Just look at all the folks who come to this forum trying to ID their blooms because they can't match it up from DG PlantFiles or some other source on the internet.

Here are two of my vines (NOID pink and Pink Silk) trying to sneak past me by getting a little too cozy! You can bet any bee around will be crossing these two! LOL! It's amazing how far a single vine can reach to get to another MG! I've had some that reached 6' behind the containers and I didn't even know it until I saw the bloom come up two garden beds away! LOL! Sneaky is not the word for these little darlings!