Here is Ruby Meyer. It is very pretty, don't know what I was expecting. Is this a mini or something? Cybister? You can tell I am very new at Amaryllis.
Susan
=^..^=
Ruby Meyer Amaryllis
Susan,
I have a scape on what is supposed to be Ruby Meyer. It is such a tiny, delicate bud compared to the others, a teeny, wheeny thing!
Ruby Meyer is said to be a cybister which should make it a diploid. It is most likely self sterile, but it wouldn't hurt to try one of the blooms if you don't have any other diploids in bloom.
My Papillio 'Improved' from Scheepers is going to bloom before Ruby Meyer, so I will try to save some pollen for it. I sure hope my Ruby Meyer is as pretty as yours!
I don't think it has to be a cybister to cross it, but I suspect that the pollen donor would need to be diploid.
and how do I know if it is diploid? I am ploidy challenged. LOL
Susan
=^..^=
So, am I!!! I asked that question in many ways to Hans-Werner. There are no real answers for some of them. All you can do is try them. If they are huge, newer hybrids, then they are most likely Tets, just as in the daylily world. But that characteristic may be deceiving. There are some large blooming diploids.
It is my understanding that all cybisters are diploid. Most, and perhaps all, species types are diploid. If I understand correctly, it is hybridization that created the large tetraploids that we enjoy at Christmas today.
The way that I have it figured so far is that the smaller and/or more trumpet or cybister shaped, the more likely they are diploid. The larger, more full ones are most likely tetraploid. It is possible to cross diploid with tetraploid, but you won't get very many viable seeds and of those, only a few will be fertile.
Why try to figure it out? Simply put... If you want to increase your chances at a really nice seedling with the characteristics that you want to carry on, then you need to know the odds of the cross working, and that means knowing the ploidy. With most Hippeastrum on the market, that is no problem. The hybrids are Tets and that is what has been marketed heavily over the years. But the trend is toward the species types and the more unusual as you see posted recently on DG. Many of those are diploids.
So, let's form a club and try to figure out which is which, okay?
Just keep in mind that just because a cross doesn' t work, it doesn't mean there is a ploidy conflict.
I love Ruby Meyer, had her a couple of years ago. Wonderful color!