Initial Results - Fire and Ice x Bristol's Sunset

I actually set the seed for this cross in 2012, but I didn’t make any attempt to speed the seedlings along (quite the reverse, since I was suffering a shortage of space), so they are just starting to come into bloom.

This is a very good example between the difference between active management (which can theoretically get you from seed to flower in 4 months) and lazy management (where overcrowded seedlings can stay small for years).

I had high hopes for this cross, and the first bloom seemed to fulfill those hopes. It was intensely colored, with some pleasing patterning that clearly came from Fire and Ice.

My excitement stayed high with the second bloom. It had very strong markings, and a nice touch of yellow at the throat.

My excitement waned with the third bloom and on. Many of the seedlings are lovely, having strong or interesting markings, but there is almost no variation in terms of color. After my previous two crosses – both of which displayed a huge range in color and patterning – the lack of variation was a bit of a let-down.

 

Plus, some of the flowers showed a mutation that pulled the central petal to one side (because it was cut significantly more deeply on one side than the other). Not the best of mutations, in my opinion – I admit that I like the symmetry of a “normal” strep flower.

Still, I have plenty more seedlings to go, and the most recent seedling has re-kindled some of my excitement. So pretty!

This blog is intended for two primary purposes: to share general information about growing Streptocarpus (Cape Primrose) plants, and to share my experiences hybridizing Streptocarpus plants.

Most of the random content will involve my adventures in hybridizing, and hopefully these growing notes will be useful to others.

I will attempt to include more general information at least every week or two. Much of this information is on the web, scattered here and there. I will also run an occasional experiment in hopes of pushing the boundaries.

Here is a gratuitous hybrid picture, for your enjoyment:

Bristol's Sunset x Bristol's Mom’s Plant

I purchased my first bunch of Streptocarpus plants from Rob’sViolets a few years ago. I tried growing my first Streptocarpus seeds a year or two later. Those first two crosses were self-crosses, a natural result of the flower forcing its pistil through its stamen to self-pollinate. This is a Streptocarpus drop-dead insurance to make sure it gets pollinated.

The seeds of both crosses were viable, but variability was quite low, as is common for “selfed” crosses.

Two years ago I made my first two deliberate crosses: Bristol's Mom’sPlant x Bristol's Cat Dance, and Bristol's Sunset x Bristol's Mom’s Plant.

I didn’t quite know what I was doing, and I grew out way too many seedlings – I still have a few coming into bloom.

Both gave very exciting results, at least from a beginner’s standpoint. Both were high-variability crosses, giving me a wide range of coloration and patterning. I’ll post a summary of the results when the last few have bloomed, probably later this spring.

Not long after, I made my third deliberate cross: Fire andIce x Bristol's Sunset  The seedlings from that cross are only just starting to bloom, because I didn’t make any effort to accelerate their growth (more on that in another post).

At this point the results of that cross are extremely low variability, to the extent that I wonder whether I actually wound up with a selfed Fire and Ice cross instead of the cross that I intended.

Last year all of the blooming seedlings made me go a little crazy, and I did a bunch of crosses. Those are starting to bloom now, and are the motivation for starting this blog as a sort of public record of my adventures.

So far I’m pretty pleased with some of my results.

So, I will be posting new pretties as they come into bloom, with a commentary of the results.

I will be posting compilations of all the results of crosses, and trying to analyze what they tell me about Streptocarpus genetics.

And I will be posting information about my cross attempts going forward, why I pick the plants, and what I hope for. At this point that is all likely to be fairly uneducated, but I should be able to get better at targeting crosses with practice.

All comments and questions are welcome.

Thanks for joining me for the adventure!