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The most exciting result of the F2 stage is plant vigor. They are robust and exhibit strong branching and good bud count, even by their
first bloom year, which in this zone means the plant is in its second year of growth.
As for form, H. fulva littorea appears to produce more spidery offspring than other fulva types, while H. ‘Hankow’ throws large plants
and large, traditional blooms, the true, natural form of flowers of the species and early hybrids. In that sense, one could say that the fullform
rounded types are actually the “unusual forms”. You can get round forms from fulva crosses as well, of course, depending on the
parents used, as shown by one of the seedlings at the bottom of the previous page.
Crossing H. fulva With Tetraploids: The Third Generation
My third generation H. fulva crosses bloomed for the first time this summer (2005), and some examples from about 200 seedlings are
shown here. The fulva portion of each cross has dropped to one-eighth. The best seedlings all come from one particular cross, H. fulva
‘Hankow’ X H. ‘Ruby Spider’, with various other partners. The plants are very robust, with great branching for first year bloom. Form
and color are not spectacular, but quite complex. The miniature (3.75" flower) seems to be a genetic anomaly in a cross usually producing
large flowers. The results in general show that crossing diploid fulvas with tetraploids can be done and that the results warrant further
exploration. This seems to be one way of achieving increased genetic diversity.
Left:
H. ‘Christmas
Tidings’ X [(H.
fulva ‘Hankow’ x
H. ‘Ruby
Spider’) x H.
‘Star of India’]
(36 6)
Right: [H. ‘Godzilla’
x ( H. fulva ‘Hankow’
x H. ‘Ruby Spider’)]
X H. ‘Brooklyn
Twist’ (38 7)
Left:
[H. ‘Red Suspenders’
x (H. fulva ‘Hankow’
x H. ‘Ruby Spider’)]
X H. ‘Royal
Celebration’ (40 9)
Left:
[(H. fulva
‘Hankow’ x H.
‘Ruby Spider’) x
H. ‘Star of
India’] X H.
‘Web Brower’
(38 9)
Left:
[(H. fulva ‘Hankow’ x
H. ‘Ruby Spider’) X H.
‘Star of India’] X H.
‘Skinny Dipping’ (36 8)
Right:
[H. ‘Godzilla’ x (H.
fulva ‘Hankow’ x H.
‘Ruby Spider’)] X
H. ‘Bali Watercolor’
(15 3.75)
Where do I go from here I have been making crosses between various H. fulva varieties and some of the most recent tetraploid
introductions such as H. ‘Velvet Ribbons’, H. ‘Orchid Waterfall’, H. ‘Freewheeling’ and H. ‘Spinnaker’. Also, I’ve begun back crossing,
line breeding, in order to explore the hidden genotypes behind the phenotypes (the physical appearance) I’ve illustrated. I welcome
visitors to our garden to help in the future process of evaluation.
In my professional life I try to make a distinction between what is
merely a novelty and what is actually new (which is a relatively rare
thing). I think it is too early to say whether my experimenting with
the use of diploid fulvas in tetraploid breeding is just a novelty, or
really something new.
Editor’s Note: Gil Stelter spoke at the 2005 Region Symposium in
Cleveland, Ohio. He presented a Microsoft PowerPoint slide show
to illustrate his topic, Incorporating Species in Northern Hybridizing.
Here, by popular request, he brings the details of his
hybridizing program.
All images, unless otherwise specifically indicated, were provided
by Author Gil Stelter, 7 Orchard Crescent, Guelph, Ontario,
Canada N1E 1W9 (gstelter@uoguelph.ca ). Interested in daylily
species Why not visit http://members.tripod.com/daylily6/
Species/Species.htm
AHS Region 2/Great Lakes Newsletter
Fall 2005 - Winter 2006 Page 17