I keep quite a few flowers that are singles but are half doubles by breeding. This is saying that at least one parent was a full double and also the cross gave at least one double selection to confirm the cross.
The vase of 3 pinks and the top flower ( strong pink ) in other vase are all siblings from the cross Valley Dream (2 W – P ) x Peoples Princess (4 W – P)
The interesting fact from this cross was the flowering times — I selected 6 singles that all flowered in early August. Then after no flowers for over three – four weeks, a host of doubles flowered, 5 or 6 being selected, a couple quite late flowering.
I,m not quite sure where the early selections came from .. No early blood in Valley Dream, an Eclat seedling . Peoples Princess is listed as Hamilton sdlg x Hamilton Sdlg .
I had asked Max if he had any ideas — Peoples Princess had a top quality perianth, — Max said he was using the good quality Jackson pinks of that era and Vahu was a probability ..
There is certainly earliness there but these are very early ..
The pale yellow and the pale pink at the bottom are both siblings to the pink doubles show earlier. Breeding is again Dear Me x Triton x Pastel Rose x Replete. I have been using the singles with full doubles and would expect some doubling in the seedlings..
Not sure what I could expect if I crossed the singles ( but still half doubles ) together as the doubling gene would be getting quite diluted. Do we have any great students of genetics who could give a possible percentage .? ?.
I will probably know in 5 or 6 years — yes I crossed a few .
Cheers John. esq2
John:
I remember in the days that I grew Dear Me that it was always one of the earliest standard daffs to flower. I routinely got flowers in mid-February. Presumably that where the early flowers come from. These are lovely seedlings – it looks as if there is a pink flush in the perianths or is that the camera’s doing?
Keep up the good work.
Harold