Clay Higgins wrote on June 14 that he got seed from the open pollination of Classic Gold. This is a cross of N. bulbocodium conspicuus, which should be hexaploid, and N. rupicola which is diploid. Such a combination normally is unfertile. But some of these XXXY- plants with, in this case, three chromosome sets of one parent (XXXXXX) and one of the other (YY) generate some fertile pollen and/or egg cells and are interesting for further crosses. To this group also belong Apollo Gold and Little Laine in which N. bulbocodium conspicuus is mixed with N. jonquilla. All these bulbocodiums are bred by Walter J.M. Blom.
My question is: Has anybody except Clay Higgins observed pollen- or seed fertility of these plants?
Theo
I have Classic Gold, sourced from two different suppliers, in the ground for two years. There were no seedpods last year, but this year nearly every stem yielded a pod packed full of open-pollinated seeds. They are near other miniatures (and near two bee hives) so I don’t know if they are self-pollinated or not.
Janet
Theo,
You raise a good question. This is not the first time I’ve offered ‘Classic Gold’ Ops seeds on Daffnet. I’ve also showed my ‘Classic Gold’ that I originally procured from Nancy Wilson and it have been part of Blue Ribbon collections. I has been giving me OPS seeds for about 4 years now. So my question is, is it really ‘Classic Gold’? Secondly it multiplies by bulb division like a weed.
Clay
Janet and Clay,
Meanwhile I saw in DaffSeek that Little Laine is hexaploid. Therefore it should not be a cross of N. bulbocodium conspicuus with N. jonquilla but perhaps conspicuus selfed. Apollo Gold and Classic Gold are described in DaffSeek to be sweetly scented which can be the influence of N. jonquilla and N. rupicola. I don’t posess these bulbocodiums but I shall buy Classic Gold to test the fertility.
Theo
Theo,
You are in Germany? Back in the early 60’s I spent three years in Schweinfurt. Is there any restrictions on sending you a couple bulbs this fall? Then again, maybe you would like to get them from another source to test the Fertility. My ‘Classic Gold’ OPS seeds sprout. I have some two year old ‘Classic Gold’ seedlings growing in my hybridizing beds. I must now learn to dead-head.
Clay
Clay,
Yes, I live in Essen. I ordered yesterday five bulbs of Classic Gold from Ron Scamp. But I would like to get one bulb from you too for comparison. The German customs demand a phytosanitary certificate. Without this the parcel should be as small as possible. The content should be declared for example as decoration material.
I tried to send this text to you by an e-mail, but it didn’t function.
Theo Sanders, Am Scheidtbusch 11, 45149 Essen, Germany