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Sunday, April 26, 2020

Gladiolus MM 16-52

Seed parent: Gladiolus watsonius
Pollen parent: Gladiolus MM 11-21e ((Gladiolus gracilis x priorii) X unknown Gladiolus)

This one is interesting. I crossed a scarlet species with a mauve-purple hybrid, thinking it'd get a range of deep reddish flowers. Instead, I got scarlet and orange flowers with weird dark lines on the tepals.

MM 16-52a. I adore the deep scarlet color of this flower in combination with the dark lines in the lower tepals.

MM 16-52b. Much like form a, but without the dark lines.

Other crosses that haven't been issued a letter yet.




Gladiolus MM 16-47

Seed parent: Gladiolus MM 10-34 (G. priorii X odoratus)
Pollen parent: Gladiolus MM 10-34

This is an F2 cross of a hybrid that has fabulous winter-blooming flowers in shades of russet and yellow, like autumn leaves.The F2 cross is elegant but much less spectacular than its parents.




MM 16-47a

MM 16-47d


Gladiolus MM 15-39

Seed parent: Gladiolus MM 11-04 (G. carinatus X tristis)
Pollen parent: Gladiolus MM 11-04

MM 15-39c. I need to chase down the photos of forms a and b.

Gladiolus MM 15-34

Seed parent: Gladiolus MM 11-21b ((Gladiolus gracilis x priorii) X unknown Gladiolus species)
Pollen parent:  Gladiolus MM 11-21c

I am a sucker for flowers with stripes, so these hybrids made me happy.

MM 15-34a. I like the crispness and darkness of the dots and lines on the lower tepals, and the slight yellow blush behind them. The flower is fairly narrow, though, which I don't like.

MM 15-34b. See how much wider this one is? I think that shows off the colors better. The lines are not as bold as in form a, unfortunately, but the flower has an elegant look to it.

MM 15-34c. Narrow flower and kind of muddy colors; this one is not as exciting as the others.




Gladiolus MM 15-33

(My notes on the parentage of this one are confused. I am trying to fix them.)

MM 15-33a


MM 15-33b

MM 15-33c

This one may be what form C looks like when it first opens, but I am not sure.

Gladiolus MM 15-16

(My notes are confused on the parentage of this cross; I am investigating.)

MM 15-16a

MM 15-16b

Gladiolus MM 15-15

(My notes are garbled on the parentage of this one. I'm investigating, but meanwhile here are the photos.)

MM 15-15a

15-15c

Gladiolus MM 15-32

Seed parent: Gladiolus MM 11-21a ((G. gracilis x priorii) X unknown Gladiolus, possibly G. aureus)
Pollen parent: Gladiolus MM 11-21

Not all that spectacular, so I haven't assigned them letters.




Gladiolus MM 14-105

Seed parent: Gladiolus watsonius
Pollen parent: Gladiolus patersoniae

G. watsonius is a beautiful species, with bright red or scarlet flowers subtly mottled with lighter shades. I thought crossing it with the purple G. patersoniae would produce magenta flowers, but that's not the case here. It's possible that the parent flower was actually self-pollinated.

MM 14-105a

MM 14-105b


MM 14-105c


MM 14-105d

MM 14-105e




Saturday, April 25, 2020

Gladiolus MM 12-135

Seed parent: Gladiolus MM 03-02 (tristis X (gracilis x priorii))
Pollen parent: Gladiolus venustus

This thing has really nice veins, and the stem is robust.

MM 12-135b. I need to go find my photo of 12-135a, but if I remember right, form B is the better-looking one.

Here's a similar sibling:


Gladiolus MM 12-46

Seed parent: Gladiolus MM 10-27 (G. carinatus X tristis)
Pollen parent: Gladiolus MM 10-27

You can really see the G. tristis in this hybrid. The flowers are big, tall, and pure cream colored. At first glance they look like a white Amaryllis.

MM 12-46


Ferraria MM 16-102

Seed parent: Ferraria MM 12-98
Pollen parent: Ferraria MM 12-98

This is an F2 cross of one of my few Ferraria hybrids. It turns out I haven't posted photos of the parent, so I need to dig those out and post them as well. Meanwhile, here is their offspring.

MM 16-102.The photos look like they have a greenish tint to them, but that was the in-person color of the flower.


Babiana MM 11-67

Seed parent: Babiana rubrocyanea
Pollen parent: Babiana curviscapa

I made this cross years ago, but just noticed that I hadn't posted pictures of it. I don't put much effort into hybridizing Babianas, but the species I grow are wonderful, and I think they also have a lot of potential as hybrids.

MM 11-67. This cross has the beautiful red and blue color scheme of the seed parent and the asymmetrical white markings of the pollen parent. I really ought to do some follow-up breeding with these.