Maid of honor

[helixturnhelix]

Hi Charlie,

Really like the look of this one.  How do you rank this cv so far?  Both of its parents are my favorite cvs, so I am interested to know how their offspring compare.  Also, when are you planning on releasing this one, so I can stop checking the store everyday to see if its appeared



Chris

[Charlie]

I'm liking this one a lot, too. The way it works for me is that I watch the original plant grown from a seed bloom for several months, usually summer, and then take cuttings from it at which point it stops blooming while it grows back. The cuttings are stuck and those that root are potted up in 4" and then 8" pots. The ones in 8" pots are much more representative of the way the variety will grow and perform than is the seedling plant so they are watched over a year's time. If they do well then they are cut back and become mother stock for future cuttings. Maid of Honor is in the stage of being in 8 inch pots that are watched through this summer. By fall I will be able to decide whether to go into production with it or not and will take cuttings if it is still a go. Failure of those cuttings to root would be a big setback for the variety and when that happens the variety usually is sidelined although I will try again the next year to confirm whether the first failure was a fluke. Here's hoping Maid of Honor will hold up all the way!

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Thanks for sharing how a seedlings goes to production.  I am crossing my fingers, I am hoping some of my belle seedlings have her form because it is really unique.  It would be great if one of my seedlings from Belle x Rainbow sherbet have her form, rainbow sherbets colors and bush.  Wishful thinking, but when I see those first set of leaves my imagination goes for a ride

[Darkhorse]

What tends to change between the seedling and its cuttings?  Is it the growth habit that normally changes, or the bloom itself? 

[Charlie]

It's the growth habit that can change dramatically. Sometimes you do see a change in the flower but such changes are more subtle and might be due to weather more than anything.

Charlie

[helixturnhelix]

Hey Charlie,

How did Maid of Honor do this summer?