Post by meizzwang on Jul 29, 2020 18:51:43 GMT -5
Some updated pics of the massive alata RED phenotype hunt. to recap, I'm growing a difficult to manage number of alata seedlings and it's been exhausting because the number of alata seedlings temporarily outnumber all other species seedlings in the collection! But I've been trashing them by the 1000's as soon as they get big enough to color up (don't hate! Probably nobody else will do this for a long time, and this is how we get new variants into circulation). I can't tell you how many weeks I've spent spacing these dang seedlings out, it's very tedious and time consuming, but in the end, I think there'll be maybe 20-30 winners from the entire batch! YESSSS!!!!!! that's actually a lot, considering how few choice red clones are currently in cultivation.
Don't get me wrong: there are probably 4-500 seedlings in this batch that will eventually turn red if you give it an artificial suntan or give it just the right conditions outdoors, but I'm not after those....WE NEED alatas that color up relatively easily, and I don't think that exists in cultivation until now!
Some updated pics on the results, taken 7/23/20:
notice all the "regular" alatas in the background: my pre-selective pressure isn't fully effective. Despite the blurry picture, I think this one is a winner: it colors up easily and right away/all the way, even during the summer! This is a Harrison Co, MS genotype, this seedling isn't very vigorous, but a few of the red ones are!
Here's another, still being evaluated:
This guy doesn't quite have what we're after, but I'll keep it for now:
This Stone Co, MS genotype doesn't seem to color up extremely easily, but it looks like it has "dark potential", so I'm keeping it anyways. It probably came from my S. alata 'dark,upwards lid' Stone Co, MS mother plant crossed to another clone:
Now this one has potential:
Almost for sure a winner, but still needs time to be 100% sure. I've grown red alatas for decades, and they never color up like this in the summer:
Another potential winner, Stone Co, MS genotype:
Stone Co, MS:
The rest of these are Stone Co, MS: too lazy to type it out on each pic:
This one alone made the whole project worth it, or at least I hope the red color is stable!
Don't get me wrong: there are probably 4-500 seedlings in this batch that will eventually turn red if you give it an artificial suntan or give it just the right conditions outdoors, but I'm not after those....WE NEED alatas that color up relatively easily, and I don't think that exists in cultivation until now!
Some updated pics on the results, taken 7/23/20:
notice all the "regular" alatas in the background: my pre-selective pressure isn't fully effective. Despite the blurry picture, I think this one is a winner: it colors up easily and right away/all the way, even during the summer! This is a Harrison Co, MS genotype, this seedling isn't very vigorous, but a few of the red ones are!
Here's another, still being evaluated:
This guy doesn't quite have what we're after, but I'll keep it for now:
This Stone Co, MS genotype doesn't seem to color up extremely easily, but it looks like it has "dark potential", so I'm keeping it anyways. It probably came from my S. alata 'dark,upwards lid' Stone Co, MS mother plant crossed to another clone:
Now this one has potential:
Almost for sure a winner, but still needs time to be 100% sure. I've grown red alatas for decades, and they never color up like this in the summer:
Another potential winner, Stone Co, MS genotype:
Stone Co, MS:
The rest of these are Stone Co, MS: too lazy to type it out on each pic:
This one alone made the whole project worth it, or at least I hope the red color is stable!