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African Violet Hybridization - Tips |
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| Picking the Parents | |||||
| 1. | Determine the goal of the cross. What are the traits that are desired in
the offspring? It is a good idea to write the goal down so the offspring can be compared to the intended results. |
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| 2 | Plan the cross by choosing parents that will be able to provide the
desired traits. Checking against the checklist of dominant/recessive traits will help in the planning and choosing of parents. |
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| 3. | When in doubt on how a trait is inherited, choose parents that have
strong foliage, good symmetry, a high bloom count and other desirable traits. |
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| 4. | The seed parent plant should be healthy and disease free. Plants that
are being groomed for show are not usually desirable because of the long time commitment necessary from pollination to the maturation of the seed pod. |
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| Pollination | |||||
| 1. | Use pollen from a newly open flower, preferably a single or semi-double flower type | ||||
| 2. | The anthers should be firm, dry and the pollen should appear powdery.
Wet or mushy anthers rarely have viable pollen and should not be used. |
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| 3 | . The stigma of the pistil becomes receptive several days after the
flower opens. Look for a wet shiny appearance as an indicator that the stigma is ready for pollination. |
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| 4. |
Pollinate several flowers on the same flower stalk. This should result
in several seed |
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| 5. | High humidity often helps in getting seed pods to set. | ||||
| 6. | Label each cross, indicating the pollen parent and the date that the cross was made. | ||||
| Caring for the Seed Pods | |||||
| 1. | The seed pods reach their full growth in one month. The size of the
seed pod depends on the number of seeds they contain and the genetic inheritance of the seed plant. |
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| 2. | Let the seed pod dry on the plant as long as possible. Seed pods that
dry in less than 4 months are unlikely to contain fertile seed. |
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| 3. | When the seed pod appears dry, remove it from the plant and place it in
a warm dry area for several days. |
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| 4. | After drying, the seed pods can be planted immediately or stored. If you will not sow for a time, store the seed in the seed pod. Place the seed pod into a small vial or container that is clearly labelled. The seed can be stored for several years in a refrigerator. |
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| Germinating the Seed | |||||
| 1. | Seed must be germinated in a closed container with high humidity.
Choose a clear dish or shallow bowel and cover the top with food wrap. A rubber band may be used to hold the food wrap in place. Other closed containers used for rooting leaves are also satisfactory. |
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| 2. | The germination medium can be made of various materials. A fine grade
of vermiculite mixed with some perlite works well. Your favourite soil mixture or leaf rooting mixture will also work in most cases as long as there are no large pieces that might block seed growth. |
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| 3. | Sterilizing the germination medium is a good idea to prevent fungal
problems such as damping-off disease. |
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| 4. | Break the seed pod open on a small sheet of paper that has been folded
once to create a crease. The paper will allow you to see the seeds and crease will give you some control in sowing the seeds onto the germination medium. |
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| 5. | Viable seeds are very tiny and usually appear black and glossy. Seeds
that are light brown or dull looking will seldom germinate. |
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| 6. | Sow the seeds evenly onto the germination medium by gently tapping the
paper. Adding some fine sand will help separate the seeds and prevent sowing the seeds too thickly. |
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| 7. | DO NOT COVER THE SEEDS. They must remain on the germination medium's
surface in order to grow. |
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| 8. | Water the seeds gently with a mist bottle or with a fine spray. Use
water only as fertilizer will stimulate the growth of algae that will choke out the seedlings. |
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| 9. | Be sure that the container is labelled with the parentage of the seeds and the sowing date. | ||||
| 10. | Place the seeds under a bright light. Bottom heating the container
will also stimulate seed germination. Placing the germination container over the ballasts of your lights often provides good bottom heating. |
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| 11. | Viable seed should germinate within 7-28 days but some seeds may take
longer. Look for tiny green specks to appear on the surface of the germination medium. Keep moist by misting when necessary to prevent drying. |
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| 12. | Albino seedlings from variegated crosses may need a weak dose of
nitrogen fertilizer to green them up. Pure white seedlings will not survive. |
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| Moving the Seedlings | |||||
| 1. | Let the seedlings grow large enough until they are comfortable for you
to work with. There is no correct size for moving the seedlings into individual pots. Some people can work with seedlings as small as 1/4 inch in diameter while others prefer to wait until they are much larger. |
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| 2. | Never handle a seedling by the stem. Always hold the plant by the
leaves to prevent crushing the stem and killing it. |
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| 3. | Pickle forks or notched flat sticks (such as those used in crafts) are
excellent tools to handle seedlings. Place the stem in the notch or between the tines and gently lift the plant by the leaves. |
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| 4. | Loosen the germination media around the seedling before lifting it out.
This prevents excessive damage to the roots which may slow growth. |
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| 5. | Pull each seedling apart from its neighbours before planting. Don't
worry if all the germination media comes off the roots. As long as some of the roots are intact, each plant should survive. |
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| 6. | Pot-up each seedling individually to allow the best growth and shaping
of the new plant. Plastic bathroom cups work well as the first pots. |
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| 7. | Seedlings don't require special soil mixes. Your regular potting mix
will work fine as long as the soil particles are not too large in size. |
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| 8. | Water the seedlings in with a warm spray or mist to help settle the roots into the soil mix. | ||||
| 9. | Newly potted seedlings should be grown in covered containers until the roots are established. | ||||
| 10. | Fertilize the seedlings with a weak balanced fertilizer such as
20-20-20. Variegated seedlings may benefit from a higher nitrogen number until they have enough chlorophyll or green areas to support their early growth. |
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| 11. | Keep newly potted seedlings close to the lights to stimulate early growth. | ||||
| Which Plants to Keep? | |||||
| 1. | If you are looking for good show plants, keep the seedlings that have
good symmetry and have leaves that overlap easily without gaps. Seedlings with poor symmetry will likely continue this problem unless caused by a culture break. |
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| 2. | Watch for seedlings that have strong flower stalks and hold their
blooms above the leaves. Avoid plants that tend to lay the blooms on top of the foliage. |
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| 3. | Bud count is an inheritable trait. Seedlings that have 5 or more
flowers on their first bloom stalks will likely produce more flowers than those with only 2-3 buds. |
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| 4. | Discard any plants with flowers that are single droppers. | ||||
| 5. | If you are selecting for miniatures, discard plants that quickly grow
too large to remain in this size category. They will be difficult to keep small enough for show. |
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| 6. | Look for plants that have unique characteristics or combinations of
traits. Try not to keep exact duplicates of existing plants. |
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| 7. | Unless you are breeding for trailers, avoid seedlings that seem to
sucker frequently. It is unlikely that they will outgrow this condition. |
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| 8. | Although your babies will be special to you, will they be special to
anyone else? Be prepared to give away or compost 95-99% of the seedlings. |
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| 9. | Be sure to keep good records for any seedlings that are kept indicating
their parentage and other useful horticultural notes. |
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| 10. | Grow the seedling for 3 generations to check for stability. | ||||
| 11. | Register the plants with the AVSA. | ||||
| Plant Genetics Genetic Traits Dominant Recessive Flower Traits: violet shape .........................star shape geneva edges.......................solid edges raspberry edges...................solid edges fringed edges.......................non-fringed edges fantasy pattern.....................solid flowers double flowers.....................single flowers pale colors...........................dark colors blue flowers........................all other colors red flowers..........................pink, white non-coral flowers................coral family colors bluing factor.........................non-blueing mottled flowers.................... non-mottled flowers thumbprint flowers................ solid flowers Leaf Traits: girl foliage..............................boy foliage ruffled foliage........................plain foliage plain foliage..........................spooned foliage longifolia shape......................rounded shape red backing............................green backing watermelon veins....................plain veins clackamus veins.....................plain veins solid foliage.........................Lilian Jarett foliage (in part) Plant Traits: small size..............................normal size non-trailing...........................trailing Maternal traits: Tommie Lou.......................Lilian Jarrett variegation and crown variegation (in part) The following are some notes I made a few years ago, I think they belonged to Jeff Smith but am not 100% sure
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