2 questions about hybrids.

[Clint]

ok. i've been thinking. why hasn't anyone ever made a super hybrid with sarracenias? it could contain ALL the species in the genus. say you take all 8 species, then make 4 hybrids. then cross those 2 make 2, then hybridize those to make a super one. you could make many different kinds of "super hybrids" if you canged the combinations of which they were hybridized. make any sense?

ok, number two. i read somewhere a long time ago, and also on this site on a post somewhere, that someone made a hybrid between heliamphora and a darlingtonia (or maybe it was a heliamphora and a sarracenia) i think its impossible at this time. what do you guys say?

thanks for any help in clearing these questions up.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Well my Sarracenia hybrid knowledge is limited. It wouldn't surprise me though if there were a hybrid or two out there that did already contain a majority of the species.

Some things to consider though from a general plant breeding/genetics perspective. Infertility is sometimes an issue when using a large number of species. The time to do such a project when your looking at raising seed to flower to then do the next generation. Combining many plants of different characteristics often has the negative effect of wiping out the positive and unique characteristics of each species. So you would probably have to raise hundreds if not thousands of plants at each generation to pick your breeding stock for the next generation. Even then odds you would end up with a hybrid showing a little bit of everything in a positive way are very very unlikely.

I remember a little on that so called intergeneric hybrid your talking about. It is my understanding it turned out to be a weak growing selfing of the pod plant.

This should not deter you however from experimenting with hybridizing. It is tremendously exciting to make a hybrid and anxiously await the offspring to grow and show you there stuff. Just be sure to keep records!

Tony

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

heli's and sarracenia would not mix. It just is logically impossible (at this time). BTW, better get one heck of a hybrid label if you want all the Sarracenia species!

 

[Clint]

ok thanks SO much. i guess it would turn out as a mutt.

i didn't think a heli and a sarr/darlingtonia would mix. does anyone know what the week growing plant from the self pod looked like as Tony mentioned?

 

[Alvin Meister]

Each 'mega hybrid' would look completely different depending on the order you hybridised them, especially depending on the last species in the chain. E.g. (every species) x purpurea would look nothing like (every species) x leucophylla. Genes would also be lost with every generation, so the final plant would appear to have none of the characteristics of the first few species in the cross.
It would be impressive though if you had a cross with every variety of flava, subspecies of rubra and purpurea in it!

 

[KhorAh]

correct me if I am wrong, but are there not some already incredibly complicated cultivars? I wonder if you used them as a starting block (they were chosen for beauty after all) and cross polinated them, you raise allt he seed to maturity and pick the best of the lot.

At the very least I bet it would be a really fun project for someone with the patience and the space!

(I forsee many kiddie pool bogs in your future&#33

 

[Clint]

thanks for clearing those things up for me! it was REALLY on my mind.