Crinum Breeding, Marcelle Sheppard's Project

ConroeJoe@aol.com ConroeJoe@aol.com
Sun, 22 Aug 2004 09:20:06 PDT
Hi Gang,

Marcelle Sheppard is willing to write up details about her various Crinum 
breeding successes (and failures).  She's her work documented on 5x7 color 
photographs; she also has many wonderful photos of plants she's received from others 
over the years.  She's been at her Crinum work since the 1950s and must have 
somewhere between 3,000 and 10,000 plants growing in her breeding gardens.  
She's a wonderful repository of knowledge; for instance, Marcelle knows 
how/where/when clone 'Shreck' was found and why it got that name, etc.   

I'm writing because I'm interested in her project and am helping her "get the 
information out," as she says.  She's quite happy to tell about her 
experiences, and I return I'm learning a lot.  Some of her plants are quite amazing; I 
was present one day when an amazingly large-flowered plant bloomed.  As you 
might guess, when I took the photo I got the focus and light all wrong, but I've 
posted it so you can get some sense of her Crinum collection (see links 
below).  

Marcelle has decided to start with her "best picks," those plants that she's 
happiest with; the ones with best color and substance, as well as other 
measures like "garden worthiness," "repeat flowering ability," etc. 

Eventually, Marcelle plans to post many wonderful photographs, the kind that 
will make Crinum-addicts out of the most staid observer.  She really does have 
over 50 years of photos and many hundreds of valuable photos to post (maybe 
thousands of photos).  She's quite willing to share her knowledge and 
observations.  Her philosophy is that she benefited by learning from others, as well as 
by sharing her knowledge with others, and  she wishes to continue that 
tradition.  

For now, Marcelle has scanned some of her photos and sent them to me to begin 
the project.  We'll be experimenting over time and finding the best ways to 
get the color photos up on the Web, along with descriptive text.  

Do you all (anyone) suppose the PBS might want to find some Web space just 
for this project?  


Conroe Joe (in hot and sticky Conroe, TX)

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LINKS, Some example photos

No. 1:  Rose City School House Clones (scabrum-like)
http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle1.jpg   

No. 2:  Two of the Best Seedlings (out of hundreds)
http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle2.jpg  

No. 3:   C. macowanii x Rose City S.H., 2 unnamed seedlings
http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle4.jpg  

No. 4: C. macowanii x Rose City S.H., 2 more unnamed seedlings
http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle5.jpg  

No. 5:  'Burgundy' clone x C. macowanii, 2 unnamed seedlings (one pale, one 
dark)
http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/Marcelle7.jpg  

No. 6:  Huge Crinum flower (not sure if this is Marcelle's hybrid or not)
http://members.aol.com/johnson3591/…  


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