Haemanthus TOW
J.E. Shields (Fri, 10 Dec 2004 06:13:22 PST)

Hi all,

In autumn 2002, I had three species of Haemanthus in bloom at the same
time: HH. albiflos, coccineus, and humilis hirsutus (one umbel of
each). I crossed coccineus and hirsutus both ways; I only got seeds on
hirsutus. Today, there are a few seedlings alive and growing from the
cross [humilis hirsutus X coccineus] (i.e., humilis hirsutus is the berry
or seed parent, while coccineus is the pollen parent). The leaves are
somewhat hairy, and they have narrow dark red margins. Since some of the
coccineus I grow have red margins on their leaves, and none of the hirsutus
do, I think these particular seedlings are probably true hybrids between
the two species.

I also crossed [albiflos X humilis hirsutus] at the same time, and it
appears that some of these seedlings have rather hairier leaves than the
pure albiflos seedlings usually have. These particular seedlings may be
hybrids between albiflos and hirsutus. I'm not sure there will ever be a
certainty about it until someone does some DNA work on these species.

None of my hybrid Haemanthus seedlings is yet large enough that I would
dare remove any tissue for DNA analysis in any case. Someday, I hope to
know for certain!

Jim Shields
in dark, chilly, and gloomy central Indiana

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Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
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Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
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