Winter has come to Florida. Ordinarily, our temperatures remain in the 50 - 70 degree range. As of late, we're getting temperatures in the 35 - 60 degree range which means we have to be ever vigilent about the slightest trends toward freezing. Despite the low temperatures, we've had some of our crosses from last year setting rather nice blooms. These are part of the group we may be registering within the next month or two. So, this is a sneak peek at what's new for 2011. Hope you enjoy them...

We've managed to get renewed growth from some survivors of last year's freeze! These Brugmansia seedlings made it through the hot Florida summer and are finally blooming again! The hard work and wait was worth it. Make a note of these crosses. It may be use for your breeding program.

Oftentimes, as I read through the various plant forums, i encounter letters from new hybridizers. After doing their homework, making a plan and racheting up their expectations, the much awaited blooms arrive. Some of those blooms are a sobering moment. The color isn't there. There are no real distinguishing characteristics that make the resulting blooms different enough to warrant being registered. Worse yet...ewwww, a pure white bloom. More often than not, the novice hybridizer says, "It just came out...white!" - as if this adds to the crash and burn. If you see something of yourself and your experience in this, take heart. We have a few insights into the situation that just might alleviate your angst.

Brugmansia "Jacayna"

Jacayna is a very interesting Brug. The plant is stout and a very vigorous grower. Leaves are ovate, wide and a tad serrated. Cuttings root very easily. Nice, strong fragrance. All are fine qualities. The flower, however,  is  unusual with it's wide, pink-yellow-white colored corolla that sometimes sports seven distinctive corolla teeth. She's obviously got a distinctive suavoleans look about her, yet there's something indefinable about what's lurking in her genes.

How To Collect And Store Pollen

After you've studied the Brugmansia Family Tree and set up your cross-pollination filing system for organizing your crosses, its time to begin collecting a variety of pollens for your hybridizing arsenal. An effective and efficient program depends on having pollens available when you need them. Plants tend to bloom in staggered flushes, so oftentimes flowers with pollens you wish to use as pollen donors simply aren't in bloom. When this happens, you have a missed opportunity and may well lose a season of seed production. 

Plan Your Hybridizing Program 

If you've been growing Brugmansia for a while and are visiting the various Brugmansia websites and forums, you've had a chance to see some of the new cultivars being produced by home gardeners like yourself. Creating new cultivars is a very exciting adventure, but new plants don't arrive on the scene without some pre-planning and organization.