The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Bulbs (including other geophytes with corms, tubers, rhizomes etc) => Topic started by: Heinie on May 29, 2011, 04:41:50 PM
-
This is one of my own crosses between a Hippeastrum Red flower and Sprekelia formosissima. The cross is referred to as Hippeastrelia and very rare and hard to find. The first two photos are of the Hippeastrelia flowering for the first time this year. The 3rd and 4th photos are my own Hippeastrum Red flower as pod parent and my own Sprekelia formosissima as pollen parent. The similarity in the shapes and formation of the petals are clearly visible if you compare photos one and four. The bottom 3 petals sit together and the top three petals are more apart and not overlapping. The petal colours are very striking and has a velvet appearance to it.
(http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/loevenstein/IMG_3185.jpg)
(http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/loevenstein/IMG_3183.jpg)
Hippeastrum Red flower - Pod parent
(http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/loevenstein/IMG_0962.jpg)
Sprekelia formosissima - Pollen parent
(http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/loevenstein/IMG_0853.jpg)
-
That's a terrific cross, Heinie, congratulations!
-
Can I just ask if it has a scent? Sometimes even if both parents aren't scented a hybrid can be. It is stunning with or without a scent.
-
Thank you for your compliments Alisdair and John.
John, it does not have any scent.
You will notice that the flowers are down the middle of the two parents. The Hippeastrum had 4 flowers and the Sprekelia always only one flower but the cross, Hippeastrelia has two flowers. I managed to make the same cross this year with fresh pollen when the two plants flowered together again. The seedlings are growing very fast and there were more seeds this time than the first cross.