A major highlight of the year has been the opportunity to help out in the struggle against hunger here in Southeastern Ohio. Due to the generosity of so many purchasers of MEMORIAL TO STEVE, the area food bank was able to put an additional 54,000 pounds of food on the tables of needy families here. There were even several people who sent checks over and above the introductory price. There were also others that sent a check with the note that they could not afford  the whole purchase but wanted to give anyway. Needless to say, all those people will have that money applied to the purchase price if they are able to swing it some time in the future. 

The bloom season was very good as it usually is. Despite the fact that the drought is now two years in running there was a good bloom here for much of the season. There was abundant rain until the first part of July and then the spigots were turned off. From that point until the frosts stopped growth in November there were some 6 inches of rain. As this is usually the wettest part of the year as well as the time of the greatest need we sorely needed much more than what we got. But as typical optimistic gardeners we all know that next season will be better. 

The two years of drought have inhibited our ability to select for introduction. We do not have the ability to irrigate to a sufficient extent to make up for the dryness. As it was we overdrew on the water in our only source of irrigation water, our pond. As a result of the two years of drought we are only able to confidently introduce two cultivars this year, one dip and one tet. The tet is introduced as a one-of-a-kind flower with very good plant habits and a truly unique blossom. The dip is a new star in the SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE line, the finest breeder in that line for simply beautiful blossoms. Many of you have commented on this seedling. It has been represented without identification at the top of the opening page of our website over the past year. We are currently (11/11/08) awaiting confirmation of our registration from the AHS. The name is to be IDA MAE NORRIS, after my sister who figured so prominently in my childhood. Ida Mae, I owe you so much and this is a small way to honor that debt. 

The seedling, 03-3, now to be known as IDA MAE NORRIS, is so fine a breeder that for the last two years it has been the only pollen used on diploids in the greenhouse. That was close to the case in the breeding in the garden this past season. While it may be pod sterile, the pollen is good and the results are fabulous. A baby of IDA MAE NORRIS, 06-1, is a likely successor as a featured hybridizing plant. Lost in the crush of foliage of the crowded middle of one the seedling fields, this seedling was almost overlooked until a baby bloomed which simply blew me away. The new seedling is numbered 08-2. When I made the original cross of LIGHTS OF DETROIT X WHEN I DREAM in 1993, this is what I dreamed of getting, a very large, very flat red of great color with a gigantic green throat. Hey, it has only taken a 1/2 dozen generations and 15 years to get the job done! 

Once I saw seedling 08-2 I was dying of curiosity to know what the parents were. I did not remember the one parent, 06-1, as it, along with the rest of the plants in its seedling bed, did not bloom at all in the drought of 2007. I resolved to be on the lookout for that seedling. However that resolve was unnecessary as a day or two later I was stopped dead in my tracks by a pink beauty with a big, bright green throat. Looking at the tag numbering the plant, I saw it all fall into place. This was my mystery parent and what a beauty it was! And, boy, what a promiscuous little pollen provider it became from that moment until it finished blooming. It was not until the end of the season that I realized that I had let it slip away without getting an image made. That will NOT happen this coming year.  

SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE continues to provide some of the most interesting and exciting new seedlings. This year one of the rare tet seedlings from a conversion done by Larry Grace simply brought things to a halt. It is a clear yellow with a large  throat which is unlike any I have ever seen. The throat is a very pure white with only a hint of green in the heart keeping it from being tissue paper white. On the dip level a SE baby by way PIGMENT OF IMAGINATION gave us a look at another new potential. This seedling showed light, grass green veining on the petals. I have not seen this before. 

The instant rebloom that we love so much continues to appear in the seedling beds with regularity. Where it was the great exception just a few years ago it is now common place in the seedlings fields here. Some crosses even show a dominance of this characteristic with seedling after seedling showing instant rebloom despite the lack of moisture. I feel like a kid in 2 acre candy store these days. In a few years I expect that instant rebloom will be a given in our Ashwood tet introductions.

We would also like to express our thanks to the garden judges who caste their votes in the AHS awards system for our cultivars. When the results of the garden judges voting were released we were overwhelmed to see that there were five of our nominations that received the nod to be awarded the HM. It is great to have ones opinion confirmed by so many trained garden judges. We have felt that many of our introductions have been sufficiently outstanding to deserve recognition. Thank you all for that confirmation. 

We appreciate the positive comments on our article on northern hybridization which was published in the Region 2 Journal recently. We have received numerous requests for copies of the material. The easiest way for us to handle this is perhaps to post the article to the web site.

NORTHERN HYBRIDIZATION ARTICLE

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST, 

Richard Norris