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JAPANESE-SIBERIAN HYBRIDS

Most of these plants are fertile and show every indication of being capable of developing into their own unique form. We call them "Ensiberians" since both types came from a JI mother and a Siberian father and we use the abbreviation "JS".

The first crosses were made in 1992 using 2 JI pod parents (2n=24) and 2 Siberian pollen parents (2n=28). Seeds from 3 pods gave us 2 distinctly different types of fertile hybrids.

Chromosomes were counted on 4 of the F1s (2 of each seedling type). Three of these showed 2n=26. One showed 2n=24. (This plant has been growing well in an often unwatered raised area with poor soil for the past 6 years.) If you'd like to count the chromosomes yourself, scans of the original Polaroids of the chromosomes made by Sam Norris can be downloaded as a zip file. (262 KB)

The F1 "A" types appeared to be pure species Ensata except for behavior. These plants prefer the growing conditions of Siberians and are at their best when given good soil and water with good drainage. Most of the F1 "B" types appeared to be pure Siberian. Two individuals however, showed non-typical ridges in their leaves once established and prefered the growing conditions of the JIs.

The images that follow show only samples of the seedlings from each group. Due to limited space, we've pared them down again to only 9 F1s and a few dozen from the second generations to make room for new seedlings.

For fun, we've also added a few notes on some of these cvs using links from text or pictures. Moving your mouse over the page will tell you where they're located.



Adrenaline Rush
92JS15B
Common Denominator
Intaglio
Pagliacci

Seedlings from the 2nd and 3rd generation of the Siberian type showed some interesting JI traits (unusual signal shapes, oversized blooms, oval or round pods, etc.) but these were subtle at best. Some, like solid stems, weren't obvious at all. One individual blooms only in August with no hint of bloom (so far) of also blooming in spring with the rest of her kind.

One of the few F3s from the JS-B line I had room for finally bloomed in 2005. She was worth the wait! She's out of 97JS3B (Adrenaline Rush X self) X self (2nd from the left in the line-up above) and has been registered as LEXICON (click for more images). At far left in the photos above is a sister who shows an elongated JI type arrow shaped signal though the markings remain Siberian.


She's 38" tall with 2 branches plus terminal (double socketed). She shows the prominent signal rib, wide form, and shorter standards of her JI ancestor. Also like the JI, her leaves are 1" wide and softly arching. Her blooms are also a bit larger than a typical Siberian but like her Siberian ancestor, she shows no leaf rib. Her signal and color come from the Siberian side of the family as does her hardiness and lack of need for rich soil and lush growing conditions. She's currently growing in one of the most neglected parts of the garden but will be lined out for increase in 2006.

 Sadly, most of the 1997 F2 "A" types were destroyed by gophers during their first winter. The few survivors showed an increased range of color but were not otherwise noticeably different from the F1s. 1998 F2s from selected "A" types fared better and gave us some idea of which ones might throw more saturated color. A few of these also show a tendency to rebloom.

The JS-C line is from JS-A X Siberians. 92JS9A X SEA SHADOWS resulted in a wider range of new colors and combinations though the appearance was still that of ensata. We saw more yellow in the stylearms, stronger foliage, more dark purple or forest green veins through the signals, and in a small percentage of individuals, an increased compatibility with some JS-B and Siberians. The smallest JSC (shown with the quarter) is from 92JS9A X SUMMER SKY. The cross produced the widest range of color on plants that were tall but had noticeably petite blooms. All of these proved to be sterile and all were culled.


4 of the 7 seedlings from the ROSE QUEEN-92JS15B cross have bloomed and while the blooms are all quite similar, it appears that we finally have one of the types of bridge plants we've been looking for. As of July 22, 2004, pollen from the RQ15 group has easily set some nice big pods on a number of the Siberian type JS-B and so far they're looking good.




A close-up of the dark purple lines in the signal.
The sparkles are actually grains of pollen.


Of the 2 seedlings from ADRENALINE RUSH X 92JS10A, only one is still alive. The one showing the heavy rib of the JI side of the family put up a few weak fans last spring then died back when the weather started glitching. The one that had initially showed only smooth leaves similar to the Siberians is coming on strong and older leaves are showing a strong rib.

Newly planted seedlings from crosses of JS-A and JS-C with CRYSTAL HALO are growing like wild in spite of the heat. Most show typical JI type leaves. A few show leaves that are considerably wider than normal and some are extremely narrow. We expect all of these to look like JIs but if the seedlings from some of our Siberian type JS-B/named Siberian crosses are any indication, there should be a few surprises.

The Ensiberians are also branching off in a new direction. We'd planned crosses of the JI types with I. pseudacorus but not quite so soon.... This new baby is from open pollination of ADRENALINE RUSH. (As space allows, we'll start seeds from a bee pod or two from selected plants just to see what Mom Nature might come up with by herself.)


This new seedling has been registered as SHAPE SHIFTER and seedlings from it have been planted out this season. Early spring baby pictures are on a following page.

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