There are a number of Sibtosas already available on the market and excluding tetraploids, most if not all are reported to be sterile. To keep things somewhat managable, only 3 plants were used in this part of the "Hybrid Project".
The Siberian X setosa seedlings show a wide range of heights, some exceeding that of their Siberian parent.
Of the setosa X FOB seedlings, 3 remained unusually small (under 1" tall) throughout their first season. 2 looked very similar in height and leaf type to the setosa, and 2 seedlings were already considerably taller than the setosa by mid-summer. Five of these seedlings survived.
The dwarf setosa was chosen because it would give me an additional indicator (size) of hybrids and the idea of dwarf sibtosas was rather appealing. It typically blooms at about 5" tall but can reach 10". I thought it would be interesting to try both a modern Siberian hybrid and a species so SKY WINGS and FLIGHT OF BUTTERFLIES, which were both in bloom at the same time as the setosa, were chosen.
The most noticeable difference between setosa and any Siberian is the standards. Setosas have extremely small standards and Siberians are crowned with standards that are quite obvious. Other clear differences are in the bloomstem and shape of the signal. Setosas bloom at or near the top of the folliage while Siberians bloom well above the foliage. Both should have green to slightly blue-green leaves. Yellowish but healthy leaves are a sign that competing genes may be at work. Siberians have long slender leaves while those of setosa are wide in relation to height.
What's been really surprising is how much the F2s from the setosa X siberica group resemble the Alaskan setosas.
End of 2004 season note: Mixed pollen from the F2 setosa-siberica seedlings was used on a number of the seedlings from the SKY WINGS and FLIGHT OF BUTTERFLIES groups and seeds were obtained from this cross! If they germinate, the seeds from 'IZZIT' X F2 setosa-FOB will be planted out this coming spring (2010). Even BUTTERFLY CONVENTION held onto 4 small pods for over a month.
