What is the difference between seed grown and tissue cultured (TC) varieties
Seed: 'USA type' seed cultivars including the likes of Crystal Blush and Garnet Glow are cultivars are from specific rehmanii lineage which have defined characteristics - ie free flowering, generally compact plants, spear shaped leaves with no maculation.
They are ideal for pot plants, but due to shorter flower stems, smaller flower heads and considerably less vase life not always a premium choice for cut flowers.
Many of these varieties are quite true to type from seed; partly due to a lengthy selection process (many years of selecting homogenous plants from a seed line) and also the genetic background; however such seed is not widely available as propagators will retain it for their own production.
TC: Cultivars from the New Zealand (and Dutch) hybridisation programmes come from a much wider gene pool and are all multiplied by TC as not true to type from seed. There can be a huge variance in flower colour and plant habit in the seed collected from even one seed pod of this clonal material.
NZ hybrids tend to have taller stems, larger flower heads, bolder colours and maculated arrow shaped leaves. Initially most cultivars were used for cut flower production, however breeding advances over the past 5 years or so has resulted in natural dwarves (no PGR required), which still have the other characteristics in terms of colour, increased vase/pot life, spotted leaves etc.
How many bulbs do you plant per hectare?
This will depend on whether you are planting outside in the field or in a greenhouse. Normally work on about 70% usage within the greenhouse area (after taking walking space etc) into account. Plant out in metre wide rows and actual density will depend on tuber size. We would normally plant 50-60 2cmT1 tubers per metre. These will produce larger tubers in the second cycle so density will reduce to say 20-25 x 4-5cm diameter tubers.
Is it better to spray or dip with Gibberellic Acid prior to planting?
Spraying is preferable to dipping as it minimises the risk of bacterial or fungal pathogens on the surface of the tuber spreading to other tubers. Spray thoroughly to runoff.
How long does it take from planting to harvest?
The normal plant growing cycle is 24 to 30 weeks, with flowers emerging about 8-10 weeks after planting. This can vary depending on temperature and light.
What is the production in stems per hectare given the optimum growing condition?
A first year T1 2cm tuber will produce 1 flower but some varieties like Hotshot (orange) will produce 2 and even 3 flowers. A 4-5cm tuber will produce 3-4 flowers (also taller and larger heads). Production is highly correlated to plant density, nutrition, light and temperature.
