All but two have now died out, and one of these has no seedlings germinated yet. I will be watching with interest to see what happens. The snowdrop flowers all faded quickly with the warm weather in the middle of the month,, when temperatures reached 18C, the warmest on record for February. The cyclamen that have finished flowering have now been put back in the shaded frame outside, and Lewesia cotyledon , Rediviva , and Brachycalyx have been brought in to the alpine house to occupy the vacant space. These are all the result of crosses that I made two years ago and are now flowering size.
Every day is filled with expectations as one waits to see the result of a plant breeding program.
The seedling crosses of Primula 'Wharfdale gem' are just starting to flower and some of them look interesting. It is always difficult to dispose of seedlings that do not qualify as a new variety, as only one in a thousand, if you are lucky, make the grade. The others while perfectly good plants and usually the colour of one or other of the parents, do not qualify to carry the parents name and can only be disposed of as seedlings, usually among a circle of friends, or failing that, the compost heap. The garden centres are now spilling over with summer flowering bulbs, and I'm a person with little will power as far as plants are concerned. After browsing the shelves of my favorite plant center, I duly arrived home with numerous bags filled with goodies.