Story # 124,
Part VIII,
Does anything count more than bud
count?
The way to get big flower power is
either big flowers or with many small flowers.
Bud count in Streptocarpus is genetically
variable. You can get from 1 to 24+
flowers per spike (peduncle). Buds are
formed in pairs up the stem in succession.
Because we know that high bud count
is possible, there is no reason to release hybrids that don’t have a reasonable
amount (2-4, 4-6).
The trade-off is flower size which
can compensate for lower bud count. Stem
strength and length are variable too but we don’t pay much attention to
it. S. ‘Mary Sakamoto’ is one where the
huge flowers are too heavy for the stems, requiring staking.
Sometimes you may have a flower with
color, shape or size that must be saved.
But the variety should not be release with a bud count of one.
High bud count is genetically
possible so we should move in that direction.
Streptocarpus 'Mary Sakamoto'
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