"Is it possible for those two types of yellow squash to cross-pollinate? If so, then what would I call these?" They have certainly cross-pollinated. You can call them whatever you like as long as the name isn't already taken. It's your own variety of squash. If you keep them from being pollinated by another variety and save the seeds, you can grow them again. Next year there's a possibility they will be even more variable but through careful breeding/selection and several years you might be able to stabilize the traits. Rodney

Xuan, you should only get red ones. IF the red motherplant is homozygous, which means that the gene that produces red colour is found on both chromosones (or all four since you're using Tetraploids, but that just means that instead of one there's always two 'in a pack' that are handed on to the siblings) - which is normal for plants from a long line of culture breeding, the regular ones you buy. Read the wikipedia article on Mendelian inheritance Colours are dominant over white because white is usually the result of a colour-producing gene that doesn't work due to a mutation. Check out my thread last year, just scroll down to the red ones. These where all from a cross pollination like your's 'white x red' Here is a link that might be useful: Blooms in the Lair of the Klotz 2010

Glenda, I have always thought that was true in terms of cross-pollinated beans, and I still believe it is true. What I am wondering, since the flowers look the same, is if you have a spontaneous mutation or sport? We need George's brain here to help figure this out! I got out my copy of Suzanne Ashworth's book, "Seed to Seed", to seach for an answer and I came across this statement: "The distinctive seed coat patterns and the shapes of various Leguminosae seeds are sometimes used in attempts to prove the presence or absence of crossing. Leguminosae species also possess a wide variety of genetic characteristics that are not visible in their seeds, so statements about seed purity based solely on seed coat characteristics are not valid." So, Glenda, what does that statement mean to you? I think she is saying that sometimes bean seeds can show genetic variations (in their children, LOL) that are not apparent by looking at their seeds? Yet, her very next statement is "Changes in seed coat color are an indication of crossed seed". So, does she mean that your white seeds might look 'normal' but then grow out differently than what you expected (as they did) and then could produce seeds with differnt seed coat colors, which is clearly an indication of crossed seed? The plot thickens. In the next paragraph she says "even if crossing has occurred that is capable of showing up visably, the crossed seeds that are harvested will look exactly like the parent seed.....Evidence of crossing only becomes visably apparent when another generation is grown out from those crossed seeds, first appearing as variation within the population of plants and then in the seeds that are harvested." Based on those statements, I'd say your seed had to have been crossed by the seed wholesaler who supplied the seed to the retailer from whom you purchased the seed. Your seeds look normal, but are hiding the cross inside their seemingly normal little white coated selves. Then, when you harvest their 'children', you can get the white and the brown beans, and that is your clue that your original seed stock was crossed, even though it looked normal. Suzanne Ashworth goes on to make the point that all the batch of seed you started with/planted this year must be considered crossed then, since some of the white seeds you originally planted a few months ago are producing brown seeded beans. She suggests that if seed purity is important to you, then don't plant any remaining seed from your original batch, or from seed harvested this year, because all has the potential to be crossed. In one of the prior posts, you said you like the brown-seeded beans. If that is the case and you have seed left over from your original planting, you have nothing to lose by planting it again because you may get more of the brown seeded beans you like. If you save brown seeds this year, I think they could give you either brown or white seeded beans because a cross has already occurred and, with any cross, you don't know what you'll get but you do know you're likely to get some white-seeded beans and some brown-seeded beans because that's what you got this year. So, I think you have a cross, unless George can figure out if it might a sport or mutation (I don't know how one figures that out). But, I don't think the cross occurred this year in your garden. I think it occurred wherever your bean seed stock was commercially produced. No other scenario makes sense to me. Dawn

The reason Trospero suggested allowing the foil to warm to room temperatures before opening is to prevent it from forming water and spoiling the pollen. Once pollen gets wet, it's virtually impossible to use. Not that it may not be viable, but how do you properly spread it when it becomes paste? You want it to remain dry until it is applied. And, if your weather or house are rather humid, you may need to dry it two or three days until you can see pollen dust releasing from the anthers. We've had a few periods of humidity this spring and anthers required noticeably longer to release pollen during those periods. Good luck! Kim