OMG!! I love it, love it, love it. Even the regular old one is one of my favorite plants. I know some people hate the color, but I think it just glows in the garden and looks really nice with so many other plants.

That sounds like something T&M would be very interested in.

Kevin

Hi Kevin, I totally agree with your comments regarding the intense coloring of these flowers, they are real punctuation marks in the landscape! I LOVE and wouldn't be without them! If I can get a stable seed line from my variegated form, them maybe I'll then approach a seed company.

Terry

Terry- you MUST bring this plant into production. It's such a stunner! Have you considered increasing your numbers via cuttings? That might help you get a few more plants that can be used to get a few more plants. It seems much of the varigated plants these days are derived from cuttings.

I'd send the photo and your information to Dan Heims at TerraNova nurseries in Oregon. He's responsible for many of the amazing heucheras now available. He may be interested in bringing it into production or may be willing to help you figure out how to get more of the desired plant. You do realize you'll want to name the plant for your wife (assuming you have one) or if not, your Mother. There are some serious brownie points just waiting to be had with that! LOL!

If you EVER offer seed for trade- I want some badly. It would look amazing in my new low water beds.

bindersbee, I appreciate your entheuastic comments. If seed production fails to provide an adequate percentage willing to come true, I then will follow your advice regarding cuttings. Though, because this is a biennial, I really hope the seed aspect works, rather than people having to purchase plants ... plants that will naturally only die after flowering. I will soon sow a quantity of seed to find out the percentage of variegated seedlings.

Terry

Terry- since Terra Nova specializes in varigated foliage perennials, they might have some suggestions for you on how to refine your breeding process. I agree that getting a true seed strain would be the ideal for a biennial. Some Lychnis are perennial I think. I know my 'Gardener's World' one was (until it got killed as part of a landscape renovation). I wonder if you could cross-breed it with that plant. Perhaps it's sterile. I don't recall.

I just thought cuttings might increase your 'mother' plants. In any case, here's the new plant solicitation information for Terra Nova- it's worth checking out. No, I don't work for them in any capacity! LOL!

Oh- and here's another link for Blooms of Bressingham. It might be worth checking with them too. http://www.bobna.com/breeders.asp

Here is a link that might be useful: New plant solicitation

I love lychnic 'Gardener's World' with those rich dark rose like blooms! ... though, unfortunately mine had acted as a true biennial and was very dead the next season after flowering. Indeed I have read that GW is sterile, which is a shame! ... though, if I can obtain another plant, I'll attempt cuttings. I appreciate the links.

Terry

Chiltern's sells seeds for a lychnis coronaria 'Hutchinson's Cream' that's supposedly variegated, but with white flowers. I grew it, and, frankly, the variegation I got was much, much less dramatic than what you show in your picture. Maybe you've got something there.

Gorgeous! Hurry and get it in cultivation! Maybe in 5 years we'll be seeing it in catalogs :-)

Gottagarden, today I planted a good lot of seeds to test for percentage of variegation. This is now second generation and I'm hoping for better results.

Dirtdiver, that 'Hutchinson's Cream' would make a nice contrast to my selection.

Terry

If variegation is a recessive trait, and it probably is, only about one fourth of your seeds will be variegated, regardless of how many you sow. But that could still mean a lot of beautiful flowers.

That is too die for!!!
But now I feel like I should slap myself....hmmmm
Last summer I noticed that one of my common species 3 year old Nepeta mussinii had sported 2 variegated stems. Dummy me tried to propagate them by cuttings and they failed. I should have tagged them and let them set seed! I'm hoping it will shoot out the same stems this spring. I normally have 100% luck with cuttings...what a time to fail.

Vera

Vera, I sure HOPE your nepeta shall again sprout forth those variegated stems! Variegated plants have become all the rage these days! Due to being overly anxious, I had once lost a very NICE variegated raspberry that had wonderful foliage streaked with red, pink, yellow, cream and greens ... I was just too anxious to dig and pot it up, it then unfortunately totally wilted and died! It could have possibly been a real asset to the ornamental edible landscape, besides it was both a thornless and very tasty variety!

Gottagarden, thanks for the info on what to expect from the resulting seedlings. I know there will also be several in which are anemic and lacking in chlorophyll, these will soon die after emergence.

Terry

Very nice! You want to vegatatively isolate the parts that have a regular pattern like the mostly cream with green center part to the left-central part of your photo. Watch also for forms stabilizing to a dark edge with a light center. The light center may not be as stark and bright because it will probably be from a deeper layer of the leaf.

The random streaky stuff is still valuable for sexual breeding. Try working on some inter-specific crosses too. L. coronaria will undoubtedly mutate again. But a novel cross with variegation will be hard to copy.