Actually, Tet with Tet is easy with the exception of Appleblossom. Most of the commonly available varieties sold for winter holidays are Tets, so dab away at your heart's content. It's not until you start adding the more unusual and less available varieties that you start running into the problem of ploidy. I have reason to believe that H. x Johnsonii is diploid, but I won't know for sure until I do some very careful crosses and document them better than I have in the past. I think that Exotic Star is diploid. I know that Papilio and the cybisters are diploid. I think that Amputo, Pink Floyd and Misty are diploid. Last year was my first year to try to obtain diploids for trial. This year, I concentrated harder on that. Most of what I have are Tets, so I can try both ways and get a better feel for what is what. I question Santa Cruz because I think it is the Ludwig site that lists it among its cybisters. That would indicate diploid. It is definitely miniature and quite beautiful. Only one of my four pods are making it. I did not tag them, but I do know that one out of four was pollenated with Lima. Thankfully, there is another scape forming, and I can use pollen from diploids that are forming scapes. That will give me an indication, but it won't be written in stone until there are many trials with better documentation. With daylilies, they say that you can look at the pollen under a microscope and see the difference. I don't know if you can do that with hippeastrum. I adore orchids, but gave up on them due to lack of greenhouse space. I still have two in my master bathroom and they are doing fine. If I had your swimming pool enclosure and climate, it would look like a jungle!

I don't know if there is one proper Thread and I try a summary. The common gardeners' Amaryllis are those which have large bloom with more or less all the same shape, the idea being conveyed by Red Lion Orange Sovereign Minerva Appleblossom Susan Christmas Gift These represent the vast majority of Hippeastrums from commercial production The majority of them are self fertile and they will produce seeds if pollinated from other TETs, too. However, the Hybrids in pink like Susan and Appleblossom will produce seeds but rarely regardless whether selfed or pollinated from other TETs, whereas their pollen will induce seed production on other TETs. I never observed seed production on TETs after pollination from DIPloids If somebody claims that they obtained seeds from this pairing then they should not be disappointed if the maiden bloom reveals that ACTUALLY an (accidental) self pollination or pollination from another TET in the proximity had taken place. The most credible evidence, that TET x DIP had worked is the (TRIploid) Offspring from "White" (TET) x H.papilio (DIP) by Mr. Allan Ladd shown on the Hippeastrum Hybrids' page of the Pacific Bulb Society. Then there is several Hippeastrums (still) being exchanged among Hippeastrum lovers, which LOOK like smaller versions of the "commercial TETs" but their flowers are smaller. These "heirloom Amaryllis" are, imho TETs, too. Then there is Hippeastrums with other flower shapes, such as Trumpets (Tubes) and partially folded lower segments (H.Cybister and Cybister Hybrids) these are DIPloid. Many of these are strictly self sterile. Some will rarely produce seeds even if pollinated from other DIPs. After pollinatiion from a TET, a DIP should technically produce TRIploid offspring, which should be sterile. I have H.aulicum v.robustum - my one clone thereof is self sterile but will produce seeds in Abundance regardless whether dusted with another "DIP" or with a "TET". And in fact, it turned out, the offspring from "TET" was sterile. No seed production after self- or pollination from a TET Hybrid. H.papilio is a special case, it will produce seeds in abundance after pollination from DIPs (as expected) but also from TETS. However, the seeds from H.papilio x DIP are viable (as to be expected) but from H.papilio x TET have a distorted embryo in them. Of up to 120 seed (per pod!) TWO might be viable, but more likely is "NONE". Which is a pity. The offspring from H.papilio x "Common Gardeners' Amaryllis" links a truly outstanding species Hippeastrum to the products of 200 years of breeding history and the results are astounding. Examples of my own are "PapMinPic" and "PapDon" (two seedlings each) . Interestingly, these "rare" seedlings do not behave like TRIploids which they should technically be. They are self fertile (like TETS) and they are capable of pollinating other TETS with success. I use "capability of pollinating a TET" for, let's say a shred of evidence for the claim "they ARE Tets". This post was edited by haweha on Tue, Sep 2, 14 at 15:36

They are terms that refer to the number of chromosomes that a daylily cell contains. Most plants in general are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes. Diploid daylilies (or Dips) have 22 chromosomes, 1 set of eleven from the pod parent and one set of 11 from the pollen parent. Tetraploid daylilies (Tets) contain 44 chromosomes, essentially giving them twice the amount of genetic material as diploids. This gives the hybridizer more opportunity for 'breaks' or more dramatic advances than can be made with diploids. Triploids are not seen often in daylilies. They have a triple set of chromosomes and are generally infertile.

Billi, All species of daylilies are diploid. That means they have 22 chromosomes. They get 11 from the mother and 11 from the father plant when they are created. Generally speaking, dips have thinner substance to the flowers and thinner scapes and leaves. When tets were chemically induced, it stopped normal cell division and produced plants with twice the number of chromosomes. This would be fatal in animals, where a slight change often has fatal effects, but it happens in plants and they seem to sort things out. Tets have 44 chromosomes, 22 from each parent. Generally, they have thicker foliage and thicker scapes as well as more substance to the blooms. Early tets seemed to have more issues with scapes 'blasting'...they were so abnormally thick that they 'exploded', but much of that has been overcome in the years since. Tets have some characteristics that are dependent on more genetic material to carry...teeth and fangs and heavier edges, for example. There are breeders, however that are working to give these characteristics to dips. Dips, have given us 'blue' eyes and fantastic patterns (check out Bob Faulkner's site). Many of the neat patterns and colors of dips can be 'borrowed' by tet hybridizers when they use colchicine or another chemical to turn a dip into a tet. These plants have their name preceded with a 'tetra' or 'tet' prefix. If you look up the daylily, Rose Kennedy, it is a dip, but there is now a tet conversion that makes those genetics available to cross with other tets. You can create a triploid by crossing a tet with a dip. Usually the tet should be the pollen parent since dip pollen doesn't seem have the 'oomph' to fertilize a tet. The issue is that plant will be a dead end since it is a 'mule' with 33 chromosomes, which can't evenly split between egg and sperm. Usually they are sterile, but plants do have ways to overcome sterility by throwing some fertile eggs and pollen. The diploid Ed Murray can be bred as a dip or a tet. It seems that it produces some unreduced gametes, which gives some tet pollen and eggs, but this is unusual. Most dips are bred with dips and most tets with tets. Dips do usually produce lots more seed. I should add that neither dips nor tets are 'superior'. Dips, having fewer chromosomes, have allowed breeders to create characteristics that haven't shown up in tets and maybe never will, except for 'borrowing' it from the dips. Diploids are often more graceful than tets. As I stated above, tets can give us more petal substance and patterns that dips don't carry right now. Many gardeners grow both and enjoy both. You only need to worry about the genetics if you are going to hybridize. If you mix up your dips and tets, you'll be wasting a lot of time on plants that won't set seed for you. Otherwise, just enjoy the best of both worlds! Hope that helps. Bob This post was edited by hoosierbob on Sun, Jan 18, 15 at 9:37