Mitzi, thanks! Mike,I never saw a Vulturine Guinea Fowl here, but I understand that some people do have them, they must be quite expensive, and they need a heated henhouse. I can understand that it is one of you're favorites, they are something else! :-)We exchanged 10 of our runner duck lady's for the helmed guinea fowls, they aren't expensive at all here, at least, at the adress we used to go, but I didn't want money for my duck children. ( We had to let them go because the neighbors complained and keep complaining, we thought it was the best thing to do because we were afraid someone would shoot them in the end - they walk free around - so now we have 9 male runners, and no more complains). We had helmed guinea fowls before, and with the runners, they are the most funny birds I know. It's not only that they like to look inside the house, they also follow our cats and in the summer they sleep on the little bridge from our neighbor- she don't care, but thinks it is great- thanks for that! It's also funny to see how they kind of ' explode ' in the middle of a walkabout, first they are in the ease of grazing and the next second they hang two meters in the air. Thanks a lot for you're advice about the Viola, I have it in the frontroom now but I'm gonna move it in the back, it's warmer there and there is a growlight near the window. I really don't want to lose this plant, I'm in love with the leaves, and it seems to be a mystery what kind of flowers it could have. Ingrid

1. I assume Iris pollen should behave like lily and one can take some fresh anthers, air dry them (film canisters work well), seal it and freeze it. Let the canister warm before opening it to prevent condensation on the pollen. 2. Experience only tells. 3. Read up if others tried it, but probably you will find little in the literature. Try it. 4. When making very wide crosses repeated pollinations over days helps and making crosses using various cultivars / genotypes can increase finding a combo that is more compatible.

Liking pansies: don't think about it Tom :oP I tried some, they don't like me ;o) Never saw such an easy dying plant LOL ! Bad luck ? ;o) Well...."Brace yourself, God will help you" or something like that... About my 'coeur de Lyon' - it should be its name, except if I change my mind - SCOOP ;o): it's really too cold to say if it's perfumed but I guess it won't have any. Let's wait until spring to be sure. Yes, it does have runners and many :-P You should try 'royal elk' my favorite one (light scent -not always- but giant flowers). I can't hardly wait until I try 'Emile Prévot' (prévot or prévost ? can't remember) another sororia X odorata hybrid. You're totally right, most of 'Governor Herrick' types look like more odorata than sororia: why ? Sometimes it seems that those kind of hybrids take what's the best in both according to the season. 'Mrs Pinehurst' (I enjoy calling it pinedhuitre with a friend of mine, just easy to have for a french spoken guy and funny nickname, pine d'huitre = small dick in French - I can't stop kidding, sorry) is wondeful and unique with its blue/purple face. By the way, you can find it called odorata 'pinehurst' in nurseries here: except in color, it's quite like any odorata even if it's scentless. I don't like much 'Governor Herrick'...however it's hard to make the difference from 'pinehurst'...petals are strangely shaped I think, maybe a bit like viola canadensis...when a violet goes to the dogs, it looks like a pansy ;op Take care - Thierry :-)

YES, I selected some violets; "odo."La Valade "and" Camille ". But I cheeks not the aprentis wizard. I let play natural injury. Indeed I enormously sow seeds which come from the intermediate stage of flowering, cleistogame/chasmogame, it is at these times that foreign pollen could enter, follows from there abundant sowings and a obervation of the descent. The probability of obtaining something again is weak bus the variations are sometimes negligible but there was a genetic mixing which will be beneficial for a new generation. I conceives that when is restricts at a balcony this is less easy to implement. Merry Xmas! ;-) XYan