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Bloom Season The selection process actually starts before bloom season -- with planned crosses.
In other words, the more seeds the better -- as long as the pod parents aren't over-stressed. My philosophy has been that surplus seeds can be put in the bank or given away, but the crosses not made produce only regrets. The first step in the selection process is thus deciding which seeds to culture or plant.
Maiden Bloom Rule #1: never register something on the basis of maiden bloom because it may not be characteristic. Screen the seedlings, of course. Rate both plant habits and flower traits. Generally speaking, I've kept about 1 out of 10 for further evaluation. (If you've visited my seedling patch, you'll probably recall that these seedlings got red tags to signal that they were on my "watch list".) I did not follow the old practice of transplanting all arilbred seedlings every year. The average gardener doesn't do that so I tested my seedlings' ability to not just survive but perform well when left in place for several years. Sometimes, I'd divide a clump and plant some in a new bed but leave the rest in place for further evaluation.
Watch List Selections have been transplanted to beds comparable to those of named cultivars. No more special treatment. For example, here TBs need shadecloth just to survive and it greatly enhances the performance of 1/4-breds. Most growers don't coddle anything with shadecloth, so if my seedlings can't take the cold winters (sometimes dipping below 0 degrees Fahrenheit), the dry desert heat (often above 110) of early summer, and survive the monsoon season -- they aren't introduced. In subsequent seasons, I judged them against each other and those already on the market, usually keeping less than half each time for further evaluation. For the reselects that survived the hiatus, see my current Watch List.
Silver Selections Again, if you've visited my seedling patch you've seen the color-coded beds. A silver tag screamed "Name Me!" Most of this group were registered before the hiatus. Some were introduced through Pleasure Gardens. Others are now being introduced by Malevil. Those now in search of names are on the Silver Selections page. About one in 50 to 100 seedlings make it through this stage. That's not a goal, but a rule of thumb that I picked up from my mentors. (BTW, the consensus was 1 in 1,000 for TBs but I haven't worked with them enough to confirm or refute it.) I grew thousands of seedlings before selecting my first introduction, and it took many years to reach that magic one in 100 mark. I never "crunched the numbers" until the last of a season's crosses had passed thru the system because I didn't want the selection process to be influenced by the numbers.
Coming Attractions 2005 Introductions plus some that are on track for introduction as soon as they have increased enough. In many cases Malevil got only one rhizome so it may be several years before they have enough to introduce. All of these have either been registered or had names reserved. Check out Coming Attractions if you're curious about the selections closest to introduction.
Breeders In the final step, there were some that didn't make the final cut but were worth keeping as breeding stock These got blue tags. I judged seedlings on gardenability, show potential, and breeding potential but now wish I had introduced more of my promising breeders. Often, a good breeder is not impressive itself but produces outstanding seedlings. Sometimes, it proves good enough to distribute, so I've also included a page of information about the remaining Breeders.
Lost Sheep Some of the cultivars I had registered before the hiatus and some of my silver selections did not bloom in 2004 and may be lost. Time will tell. If you're curious, see the Lost Sheep page.
For the Next Generation If you browse through these pages and some of the hybridizing section, you will notice that there is no single focus. Many hybridizers concentrate on a single type or even a particular pattern or color within that type. I started out as an experimenter -- wanting to learn as much as possible about the origin of our modern arilbreds -- and that has remained my primary goal. Later, with the encouragement of my mentors, I realized that some of my seedlings were worthy of introduction. Eventually, I developed a secondary goal of expanding the arilbred Gene Pool because the foundation stock of today's fertile arilbreds was developed from very few species.
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