A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 ????? About cross pollination

Well here goes another ?dumb? question:

Say I have a white cypress vine and I have a red cypress vine, and grow these together on an arbor, of course they are going to cross pollinate...My question, is one color going to be dominant over the other from the next seed saving or will the result be variegated flowers etc?????

White seems to dominate in some plants, at least to the extent that they can revert to white as they naturalize. I don't know about cypress vine specifically, but I doubt the seeds would reliably produce all red or all white the first generation. Variegation is usually a more rare trait, often due to genetic damage from a virus or other factors. Many plants with variegated leaves are actually produced from cuttings of plants with benign viral infections. Interesting, no?

Yes very interesting....So I am still unsure of what to do as I would like to mix the two colors on the arbor around my garden gate, But I also would like to save seed each year and/or let it reseed itself, Just afraid of what the result might be after several generations....And white would be the dominant color, I was afraid it would be red LOL...see how much I know on this subject, But that is the reason I posted this in the first place.

Comfrey...don't take my word for it, this is just what I have observed with some hybridized varieties of plants. It's just as possible that red would be more dominant, since I think that's the natural color of cypress...? My guess is you'd get some seeds for each color, so you could probably plant seed and then thin as they began to bloom. I wonder if this question would be good to post in the seed exchange?

I don't know, I was hoping there was someone with knowledge on this subject (like their field of study) But I am interested in everyone's theory on this, but it may turn out to be an experiment for me...LOL At least the first year it should be very pretty, I may just need to start with fresh seed each year If I want to maintain a proper balance, but then again if I let nature take its course, I could end up with something better then I have imagined???? Oh gardening and planning beds etc is so much fun, it allows you to imagine all sorts of things you can or could do.

I think planning a garden falls under the heading of "Life happens while I'm busy making other plans" lol.

Very true tk!

HI comfrey (quote) My question, is one color going to be dominant over the other from the next seed saving or will the result be variegated flowers etc?????
I Have been growing cypress vines for years they will cross pollinate but you will get a pink color.you will still get red and white ones to.but will not get any that will be variegated in color.peppereater has gave you some great advice on Variegation it is usually a case due to genetic damage or from a virus or other factors that give you a Variegated plant or bloom.red is the dominate color in cypress vines but you can get other colors from cross pollination mostly from the white ones.you can get a lavender color if white is planted with purple morning glorys.I would just save my seeds and plant them then thin them out as they bloom so you get the colors you want to grow.hope this helps your friend in gardening.Mike57

Wow, Mike! I am so glad you shared the info about the fact that these will cross with morning glorys! I did not know until I read this post and started researching that they were even RELATED to morning glories, and until you told me, I wouldn't have imagined that they would cross with a standard morning glory! Thanks. That's one of the great things about this site, just when you think you've learned something new, you learn some more!

Wow Mike & peppereater, this is great info. And the part about morning glories how interesting. So how many plants/ cypress vines would it take to fill out a gate way arbor...more like an archway. It is about 2 1/2 feet wide by about 6' tall...it is not round but is square.

HI comfrey I would put about six on each side that should give you a nice full arbor with lots of color you might have to trim it now and then as to give you plenty of room to walk under it as they will spread out quite a bit you can plant more if you like and thin them out if they try to get out of hand.hope this helps your friend in gardening.mike57

HI peppereater Glad I could share some information
about the cypress vines and morning glories with you and comfrey.I just aquired a lot of new varietys and colors in a trade for postage stamps.some the varietys will have blooms up to five inches across so i will have a lot to trade next year.I will post some photos of them next year and will be glad to share some seeds with you two next fall.your friend in gardening.mike57

Thanks for the help Mike! I'll take pictures when they are in full bloom this summer.