Color Heritage of Smithiantha

Just experience for reference, not the study ....

Except the white, the common colors of Smithiantha are so-called "warm" colors, such as red, pink, orange and yellow. The mixed colors with different "warm" colors are common as well. But just the these colors are not boring at all because there are still patterns such as edged, dotted, patched or lined as well as 2 color tones inside and outside the corolla tube which enrich the color appearance in the hybrids of Smithiantha. So far, the blue and purple are rarely seen in Smithiantha.

So, which color is dominant when doing combination of new hybrids ? According to those seedlings I saw over 3 years, it seems not any color can be defined as dominant one because the color variation of the seedlings are fairly averaged. But there is one thing that is quite significant when including a pure white or yellow clone as one of the parents. The color of most seedlings usually become lighter or even go to white or yellow when the color of the other parent is thin and light.

The interesting speckled corolla tube of Smithiantha is another highlight of hybridizing Smithiantha. The speckled patterns seems dominant, therefore it is easy to see such seedlings when the speckled parents are included in the hybrid combinations.

Well ... personally I'm not 100% into creating extreme colors when thinking a cross of Smithiantha because I do care and put much emphasis on getting the plant and flower balanced, not just do for one character in a cross. The more hybrid I make, the more color choice is revealed. Sometimes an overall speculation brings unexpected opportunities.