What Would be the Ideal Micro? - Page 3

dfollett · December 14, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenO

Couldn't resist the temptation and planted a little group of your purple cherry PL micro F4 labelled 11X-F4-6-1.
happy to have them to enjoy their cuteness on my desk under a lamp for now. will have to move them when I pot them up but they are keeping me company while they are babies. Thank you for the seed, I will certainly let you know how they do and return seed to you of any that show the characteristics you want.
Karen

Plant LOTS and cull heavily. I am growing some F4s now and there is a huge amount of segregation. Quite a bit more than I expected. I'm referring to segregation in growth habit, not fruit. There are many plants that have, for lack of a better word, one 'abnormally' or another. The differentiation seems the most dramatic about the time they normally start to put out blossoms.

KarenO · December 14, 2016

I will look for the littlest of the seedlings to grow out but I'm not fussy or critical of them regardless. I will enjoy them for whatever they become as it is a treat just to be able to grow them indoors on these dark days of winter. The pretty little things

KO

dfollett · December 14, 2016

As young'ens, they are all cute - but so are puppies and kids. Unfortunately, not all dogs nor adults are so cute....... (Same with these)...

They are definitely PL, but on some of them it seems the leaves want to get bigger than the plant wants to be. Some of the leaves curl and twist themselves into weird shapes and positions. They often make it impossible to see into the main stem. I have a couple of the smallest of these remain a healthy looking plant and never put out a blossom. Any more, I make them show me a blossom before I move them out of the red cup into their final home. They do fine in a 5"-6" 1 1/2-2 qt. pot.

Some put out several sprays of blossoms from the knot of stems and leaves. The one I am hoping to replicate put a single main stem out the top that turned into an enormous canopy of 100s of blossoms. That became a canopy of purple fruit centered over the knot of leaves. The ones from which your seeds were saved had the canopy so well centered and balanced that it didn't need any support, even loaded with fruit.

I assume it was determinate, since it quit growing once it put out the canopy of blossoms. If I can get it to replicate, I'll call it "Canopy Purple"

KarenO · December 14, 2016

Sounds really interesting. Do you have a pic of what to look for? Or a link to another thread re these?
Karen

KarenO · December 14, 2016

Seems micros, being weird little abnormal plants in the first place are prone to oddities of foliage. I enjoyed growing CK's with that rolled leaf trait even though I didn't find the fruit very good unfortunately . I'm looking forward to see what yours do,
KO

dfollett · December 14, 2016

Here are a few photos of some siblings. I had high hopes from an F2 I liked and set out 26 F3 siblings last spring. They were doing very well when I took these pictures. The first one is the plant your seeds are from. The next one shows a similar plant that I liked much better than yours at this stage. The third shows one with lots of smaller scattered blossom sprays. The last one shows one that had far more blossoms than any tiny plant I have ever seen.

Unfortunately, shortly after I took these pictures, some deer took a liking to tomatoes and decimated most of mine. I eventually put an electric fence around my main garden and salvaged a good portion of what was inside that. Sixteen of the twenty-six were outside the fence and I never picked a ripe fruit from any of them.

dfollett · December 14, 2016

This F2 has Dwarf Sweet Sue as a grandpa and the color and taste that live up to its pedigree. It topped out at 14" and had great fruit set. Fingers crossed for the F3s.

dfollett · December 14, 2016

This one topped out at 7". It wasn't multiflora, but was so tiny I had to keep it. I had already picked a couple when I took this photo, but what shows here is all this one did. It would be fine in a 5" pot. Is there enough fruit there to justify the effort?

oakley · December 14, 2016

Thank you for that dfollett. As i've mentioned i have culled quite a bit and have some very healthy starts from your seeds. Have not counted but at least 60+. I'll pot up at least 15-20 of each. All potato leaf. Might start a new thread to follow them. Right now they are on my 'winter garden thread/post.

Cole_Robbie · December 14, 2016

Nice pics. Some of them remind me of the Anmore Treasures that I grew last summer. I wish I had a field of them under low tunnels.

dfollett · December 15, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by oakley

Thank you for that dfollett. As i've mentioned i have culled quite a bit and have some very healthy starts from your seeds. Have not counted but at least 60+. I'll pot up at least 15-20 of each. All potato leaf. Might start a new thread to follow them. Right now they are on my 'winter garden thread/post.

I'll start following that thread. I'll be interested in watching your progress. They're fun to grow - frustrating when they don't turn out like you want, but fun nonetheless.

NarnianGarden · December 15, 2016

Do you have any pics of the violet fruited one?

dfollett · December 15, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Do you have any pics of the violet fruited one?

I thought I took photos of the purple F3s, but apparently I didn't. I can't find any. Sorry. As I remember, they weren't quite as dark as the Margaret Curtains I've grown, but they did have her greenish shoulders until they were fully ripe.

tuncse · December 16, 2016

My Red Robin on the windowsill. We have true winter here.

oakley · December 27, 2016

tuncse, pretty and very healthy. Did you keep track of its age from seed? I have 4 RedRobins just transplanted into 4" pots. 3 are just 4" tall, one is a tiny 2". Awfully slow growing.

..." Any more, I make them show me a blossom before I move them out of the red cup into their final home."

That is good advice. I've stopped culling. I have room to pot up all of them, then look for a centered cluster/blossom. Good project.

December 14, 2016	#33
dfollett Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Utah Posts: 693	As young'ens, they are all cute - but so are puppies and kids. Unfortunately, not all dogs nor adults are so cute....... (Same with these)... They are definitely PL, but on some of them it seems the leaves want to get bigger than the plant wants to be. Some of the leaves curl and twist themselves into weird shapes and positions. They often make it impossible to see into the main stem. I have a couple of the smallest of these remain a healthy looking plant and never put out a blossom. Any more, I make them show me a blossom before I move them out of the red cup into their final home. They do fine in a 5"-6" 1 1/2-2 qt. pot. Some put out several sprays of blossoms from the knot of stems and leaves. The one I am hoping to replicate put a single main stem out the top that turned into an enormous canopy of 100s of blossoms. That became a canopy of purple fruit centered over the knot of leaves. The ones from which your seeds were saved had the canopy so well centered and balanced that it didn't need any support, even loaded with fruit. I assume it was determinate, since it quit growing once it put out the canopy of blossoms. If I can get it to replicate, I'll call it "Canopy Purple" Last edited by dfollett; December 14, 2016 at 06:45 PM.

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December 14, 2016	#32
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	I will look for the littlest of the seedlings to grow out but I'm not fussy or critical of them regardless. I will enjoy them for whatever they become as it is a treat just to be able to grow them indoors on these dark days of winter. The pretty little things KO

December 14, 2016	#39
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	Thank you for that dfollett. As i've mentioned i have culled quite a bit and have some very healthy starts from your seeds. Have not counted but at least 60+. I'll pot up at least 15-20 of each. All potato leaf. Might start a new thread to follow them. Right now they are on my 'winter garden thread/post.

December 14, 2016	#40
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Nice pics. Some of them remind me of the Anmore Treasures that I grew last summer. I wish I had a field of them under low tunnels.

December 15, 2016	#42
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	Do you have any pics of the violet fruited one?

December 27, 2016	#45
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	tuncse, pretty and very healthy. Did you keep track of its age from seed? I have 4 RedRobins just transplanted into 4" pots. 3 are just 4" tall, one is a tiny 2". Awfully slow growing. ..." Any more, I make them show me a blossom before I move them out of the red cup into their final home." That is good advice. I've stopped culling. I have room to pot up all of them, then look for a centered cluster/blossom. Good project.