What progress?
I'm a bit behind on quite a few things this year. I'd left the young plants, grown from seed a bit too long in their pots. They had become somewhat intertwined with each other and they looked weedy and a bit yellow! But they have been very forgiving and since their late planting out they are putting a lot of effort into correcting my neglect. I now have some flowering Sugar Beth peas!
One of three pink flowering vines. |
I have 12 plants growing from this sowing, 3 are pink flowering and the remainder purple. The purple flowering peas are showing a selection of coloured pods, green, partly purple and I think one is solid purple. Most are mange-tout type pods with 1 being a sugar snap which is part purple
Nearly all purple |
Slightly mottled pod of a sugar snap type |
Sunlight highlighting the purple and green colours |
My aim for this cross was a pink flowering, purple podded mange-tout type pea, although I'd be happy with a sugar snap. But it looks like my aim won't be achieved. The 3 pink-salmon flowering peas have resulted in 1 green podded type and two coloured, but that's where it goes a little skew. The pods initially look like they are purple but as they grow they appear more reddy in colour, I think perhaps the pink flowering gene affects the tone of pod colour as well as the flower and leaf axil splodges. Although it might be a trait from the pollen parent. Anyway it is very attractive, though not as intense a red colour as the pictures I have seen of a 'red podded pea'. It is very pretty none the less, especially when sunlight catches behind the pod, then I think they look amazing!
Two of the pink flowering F2's have pinky - red colour on the pods |
Pretty and unusual pod colour |
A purple flowered with green pod and a pink flowered with 'pink' pod side by side. |
Hi Jay,
ReplyDeleteHave you seen Rebsie's Blog? She made a similar discovery by crossing a purple podded pea with a yellow podded one:
http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.nl/2010/04/red-podded-pea-update-f3-crop.html
I know US plant breeder Alan Kapuler was going to work on this further, to develop a red podded mangtout, but I don't know where he is in the project.
By the way, your blog is great. Good luck with it.
Patrick
Thank you Patrick, Rebsie does have a lovely log, I'm only sorry there are no recent posts.
DeleteHi Jay,
ReplyDeletePretty peas! Joseph Lofthouse in the US has made excellent progress on a beautiful red:
http://alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/1772/red-podded-pea-project
PhilaGardener
Many thanks, I'll catch up with the progress.
DeleteHi Jay! I'm very interested in this cross. Would you be willing to share a few seeds from your Sugar Beth cross?
ReplyDeletethanks, -Andrew
Yes, although I'm not sure where I am with seeds at the moment. I've had a very late start sowing peas this year and I'm hoping they have time to grow. If all works out I should have some F5 seeds in the Autumn. If you are interested there's some more about them here http://www.growingfoodsavingseeds.co.uk/forum/main-forum/peas also a few other threads with red podded peas.
ReplyDeleteThe bean in the second from last picture is stunning.
ReplyDeleteCheers, I'm hoping to sow some more this year and see what colours appear.
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