| I've only been fortunate enough to hear a copule of reallyserious breeders talk about their breeding programs (Frank Fordyce and Jerry Fischer). They seem to know many "characteristics" that get passed on, that if they cross "a" and "b" then they'll get bigger flowers because "a" tends to impart size to its offspring. This is how both of them tended to talk. I think serious experienced breeders do have a sense of what the dominant characteristics are. And their breeding programs are not as much guess work as one might think. On the other hand, both admitted that the further one goes into complex hybrids, the more variation in the progeny.
I'd love to start breeding some day. I think it is fascinating. |