all hybridizing lines though I know of no rule against doing it the other way and know 
one or wo. hybridizers who do use the other way. But since the great majority use the 
pod pollen method of recording, the reverse method can be very confusing to your own 
records unless you remember to switch them around. 
ONCO AND REGALIA HYBRID CROSSING. 
In giving what information I can on crossing the various hybrids I will first take up 
the subject of pollen. I have found that the pollen of most of these hybrids is very 
difficult to keep and that under most methods of storing, it very soon becomes com- 
pletely dry and sterile. After trying various ways, some of which would completely dry 
it and others which would make it too soggy I discovered that by placing only the pollen 
sacs themselves in the bottom of short wide mouthed jars, leaving them open and placing 
them on the floor in a cool corner of the basement they kept indefinitely in perfect 
condition. This method has enabled me to have plenty of valuable pollen from these early 
hybrids for use on much later tall bearded varieties. 
In pollenating and securing good takes on the various hybrids such as Wm. Mohr, 
etc., I had very little luck either with very fresh flowers or hand opened buds until 
I began to pollenate by pinching the sides of the style slightly together, thus opening the 
lip or stigma completely, then applying the pollen as heavy and as far back as 
possible on the stigma. Whether this actually helped in securing the “sets” may of 
course be questionable, but by doing this I have had remarkably good luck for the past 
two years in making these difficult crosses. ‘I might add that my reason for trying 
this was because I had noticed that in the case of most of the hybrids the stigma is 
usually quite large and it seems to me that the flower is hardly opened before the whole 
suter portion of the sigma becomes quite flaccid and therefore possibly nonconductive 
to successful crossing. As to varieties that I have found best suited for crossing with 
the hybrids, I might name the following. White Waters which seems to be the 
easiest of all and which has set pods readily by any hybrid pollen from early Zwanenberg 
up to the newest Craig hybrids. Purissima seems to be another good pod parent for 
hybrids though I have been unable to grow it here. I have had good pods from Snow 
Flurry, Chi Yun and other purissima derivatives though. Blue Shimmer, Gloxinia, 
Stella Polaris, Galway Bay, Mt. Timp, Frosty Blue and Mulberry Rose are all top notch 
varieties for use as they are very easy to pod by any of the hybrid pollen—or have 
been for me. Hybrid pollen is very fertile on a number of the Flamingo or Shell pinks, too. 
One seldom fails in being able to pod Overture, Pink Salmon and a great many pink 
seedlings, especially those derived from the David Hall line, are very easy to pod. 
I have had fair success with Flora Zenor but it is not as receptive as the others 
mentioned. 
As to podding the hybrids themselves, it is difficult to say what will or wont prove 
a successful pollen parent but I have found the most fertile pollen to be that from 
most any Aztec Copper derivative such as a number of the Kleinsorge blends or my own 
Honeyflow which seems to be the best I have found. Here again the Shell pinks seem 
to work readily as Wm. Mohr seems to pod easily by use of Overture pollen. Plicatas 
too seem to work fairly well either as pod or pollen parent. In my own experience, 
Lady Mohr has been the easiest of any hybrid to pod and Capitola has had the most 
fertile hybrid pollen. 
