Shade Cloth

Well summer is here in central Arkansas with a vengence. The past 3 days it has been in the 100 range. We had a club here last saturday and the humidity was 85% plus 100 degrees at 2 pm and we all melted. The flowers in the feild after lunch looked like they were scorched from the hot sun.

I have a green house area that i had put all my plants i wanted to breed with in this area 20 x 24 ft.. I havent been setting any seed pods the past few days and the plants have been melting. I had some shade cloth in the barn for the past few years and decided to try and put it up over the green house area. My wife and i did this yesterday afternoon. I tied off the corners and put in a couple pvc poles in the middle to hold up the middle. I came out at 630am today and started hybridizing and it felt cooler under the 60% shade cloth. i got home this afternoon at about 6pm and went to see what the plants looked like and i was amazed. Out of about 40 blooms, not one bloom was melted or even burnt. They looked good. I know it will help set me more pods now.

The flower is Stamiles Tri Color and a tet. I have seen it bloom several times this summer and today it was a double. As you can see in the first picture there is that extra petaloid sticking out there. Remember i told not so long ago that you could breed doubles with a flower that does this from time to time. Well today here is Tri Color as a full double. Just Amazing. In the old Stamile website Pat doesnt mention that this plant will double. So for those breeding doubles heres one more for you to breed with. Jim Elliott