I have completed my treatment of HANDSOME ROSS CARTER with my new mixture of Colchicine and DMSO, as I described in my last "Post" on Saturday, February 5, 2011.
When I initially began the treatment process on Tuesday, February 3, 2011, the plants did not absorb the Colchicine at all. So, on Wednesday, February 4, 2011, I used a paper towel, and dried the plants. At 8:30 a.m., and again at 3:30 p.m., I treated the plants, but still they did not absorb the Colchicine. On the morning of February 5, I noticed that there was a little absorbtion of Colchicine in some of the plants. At 8:00 a.m. I removed the Colchicine, and applied more of the chemical. Then, around lunch time I added an additional one (1) milliliter of DMSO to my mixture. This means that my mixture became almost the same as the mixture used by the Duckman. At 2:30 p.m. I applied the new mixture.
On the morning of February 6, 2011, I noticed that all five of my HANDSOME ROSS CARTER plants were absorbing the Colchicine. So, at about 12:30 p.m. I cleaned all of the plants, and then retreated. On the morning of February 7, 2011, at about 8:30 a.m., I again cleaned the plants and retreated. On the morning of February 8, at about 8:15 a.m., I cleaned and retreated the plants.
I realize that I did not treat the plants two or three times a day as is often suggested. However, in my opinion, the plants did receive quite a bit of Colchicine, and hopefully it was enough to push toward a conversion. I just couldn't make myself cut the plants again so that more Colchicine could be applied. I'm showing pictures below of my plants as they appeared this evening:
You might notice that Plant 5 appears smaller than Plants 1 through 4. Indeed, Plant 5 is smaller. I will have to wait and watch the Plants as they move through the next two weeks. In about one week I will probably remove the outside of the growing surface to try to prevent rot when I ultimately begin applying water. I probably will not apply water for about 2 to 3 weeks. Is all of this planning written down anywhere? No. How do I know what to do? Well, as I said last year, a lot of this is making decisions as you go through the process.
I will keep you posted.Bill
Very interesting Mr. Bill. I love your more scientific posts. What other plants are you working on this year?
ReplyDeleteJosh Jaques
Hi Josh: Well I'm working on Elizabeth Salter's MIXED BERRY JAM, a seedling from Jack Carpenter, and three others in the Greenhouse. I'll have to tell you later about the Greenhouse plants after I've looked at the names again.
ReplyDeleteBill
Josh: Several other diploids that I am going to try to convert include SUNGLASSES NEEDED, PINK STRIPES, THE FREAK, and BIG KISS.
ReplyDeleteBill
Like Josh, I really enjoy the conversion posts. But there's a lingering question ... what grade of colchicine do you use? Nobody ever explains this but I presume there's a purity issue that might affect the conversion rate. Sigma has at least three grades in stock.
ReplyDeleteCarey Roberts