Donna,

All I can say is Wow! That is one different looking Tosca! Pretty though, I wonder if she will stay that way or revert to regular Tosca form? - J

Donna, Very interesting. Perhaps I should wound mine! ;)

Wow Donna, this is indeed a very different and beautiful Tosca! Are you sure that you didn't get a very special mislabel? I think even the shape of the flower is different. I'm just having fun with my Tosca that is reblooming right now. It's from RC 2015 too and looks like a "normal" Tosca. I love this variety very much but I also would like the one you have. Maybe you could try to cross it with your other Tosca? And Papilio of course...

I'm really curious to see al these offsets bloom! My H554 looks a bit like this, leaves from every part of the bulb. I wonder if this is bad for the bulb because it puts to much power in all the bulblets?

Greetings from my Tosca to yours:

Anja

Yes, Anja the thought did cross my mine that my red Tosca might be something else, but what!! My second bulb did bloom last year and it was just like yours. Yours is the perfect color and shape!!

Here is my other last year's RC bulb...looks like yours but might be a little more to the red side..

and here is my red Tosca last year...

I must have done a good job cleaning it up because it's thriving!!

I will put papilio on one flower and possibly some aulicum but I've only got the two flowers.

Donna☺☺

click on those pictures, they'll get larger..

Donna, congratulations for saving this bulb! It looks horrible and what a lovely and mysterious flower it gave you this year!

I was thinking of something from the Charisma family because of the many dots. Maybe a new family member? I also noticed that Charisma also has this dotted stigma.

Well I think we will have to wait for the next bloom to see if it stays that like this.

Anja

I just noticed how green the throat is, more like Show Master but Show Master has white filaments, perhaps it's a cross between the two....??

I just measured the pedicels and they 3 + 1/4'' long. I don't remember if they were that long on my other Tosca, I can't tell from the pictures.

Well, it certainly isn't Show Master who has very short pedicels...

Donna my Tosca was very purple with a cream color at the bottom. I like your red better. Maybe mine will have better color on the second bloom.

I think the purple color is correct. It's mine that's an aberration. But I see some freckling on your bottom leaves as well as on the filaments so mine being different is probably just the conditions as Pavel said. Now, lets see if she'll take pollen better than the purple ones!!

Donna mine was a new bulb this year and didn't accept any pollen. I hope your red one turns out to be a good pod parent. Keep us updated on the crossing.

Louana

My Tosca in 2011. The two stems from one bulb, each different color flowers!!!

I had to cut stems - bulb too exhausted and I did not want to die this bulb.

Donna,

This my Tosca ordered from RC last year when some of us wanted more 'curvy' flowers. Always finding some reason to order more and more and.... :) -J

Tosca is one of my favourites, such delicious colours. Any ideas of parentage? Don't see much of papilio but this doesn't mean it isn' t there.

Pavel,

Even your pale one is beautiful! ! Since nobody seems to be able to get seeds from Tosca I'm sure you did the right thing cutting off the blooms to save the bulb. I should do this more when I know that I'm not going to pollinate. I usually do this when the stalk is bending way over and fear it will snap off...

Jody,

Beautiful, this is the batch that mine both came from and yes, I remember how we all salivated over those frilly shaped Toscas that some of had before on previous bulbs and some of us didn't.

This morning one flower appears ready to pollinate. I think I will use papilio and probably aulicum on the second....

The thing that gets me though it the extremely long pedicels! At first I had stated that they were 4 inches long but I was counting the ovary in with the measurement. They are actually only 3 + 1/4" still extremely long though, like Aphrodite. You could actually pick the flower with a nice stem and enjoy it in a small vase which I'm not going to do...

Donna☺☺

Today is overcast before rain with no wind yet so I think I'll try more photos outside to see if I can capture the exact color.

Pavel, i like your Tosca with different flowers, it looks like a painting of a flower arrangement.

I agree Rosina, wouldn't that make a great watercolor! Wishing I was a painter :(

Donna, what about Giraffe to keep the curves?

Actually, I don't have all that much luck growing Giraffe as much as I love it. I have a pot full of small offsets and then one of the Bulb Fairies gave me a large one and that's not doing so hot either.

I already put aulicum on one and I think I'll just put papilio on the other when it's ready. If they don't work then I guess I'm out of luck. Just hate it when there are only two flowers to work with..especially when 4 is the norm!!

Bulb Fairy says there are plenty more Giraffe from where that came from. And I mean plenty.

Maida

I really appreciate the offer but... if I can't grow something I have to learn to move on and besides I have a nice bulb from Kristi and a pot full of my own offsets so I haven't completely given up hope of flowers, and they're all healthy...(I actually have two pots of offsets) so I'll just wait these guys out! But many thanks...☺☺

Hi Guys,

This is just an update on my red Tosca. I pollinated each flower, one with aulicum and one with papilio and it would appear (fingers crossed) that they may have taken! The pedicels are extremely long I don't recall ever seeing any so long before although Aphrodite might be a candidate if she could form seeds.

If these seeds are good then I think this tells me that this isn't really Tosca at least not the version that we all have. The "normal" Tosca doesn't set seeds, perhaps rarely. I wonder if this was just something that they were testing to see if it was a good candidate for production? Any ideas?

Anyway if the seeds are good the flowers should be very interesting I should think...I'll keep you posted.

I've been hesitant to post these seedpods for fear of jinxing them but here they are and tomorrow, they'll probably both shrivel, lets hope not!!

Donna

Oh Donna the pods look great. I think they will make it all the way. I can't stop looking at the picture of that very red special Tosca that makes seeds!

Louana

Hi Donna,

I know what you mean about posting developing seed pods and jinxing them. I have a Red Lion that I bought into work about a month and a half ago that I had for a few years ago and decided to cross it with some frozen pollen. I decided on Lima, Santana Ana, Evergreen and papilio and (fingers and everything else crossed) it looks like it may have worked. The pedicels are green and strong and the pods pods are developing nicely. When I feel more confident that the pods are truly developing as they should, I'll post a picture. I had previously posted a picture of Meringue, (foolishly) thinking that my pollination attempts were a success, then they all failed. Well, that taught me the lesson of putting the cart before the horse.

Warm Regards,

Fred

Louana,

No promises this time but I'm hoping to send some of these out with possibly some seeds from Madame Butterfly in place of the Fire Blade seeds I promised everyone. Most of those were small amounts and some aren't germinating well at all, and some are. I still have some of Ray's Charisma x Lima of which I am germinating 6 and although they took forever to germinate they look good. These will be added too...

Too soon for the reveal of the Madame's seeds, but it looks like possibly 2 took, one didn't and a maybe.....but I'm very superstitious but usually I can't control myself and post. I'll try to wait another week for the Madame...

Fred,

I think that of your choices for Red Lion you'll have several successes! Now, what is Santana Ana, is it the same as Santana? I remember HoustonPat making some stunning cross with what I think was Red Lion and papilio!

I also guess it's safe to announce that Sumatra x Santos has formed a nice round seedpod. The other two were both papilio and neither took. So...Sumatra and Santos will definitely be orange, but hopefully Sumatra's shape will sweeten the flower and some will have striped leaves!!

Donna

Hi Louana,

I'm sorry, I had a brain fart. I meant Santa Rosa. I wish you all the luck with your crosses.

Fred :-)))

Donna, this seedpod looks very promising :-) And I'll keep my fingers crossed for your Madame!

My Tosca looks a little promising too but I know it's to early to post anything. We'll see...

Anja

Donna,

how are you going with the red Tosca? I just bought a Tosca and I would love to know if i should try with which one...

My Tosca just arrived today, with 2 scapes.

I mean the seed pods, are you successful to have the Tosca mother?

Lots of seeds this year. I harvested about 25 crosses before the rain and hail got us. A few more seed pods are still coming and I noticed that my papilio from Japan is blooming. The first bloom looks bad after the rain and hail, but the second bloom should let me know what it really looks like. Maybe some pollen for the late bloomers.

I post this photo not because of the flower which is H554 but to show you the seedpod on my 'normal' Tosca. Of course I don't know yet whether it can produce viable seeds but it can produce seedpods! The pollen was from my pink mislabel that may be Lagoon or Pink Surprise. The reverse cross took too, the pod is much bigger. Does anybody know if pink is as dominant as red? I hope that Tosca will pass some of her beauty to the seedlings.

The strange looking seedpod on the right is Spotlight x Tosca. The other is Spotlight x Spotlight.

I have some more pods ripening and I'll let you all know if there will be viable seeds to send into the big, wide world...

Anja

That seedpod on Tosca in the very first pictures certainly looks completely viable to me, I'd bet on it!! And, I'll bet that you get good seeds from it, congratulations!! My pods that aborted on my red Tosca never got to this stage. Your other two pods look great too!! Of course, I've been wrong before but hopefully not this time!!!☺☺☺

Donna

Thanks so much Anja and Donna! I'll try with my Tosca!