Got Sports? I'm a bit overloaded with them! (Pic heavy)

[Chris_W]

There are times when I realize that I need to keep a little better track of my sports. Many I've had for as long as 8 years without giving names to them. Others are very new discoveries. But I thought I would finally share as many as I could at one time. Please don't get sport envy. When you grow thousands of plants like I do, sports happen.

Here is sport #1, a subtle sport from Paul's Glory that I've had for about 8 years. I have 3 large clumps of this one and once in a while someone stops to ask what this one is called, but I never gave it a name.

Here is sport #2, another subtle sport, this time from Summer Breeze. It is a two tone green on green that is tough to really see. It is back in a spot where nobody ever sees it, and I doubt I'll ever give this one a name.

Sport #3 is a sport that came from Darwin's Standard but I now know that it is really a sport from Paradigm. Darwin's Standard is the same as Paradigm. This one looks great when growing in a lot of sunlight as the outer edge turns more yellow. I've had this one for 7 years.

Sport #4 is from Olive Branch. It is an Olive Branch with a much lighter center. This clump has been untouched for 6 years and finally is up to 2 eyes. Because of its ultra slow growth I don't think I'll ever introduce it.

Sport #5 is a sport from Radiant Star. We kicked around the name Malachite, and it might end up being named Malachite Star. The color pattern is very similar to a couple of Radiant Edger sports, one such is Pamela Lee.

Sport #6 is a sport from Eye Declare. It think it is 4 years old now, and one of my favorites actually. I've never really come up with a name yet, but it is growing really well and surprisingly has stayed smaller than Eye Declare.

Sport #7 is a sport from Blaze of Glory. I actually have 3 of these that I got in with 24 Blaze of Glory last year from Q & Z. I didn't notice them until about a month after they were growing here, but they are growing a lot faster than Blaze of Glory and are starting to stand out. A couple people have actually asked to buy these already, and they are only 2 years old. It might be common, though, so I bet Q & Z already found them and is reproducing them now.

Sport #8 I shared the other day - it is a sport from Brother Stefan that I just found this year. This one has a LOT of promise. Who knows what name it will get, but I hope that this one is unique to us and hasn't already been found.

Sports #9, 10, and 11 are a trio of Blue Mouse Ear sports. One is fertile and is growing much larger than BME, so it is basically a dud. One is lightly ruffled but with the same color flowers and growing the same size as a normal BME. The really exciting one is on the far left - it is tightly ruffled, is staying a little smaller, and it has significantly darker flowers than any Blue Mouse Ears or any of its sports that I've ever grown. That one should have a patent!

Here is an up close shot of the best one again:

And I have one more sport, but I'm not sure if it is really a sport or something else. I have a very odd batch of Orange Marmalade, and I'm going to start a new topic on that one.

Sorry for all the pictures, but I hope you enjoyed them. Let me know what you think of them, if any should be introduced, and if you have any ideas for names let me know.

Thanks

Chris

[Chris_W]

Oh, and I mentioned this one before. It is a solid yellow sport of Spinach Souffle.

That should be enough for now!

Chris

[Chris_W]

One name I thought of for the ruffled mouse ears sport was Mini-Meece. I don't think I could call it Minnie Mouse due to copyright issues, even though it is a wonderful choice with the ruffled edges (like a dress) and smaller size. So then I got thinking about Mini-Me (you know, from Austin Powers?) and that turned into Mini-Meece. PLEASE help me come up with something better!

[redcrx]

Hi Chris, I have a question way topic. You mention Darwin's Standard and Paradigm as being the same plant. I hate when that happens. I collect Gold Standard sports so I have Darwin's Standard. I have seen Paradigm in garden centers and it didn't appeal to me. Am I stuck?

[redcrx]

Minnie's Ruffles

[Chris_W]

Hi Chris, I have a question way topic. You mention Darwin's Standard and Paradigm as being the same plant. I hate when that happens. I collect Gold Standard sports so I have Darwin's Standard. I have seen Paradigm in garden centers and it didn't appeal to me. Am I stuck?

Hi Ed,

Paradigm/Darwin's Standard will grow on you as it matures, but yes, Darwin's Standard is definitely not related in any way to Gold Standard. It really surprises me when anyone still references that in catalogs or online listings. Years ago people were starting to suggest that Darwin's Standard was just a renaming of Paradigm, and it took me a few more years to come around to that thinking. Today I am completely convinced that Darwin's Standard and Paradigm are the exact same plant.

I certainly don't think you are stuck. It is still a nice plant, just not the parentage you thought

[Chris_W]

Minnie's Ruffles

I also thought of Princess Minnie, but then people won't really make the "mouse" connection. For example, I sell a ton of Mighty Mouse, Frosted Mouse Ears, Blue Mouse Ears, and people ask for Holy Mouse Ears (which I have but won't sell cause my plants just aren't doing a dang thing after 3 years), but Pure Heart? People aren't interested until I explain WHY it has that name and tell them that it is a mouse ears sport.

And I can't get over how many people list Country Mouse as a Blue Mouse Ears sport too, just because of the name, when those aren't even closely related.

Sometimes it is all in the name, and thanks for your suggestion. Any suggestions/thoughts on the others?

[ViolaAnn]

Am thinking about a name. But don't hold your breath. I usually ask for help when naming a seedling.

But it sure is cute. I'd LOVE to have one of those in my collection. I hope it gets introduced soon so that it can get across the Canadian border.

[redcrx]

#2 Summer Breeze -> Summer Zephyr

#6 Eye Declare -> Dark Rimmed Glasses or just Dark Rim


A kind of off topic question:
The tiny ruffled mouse that you have - would it get bigger next season? Or stay a dwarf. I have a GS sport (who doesn't) that is dwarf sized. Found it last season and it's the same size this season and with flowers that are very dark for a GS.

[jgh]

Summer Breeze - Jasmine in My Mind... or just Jasmine...

I'm simple... I like Ruffled Mouse... tells the story, easy to sell... and though Warren is using it to describe the whole clan, I don't think Mouseketeer has been taken...

I don't see why there would be a problem with Minnie Mouse... Walters did Mighty Mouse... we have Captain Kirk... I think you can use proprietal names in plant names without copyright problems...

I really like the Brother Stephan one... I'd love to buy one called Brotherly Love - inspired by the Quakers, of course...

and I really like the Eye Declare one... please come up with a better name than Eye Declare ... it comes from Sea Fire, so something from that would be OK... but there are so many good songs with eyes... I'd pass on Lyin' Eyes even though the Eagles made it eternal. These Eyes isn't bad, though the Guess Who went back to leaving people guessing a generation ago or so... it's really long, but I like I Only Have Eyes For You... Green Eyes? Green-eyed Monster for the Shakespeare fans? (BTW... wider margin, very shiny... do you think it might be a tetraploid???)

[Chris_W]

Hi Ed,

About the trio of mouse ears sports, they are all the same age, and last year all three were about the same size, with the tightly ruffled one a little smaller, and they were roughly the same size as the regular blue mouse ears in the same batch. This year you can really see the size difference, so I believe that the dark flowering, tightly ruffled one will stay smaller.

Regarding your Gold Standard sport, are you certain it is from Gold Standard? If it was directly attached to a Gold Standard and you removed it from the plant then you would know for certain it is a Gold Standard sport. If it was at a nursery within a batch of Gold Standard then it might have been mixed up at a young age and then incorrectly labeled "Gold Standard". That unfortunately happens from time to time in the wholesale nurseries.

And thanks for the suggestions Jim. I agree that Eye Declare was an odd name for a Sea Fire sport, and I'm not sure I would want to follow that path. Heck, that sport might really need its own good name and we could forget about its parentage this time. We don't always need to tie in parentage when naming. Is it a tetraploid? Something odd is going on with it. The fact that it is a little smaller than similar aged Eye Declare is a hint, but it also has reverse cupped leaves. At first I was concerned that it might drawstring, but that hasn't ever happened.

Any thoughts on the rest of them? Any that you might buy if I introduced them?

[Diana]

Curly Mouse Ears? Mini-Mouse Ears?

-Diana

[eastwood2007]

I loooove the mini mouse and the Spinach Souffle sport. I'd buy both of them right now!!!

[LucyGoose]

I have one of your ruffled sports of BME's I won in the auction last year.....it is just about done blooming and the flower is purple....I am thinking it is like the middle picture you posted....in the ruffles...it's not that ruffly, but it does have them.....I don't know..... ....

[thy]

Mini Mouse or Miny Mouse was my first thoughts, but knowing the US way of copy rights... they even fight our islands names if they just seem to be close tó a patented name... The issue the islands have had their names for thousend or more years do not do a different if they add sausage, butter, salt or soap to the name. Shame on them, but that's an other storry

Ruffled Mouse are a good one.. do not thing Ruffles mini Mouse will have a chance

The mini Mouse
Brother Stepan
Paradigm
Eye Declare

[redcrx]

Regarding your Gold Standard sport, are you certain it is from Gold Standard? If it was directly attached to a Gold Standard and you removed it from the plant then you would know for certain it is a Gold Standard sport. If it was at a nursery within a batch of Gold Standard then it might have been mixed up at a young age and then incorrectly labeled "Gold Standard". That unfortunately happens from time to time in the wholesale nurseries.

Yes, it's off a large GS that had gone all green. I bought it because it had a large hunk with a gold edge - I've put the picture up here last season I think. The little piece showed up on the all green hunk a few weeks later. I pulled it off, gave it a good spot and it's the same size that it was at the end of last season. I was wondering more about how or when do you know if a sport is different in size from the parent. Would you expect that the smallest mouse would hold that size for next season also? Or could it take-off next season like the others? Or is it a wait and see what happens to it.

[Lessadragon]

Those are some nice sports Chris. I actually have the same Spinach Souffle sport. It's nice, but I wonder how many other growers have the same one. Like you said, the more you grow, the more sports you see. I hope I get to see them in person soon.

Lynn

[Chris_W]

I was wondering more about how or when do you know if a sport is different in size from the parent. Would you expect that the smallest mouse would hold that size for next season also? Or could it take-off next season like the others? Or is it a wait and see what happens to it.

Hi,

Since all three of mine multiplied about the same, each getting another eye, and all three flowered about the same, and at the same time, I think their growth is right on track, showing that the one on the left is smaller. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but if I see the same general trend next year I'll be confident that it is a smaller sport. All were the same sized tissue culture plants when I got them.

One of the things I look to when judging size and age is how big is the plant when it finally flowers. Sometimes they flower a little young with a small scape, but usually the very young plants don't put up scapes reliably until the 3rd year. If your sport stays tiny and flowers tiny then it sure could be an indication that it is a small plant. Overall I've given my sports at least 5 years of untouched growth before measuring for registration. North Wind was older than that when I registered it. These things do take time - although that doesn't mean everyone gives things time. I've seen different registrations with huge sizes listed and then the notes say "1 year old sport from TC". In those cases they are guessing the overall size...

Hope that helps.

And Lynn, thanks for letting me know you've seen that Spinach Souffle sport too. Did you get your plants from Bob Solberg? I got mine dormant and 3 had solid yellow eyes, so I've been watching for him to register it...

[JennaJ]

Hi Chris,

I love all of your sports--my favorites are the Brother Stefan and Spinach Souffle

Brother Stefan--Eye of the Tiger

Blue Mouse Ears--Ruffly Mouse, Dainty Mouse, Dancing Mouse, Tufted Mouse

Spinach Souffle--Lemon Souffle

I would purchase them in a heartbeat!!!

Thanks for sharing!

Jenna

[Chris_W]

How about the Flamenco Mouse or Senorita Mouse

http://lifecraftinessandeverythingelse. ... mouse.html

Flamenco-Mouse.jpg (17.76 KiB) Viewed 9219 times

Actually I really like Dancing Mouse, or Dancing Mouse Ears

Eye of the Tiger is awesome - but I'm also thinking about Brotherly Love for the Brother Stefan sport. Let's hope I don't lose that one...