How To Get Started On Your Hybridizing Program		Mike Huben	12/11/99

An outline for a 10 minute introduction, or much longer.

How To Hybridize: the mechanics.
	Pollination.
		You don't have to be a mad scientist: any bee can do it.
	Labelling, seed and plants.
		Totally unnecessary.  Results are more important.  But
		labelling allows reproducible results and sales based on
		parentage.  Allows planned multigenerational work.
		Tedious, and hard to maintain accuracy.
	Growing from seed.
		Any peasant can do it.  The question is how much time, effort
		and money are you willing to spend on how many seedlings?
		How fast do you want to bloom the seedlings, 5 months or
		3 years?

Why Hybridize
	Status.
		Successful breeders are regarded highly.  They also
		can bestow their resulting varieties as favors or
		in swaps.
	Money.
		Long term proposition.  Nobody profits for several
		years.  Years to breed, years to increase, years to
		create market presence or develop market channels.
		Very few people scale the breeding up to be as
		profitable as reselling other people's varieties.
	Distinction.
		The one motivation I consider valid.
		Whatley: don't bother hybridizing something if you can
		just buy it.  Breeding is a slow, expensive way to get what
		you want.  Breed because you are dissatisfied with what you
		can buy.

Constraints On Choosing Goals
	Realism.
		You are competing with thousands of other breeders who have
		access to much the same parents as you will start with.
		Why won't they get there first?  Why won't they produce the
		same thing, maybe better?  Do you want to go head-to-head with
		Stamile, Salter, Carpenter, etc.?
	Demand.
		Is your goal something that YOU want?  Do you think anybody
		else might want it?  Who is your market: hybridizers,
		collectors, gardeners, nurseries?

Strategy
	Specialize.
		Specialize in whatever will make your breeding most
		distinctive.  Look away from the face of the flower to see
		the behavior: budcount, scape count, scape appearance, foliage,
		season, increase, etc.  Look at the flower for distinctive
		appearance, wind/sun/rain/pest resistance, etc.
	Concentrate.
		In large part, breeding is a game of numbers and persistance. 
		Your goals are more likely to be achieved if you spend enough
		effort on them, rather than haring off on every whim and fad.
	Optimize your methods to be productive.
		Breeding is a long-term effort.  Choose a level of effort you
		can maintain, and get the most from it.  Start with varieties
		close to your goals.  Don't spend more than you need to: pollen,
		for example, is often freely available.
	Learn what's known.
		Discussions with other growers and breeders are invaluable:
		they're extra eyes and ears and ideas for your program.
		Chances are that some others have similar goals and can share
		useful experience.  Breeding is a social process.
	Try many routes simultaneously.
		We all encounter dead ends.  It's not uncommon to read of
		breeders who composted whole crosses of thousands of seedlings
		because they didn't get the desired results.  Put your eggs
		in several baskets.
	Evaluate your seedlings with your peers.
		We can be too focused on our own ends to recognize seedlings
		that are significant improvements, desired by others, or that
		are just plain interesting.
	Modify your goals as you learn.
		Or even because you succeed.  Look for the next opportunity.
	Allow yourself some fun too.
		Don't be too rigid.  Let yourself make some fun crosses
		outside your goals.  Don't let breeding interfere with your
		love for the rest of gardening.  Buy varieties for breeding
		AND for satisfaction in your garden.

There's lots more.