Philandering in the Swamp

We were recently checking our nursery swamp pink seedlings of Sabatia foliosa and to our surprise we found that most of the offspring looked nothing like the parent. Unbeknownst to us, our garden plant from which we gathered seed had been sexually involved with a nearby Sabatia kennedeyana. The resulting crop of plants were perfectly intermediate between both parents and have been now christened Sabatia x kenniosa ‘Philandering Pink’. Since both parents are excellent garden plants we expect no less from their children.

Below is the new hybrid and below that are photos of both parents: the much taller Sabatia kennedeyana and the much shorter Sabatia foliosa.

Below is the tall, dark, and handsome dad – Sabatia kennedeyana.

Here is the dwarf Sabatia foliosa, who was the willing mom in this encounter.