Rhododendron 'Gomer Waterer', which is a 1900 Waterer hybrid documented as 'Madame Carvalho' x 'Pink Pearl', has been determined to be a triploid using flow cytometry by
Dr. João Loureiro, Dr. Silvia Castro, José Cerca, and Mariana Castro
Plant Ecology and Evolution Group,
Centre for Functional Ecology,
Department of Life Sciences,
Faculty of Science and Technology,
University of Coimbra, Portugal.
'Gomer Waterer', which has 'Broughtonii' and 'Pink Pearl' as ancestors, is documented as the pollen parent of 'Phyllis Korn', which has been determined to be a triploid. 'Diane', which is a diploid, is the seed parent of 'Phyllis Korn'.
'Gomer Waterer' is a 19th century hybrid hardy in zone 6.
Summary of a Polyploidy Ancestor Chain involving 'Gomer Waterer'
'Broughtonii' to 'Pink Pearl' to 'Gomer Waterer' to 'Phyllis Korn' to ('Phyllis Korn' X 'Trude Webster')
Summary of Fertile Triploids
'Anna Rose Whitney',
'Betty Wormald',
'Broughtonii',
'Cynthia',
'Cotton Candy',
'Gomer Waterer',
'Lydia',
'Platinum Pearl',
'Phyllis Korn',
'Pink Pearl',
'Rwain',
'Taurus',
'Val d'Aulnay'
Summary of Triploids from the 19th Century
'Broughtonii' 1840,
'Cynthia' 1856,
'Beauty of Littleworth' 1884,
'Pink Pearl' 1892,
'Gomer Waterer' 1900
Summary of Polyploids Hardy in Zone 6
'Anita Gehnrich',
'August Lamken',
'Cynthia',
'Gartendirektor Rieger',
'Gomer Waterer',
'Grace Seabrook',
'Hallelujah',
'Phyllis Korn',
'Solidarity',
'Taurus',
'Trude Webster'
Summary of Ploidy Levels
Diploid 'Diane',
Diploid 'Madame Carvalho',
Triploid 'Anita Gehnrich',
Triploid 'Anna Rose Whitney',
Triploid 'August Lamken',
Triploid 'Beauty of Littleworth',
triploid 'Betty Wormald',
Triploid 'Broughtonii',
Triploid 'Cotton Candy',
Triploid 'Cynthia',
Triploid 'Gartendirektor Rieger',
Triploid 'Gomer Waterer',
Triploid 'Grace Seabrook',
Triploid 'Hallelujah',
Triploid 'Lydia',
Triploid 'Phyllis Korn',
Triploid 'Pink Pearl',
Triploid 'Platinum Pearl',
Triploid 'Rwain',
Triploid 'Solidarity',
Triploid 'Taurus',
Triploid 'Val d'Aulnay',
Tetraploid 'Trude Webster',
Pentaploid (2 Seedlings from 'Phyllis Korn' X 'Trude Webster')
Source: John and Sally Perkins
John and Sally Perkins
