To the problem of tulipa and pelargonium flowerer breеding in humid subtropics of Russia

In the humid subtropics of Russia, cultivation of most flowering cultures, including Tulipa and Pelargonium is based on imported assortment. Foreign cultivars have a number of disadvantages associated with different growth conditions that do not correspond to those where they were propagated. It is required to create a new and more perfect assortment (for open and closed ground that could be cut and potted, large and small, of bright and pastel colors, etc.), which will be more resistant to the regional diseases and local climatic conditions (high air humidity during autumn-winter-spring period and summer drought). To obtain the forms that are highly-ornamental and adapted to local conditions and different areas of application, we relied on the genetic diversity that is created during distant hybridization. By cytological studies and using luminescent-microscopic method, special features of pollen tubes growth in tulip pistils of different genotypes (within interspecific and heteroploid crosses) were disclosed. It is found that cytological research of parental forms’ compatibility in progamic phase enables to predict the prospect of crossing long before seed vessels ripening and to serve as a basis for selecting methods of overcoming crossing problems. As a result of research, 13 domestic varieties bred at the Research Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Crops (Sochi) are included to the Register of Breeding Achievements of Russia for 1997-2013 years, including 9 tulip varieties ( Tulipa L.) and 4 Pelargonium grandiflorum varieties ( P. grandiflorum Willd.).