Derek's favourite flower is the double auricula, he has been growing auriculas for over 50 years with Pat helping him for the last 16 years. Below are pictures of a few of our recent introductions and a taste of things to come with the development of the striped double auricula. These along with other striped doubles, bi-colours, white, red and blue solid colours are undergoing trials by us at the moment.

New seedlings undergoing trials in the auricula house

STRIPED DOUBLE AURICULAS

Many early doubles were striped according to illustrations that have survived. In the Queens library at Windsor in a volume of paintings by Alexander Marshall. The paintings include 38 auriculas which were probably painted in 1659 amongst them are four doubles three of them striped.

Mrs Dargan is the only old double stripe to have survived to modern times, in recent years this has become completely single. This has been used by several growers  to try to produce a striped double along with another striped variety called Mrs Davies which crossed with Stripy and another variety gave Brimstone and Treacle for Alan Guest.

MRS DARGAN	STRIPY	BRENDA HYATT	WIZARD

In 1984 Derek showed a striped double grown from Barnhaven seed and called it Stripy. He self pollinated it and found that some of it's seedlings were striped too.

In 1997 he crossed Stripy with another semi double to produce three lightly petaled striped doubles called Brenda Hyatt, Aquarius and Wizard. 

He took this cross on to a further generation and produced a very strong stemmed semi double stripe which he decided to keep as a seed parent. He then crossed this with fine striped seedling and a red seedling.

SEED PARENT	POLLEN PARENT	POLLEN PARENT

 These crosses produced the two striped doubles that have been named so far, Lincoln Gemini and Lincoln Jester. Lincoln Melody was produced by using Stripy as the seed parent crossing it with the red pollen parent. Many striped semi doubles have also been produced from these crosses, these have been used to carry seed using a variety of pollen parents including Brimstone and Treacle. Some plants from these crosses have flowered, the rest will flower over the next two years.

LINCOLN MELODY	LINCOLN GEMINI	LINCOLN JESTER

Other striped auriculas are being trialled by Derek at the moment. The striping on some is very fine, on some broad flakes can be seen and others have striped patterns in which the stripes are not clearly defined at the edges. A selection can be seen below.

Occasionally the unexpected turns up. One cross in particular produces many green auriculas. Most have been thrown away due to the lack of space. Some like Greensleeves have green on green striping.

LINCOLN CUCKOO	GREENSLEEVES

Given the mix of genes that goes into producing new varieties one particular plant does not know what colour it wants to be. Lincoln Clown has cream, brown, purple and striped petals all on the same flower.