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["Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>]

Even though Carob and Honey Locust are in seperate genera, it's still worth trying to cross them.  Even a "mule," as Donna put it,  has possibilities, if it can be created in the first place.  In a number of cases, species have been crossed to give offspring that are sterile only because the chromosomes from each parent won't pair up with the opposite set - they have to have their own kind to match up with.  Solution?  Treat the hybrid with colchicine, which doubles the chromosome number, so that each chromosome now has it's exact mate to pair up with.  The result is usually a fertile hybrid.  The rub is that it won't cross back to either parent readily, but often all you need is to start growing seedlings and look for some that reshuffle the existing genes into the combination you want.  
Ok, this is a rough, simplified explanation, but there are a surprising number of ways to get around problems like sterility, in plant breeding.   It simply remains for someone to TRY it.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com  Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
On Aug 30, 2005, at 10:17 AM, kieran or donna wrote: