My plans are to aim at growing 200 per generation. They will spend their first summer outside, in pots, then their first winter in the greenhouse. Outside again for their second summer, then back into the greenhouse, but take cuttings which will be labeled, then packed in moist sawdust, then put in a freezer set at a temperature to be determined later, but the temperature chosen to kill some but not all of the cuttings. Then the cuttings will be grafted back onto their origional plants to see if they survived. Or perhaps I'll try to root the cuttings, or maybe I'll learn to identify freeze damage just by look or feel. I am open to everyone's ideas. Most of you have much more experience than me.
I do see problems with my plan. Weather before taking the cuttings will determine degree of hardening off. And different genotypes will respond differently to the hardening off. I'm studying work done in apple breeding for ways to select for winter hardiness. Again your ideas are welcome.
I will also be selecting for % zygotic seeds, precocity, and flavor, so I plan to keep most of the seedlings to bloom, or at least for a few years and then dump those that haven't bloomed.
I expect to build an additional greenhouse each year for 4 years. I expect to start a new crop of seeds each year, 200 per year.
Now, if my breeding stock would just bloom already.