There’s a Korean proverb that says: 

“If you plant green beans, green beans will grow. If you plant red beans, red beans will grow.” 

In other words, you reap what you sow. 

In English, a similar saying might be: “You can’t get roses from onions.”

This idea applies perfectly to most cases in Crested Gecko breeding. Babies born from parents with high lateral white often show the same trait. A full-coverage Lilly tends to produce full-coverage babies. In many cases, genetics speak loud and clear.

That’s why we often judge hatchlings by their parents and why bloodlines can dictate pricing. It all seems straightforward—almost obvious.

But the real reason we fall in love with gecko breeding lies just beyond that.

It’s the question that keeps us up at night:

“What happens when a beautiful green bean is paired with a beautiful red bean? What kind of magical bean will come out?”

That’s the part that drives us crazy—in the best way. 

It sparks curiosity. It challenges us. It makes us keep trying.

Many traits we see today were born from this kind of curiosity. Take Frappuccino, a result of pairing a Cappuccino with a Lilly. Or Sable Lilly, the fusion of Sable and Lilly. Or the unique Sable Axanthic combo. The list of combo morphs goes on and on.

In recent years, combo morphs have become a hot topic in the crested gecko world. Breeders began combining two, three, or even more morphs in a single animal, creating never-before-seen results. Green beans, red beans, onions, roses—all wrapped into one gecko. The result? Truly unique and stunning creatures.

It’s fascinating, really.

In most animal breeding, a “morph” is born from breeders identifying single or polygenic traits and isolating them over time. Dominant, co-dominant, and recessive genes—these labels come from long efforts to decode and stabilize certain genetic expressions. Once isolated, breeders work to maximize their expression and produce what we call high-quality animals.

In my mind, this process is like subtraction in math. You remove the unwanted genes one by one until only the desired trait remains.

Then comes the exciting part—adding them back together. Lilly + Sable. Cappuccino + Lilly. Axanthic + Sable. This is the essence of combo morphs.

While these examples focus on dominant or recessive traits for simplicity, the same logic applies to more loosely defined traits as well. Say you pair a male with incredible white with a female that has moderate white but excellent coverage—you’re hoping to bring out the best of both. And quite often, it actually works.

Now, as a side note—once discovered, genetic calculations behind morphs aren’t all that complex. Dominance, co-dominance, and recessiveness can be understood with just a basic biology class. That simplicity might actually be what makes the morph market so fun and accessible. We can take something that sounds like science fiction and make it a reality with careful pairing and observation. (Of course, discovering the gene that makes a morph possible is the hard part—it takes years of effort and dedication.)

But there’s one last reason why we all stay hooked—why we keep dreaming.

Because sometimes…

You actually do get a rose from an onion.

And that’s the magic of breeding.

I hope the 2025 season brings you a bountiful harvest of roses. Enjoy your gecko journey.