Iris Seed Germinating

Well today is bank and then a drive to Woodburn Outlet Mall to exchange a Bose radio and then home

We did not get the super bad weather they had protected for last night and today in fact it is blue skies (much appreciated) and clear with no rain.

D

Oh D, I"m so glad you didn't have bad weather and were able to enjoy the beautiful blue skies.

We've had rain here the past couple of days but it was beautiful here today too with the weather in 70's. I worked out in the gardens and flowerbeds trying to whip a few things into shape before it gets to cold to do much outside. Spread a ton of compost and mulch and picked up more junk just laying around here and there. I have tons of daffodils and paperwhites coming up everywhere. The paperwhites have been blooming for about a month. Just depends on how deep some of the bulbs are. It amazes me that they pull themselves to the top of the soil like they do.

Well grandson is wanting the computer so I guess I'll get off here and let me play or whatever he does online for awhile. He's 17 almost 18 and grandma doesn't entertain him like I use to. LOL

Have a good evening and take care dear friends,
Marian

Updated picture of seedlings

Oh Red those seedlings are really looking good. You know it amazes me how something so little as a seed can produce such big plants. We just never really take the time to think about what that little seed pod holds for the future. It's just awesome to stop and think about how something so tiny can create something so beautiful.
Thanks for posting and reminding us of the simple things we take for granted.
Marian

I am so thrilled that some of my iris seedling from 2009 that I posted above shown in the coldframe have buds. They were bee pollinated, pod parent is Buffawn (Andrew 1940).

Others have the bump growing in the center that I believe is formation of blooms. I have several growing that came from the same pod. The one below is only 12" tall. The others with buds are taller.

Will post photo when it blooms. Probably the first bloom will not be the best. I will transplant it into my garden after blooming.

How is everyone elses iris seedlings doing?

Here is my Buffawn seedling shown as a bud above. Just opened today. It is bee pollinated from 2009 summer season.

I know what you mean about having a lot of land for more and more flower beds! My main problem is that I should be mulching everything that can be mulched but I don't often do this.
Has anyone ever taken an iris bee pod and planted the seeds in the fall in a pot left outside? I am curious about how simple a method one could use. I tried this last fall with some daylily seeds and I do have some babies this spring.
Dee, I am going to have to look up the list of irises you sent me last year to test, because I have lost some of the new ones I planted last year.

catlinsgarden:
I have planted the seeds in a plastic shoe box and left it out all winter to germinate in the spring. That is how I do it with success.

However, first I soak the seeds for 3 weeks, changing the water daily. Iris seeds need stratification (moist cold) and rain to wash germination inhibitors from the seeds. Soaking in fresh water replaces nature. See my post above.

If they were planted in an open pot, wouldn't the weather do the soaking, etc. for you? Or might they start to grow too early? I will be interested in how this project develops for you.

It can never hurt, but daylily seeds do not need a cold-moist period to germinate.

Rick

love the Rustler X Tiger Honey.is it for sale yet?

catlinsgarden:
The shoe boxes were closed all winter after it was watered. REmained moist until spring. They were stored on the north side of my house.

Photo of the boxes below.

I started this link Dec 18th...here is what the seedlings look like now.

another view

I only have rhisomes so far. Hope to have them for sale in a couple more years.
I sent one to Ontario, CA for next years nationals. I should have some increase from that too.

Here is a single seedling

WOW Paul!!! You sure had good luck in germinating seeds. And you worried about them not sprouting. Hmmmm....maybe I should try your way in the fridge as an experiment to see which is faster. Your seedlings look great. And now---the wait.

I wil have many different seeds this fall to play with. I have used up all 100 labels ordered on LA for the purpose. Just ordered more since daylily season is soon here to cross.

blomma--you are a star! With so many northern hybridizers moving to OR or having to retire it is so good to have a cold climate person hybridizer. Keep your patience & you will succeed. That's not the way 'Annie' sings it, but good for iris nation.

Are you making both iris and daylily crosses?

irisMa, thank you for compliment. I am flattered.

I am stumped at why any hybridizer would retire from doing what they evidently love to do. I wish I had started doing it earlier in my life. Does it really matter what climate new varieties are developed. I would think irises are hardy in all cold climates.

Seed pods are developing on many varieties. I'm sure not all that I have crosses will bear pods. Darn the rain today. Had 4 rainstorms and ofcourse each came after I crossed varieties. Hopefully the crossing will take even with the rain.

Will have a new iris and/or daylily bed ready this fall. Gave my daughter a lot of plants to make room. Used Roundup on the weeds in the new bed, then covered the area with black plastic. Everything will bake underneath over the summer. My son-in-law will till it up for me.

I will be out of commission for a while due to surgery end of this month. Yea I know, bad timing. I had surgery March 2010 and that was not good timing either since weeds got ahead of me. Now I just want to get it over and done with.

caitlinsgarden, yes I do both daylily and iris crosses.

For those of you who want to try your hand at hybridization, the photo below shows where to place the pollen.

Thanks for the detail - never would have thought that is the place for the pollen!

Good picture. got a laugh remembering that Terry Aitken said that he first tried to put it on the beards. One thing about TBs is that you can usually see what you are doing. There are exceptions like 'Sneezy' wher there are so many ruffles that you pactically need to pin the petals back to find the stimatic lip. No bee pods there. I bet. some irises had such a dose of I. mesopotamica which helps on the ruffles etc. that they are less hardy than others. 'Decadence' for example. sometimes when we get older the vision goes. I asked one person with such a problem couldn't he just tell his wife to put pollen from B onto A? They both chuckled & she said she put it on the wrong place.

This message was edited Jun 15, 2011 7:23 AM

This message was edited Jun 15, 2011 7:24 AM

The second seedling from BUFFAWN opened. I put them in one photo to compare. It is interesting to see the difference in flowers that come from the same pod.

The bloom on the left is the second one blooming. The right was the first one. Both are blue but different shades. The standards are also not the same as can be seen. The shape of the 2 is also different.

That is really interesting, Paul. Are there other seedling that will be opening?

Note: in spite of the different colors blomma's seedlings in this 'cross' will be carrying recessive pink. Their observed colors come from the bee choice pollen parent.

I hit the wrong button. Here it is.

nice with 2 amoenas. Pink is a recessive gene in irises. You will have to cross Buffan with a pink to recover the color.

I have two bee pods on late plants that I quit deadheading. I am thinking that 2 lates would make another late? There are so many beautiful irises that I doubt I could add much to the field, but it is exciting to see things sprout and grow! I want to just plant mine in a pot and leave outside all winter to grow. If it grows easily I might try some PBF crosses.

http://hayefield.com/2011/01/19/one-plant-three-seasons-iris-gerald-darby/

You must see this!

Thanks for sharing that site. Loved it paired with the red maple and chartreuse foliage.

I am ordering it from Ensata Gardens. I already ordered it from McClure Zimmerman, but it was dead I guess. I have had that happen with their roots occasionally, so I don't generally order from them. I only made the exception this year because Gerald Darby was hard to find.

while GD is a cross of 2 American species it originated in England so perhaps why it is hard to find. Hers looks like the stems stay straight while here they tended to 'swoop' a la I. virginica. I think that Snowpeak irises might have 'Dark Aura' which is the same type of cross. While GD had pbf )purple base foliage) here the color was never that high on the leaves. Perhaps because we are furher north? don't know.