IRIS GALORE!! Picture sharing!

Happy Monday BIF's!!! We usually get aroung 4 days a summer that are 100 or above. We have already had 20 days!!! This heat dome thing can go farther south or just disappear!!! My poor husbands garden is failing fast!! I've received orders from Blue-J, and Suttons. Tom Burseen sent me notice that his will ship in a couple of weeks. I've got them all sitting in the living room under the air conditioner. All the iris I've potted to move are still in the drive-way, it is just too hot to set them out. I need to order more pots for the new ones. I had planned to reuse the pots in the driveway. Well, those of us that live in the mid-west need to pray for rain and cooler days! Can't wait to have you visit the garden next year! Kisses from Kansas
pic Apricot Silk

Praise the Lord, we finally got a decent rain and didn't hit 100 today!! Need to get busy making new plant tags, cause better weather is coming. Hope everyone is having a good summer!!
pic Dazzling

irisMa:
below are some of the crosses I have made in 2012 and have seeds from:

1] Isn't This Something x Nigerian Raspberry
2] Ziggy x Batik
3] Pretty Flouncy x Mesmerizer (for the flounces)
4] Tiger Honey x Batik
5] Toucan Tango x Red At Night

So, what do you think?. I have them sown in a plastic shoebox stored outside to sprout with warm spring weather, which is how I alway do.

I can't figure out why there is more information about daylilies, and less for irises. I have not come across a database for irises. There is one for daylilies.

Wow! DH & I agree that cross#1 can bring 'messy' looking flowers. We like your other parents for bc. Tiger Honey is a good grower here. Good that you used Mesmerizer as the pollen parent because it can be tender. I don't know much about appendeges, but having them both sides can get you some (I think), but not all seedlinngs. We will wait to see seedling pictures in a couple yrs. Do you know which pod parents give early bloom?

After having had breakfast i will return to my thinking on your corsses. First 'thank you for doing them". I can't think of TB crosses in a cold weather area at present, although I think that someone in Maine is starting. We have lost some of our 'cold weather' people through retirement. Chuck Chapman in Canada works for cold weather hardiness, but his climate is still different than yours.

Secondly I have never worked with broken color as there are fewer of them in medians. So I am assuming that they would work like the ususal plicatas. So bc crossed with bc should produce them. I think your last cross with the red flower (Red At Night) would produce carriers unless there is plicata behind it. There may be, we once went back 14 generations on one side to find plicata on one side of a cross. Recessives can be carried a long way. Keep up the good work & we may see some cold weather hardy beauties in a couple of yrs.

irisMa,
thank you for taking the time to explain. I have had Mezmerizer for 3 years from Schreiner. It bloomed last summer, but it seems to bloom every other summer. I have pollen in my freezer incase it won't bloom this year. Actually, I have lots of pollen from both irises and daylilies of the early flowering in my freezer.

Holy Cow you went back 14 generatons. Where did you find the information?

What is the difference if the same crosses that I have done here in WY and someone does the same---for example---in N. Carolina (or other warm climate) regarding hardiness. Isn't hardiness genetic? I have noticed that not all irises are hardy to the same degree.

I have lots of irises that bloom between June 1st and 10th. And 9 that blooms in May.

1] Hot Topic---May 23
2] Lace legacy---May 30
3] Merlot---May 26
4] Raspberry Blush--dwarf May 30
5] Tingle---dwarf, May 15

Also have some that blooms past mid-June.

This year I don't want to dab pollen here and there so will have a plan.

This message was edited Mar 5, 2013 1:29 AM

As you know you could repeat the crosses yourself with different results. People in other climates may not do the same crosses as they have different plants blooming. the fact that they have survived in your climate shows they are hardy, but someone in NC may not use the same plants. Your are right that they same cross in any climate would be hardy. Are these plants fragrant? We still need 'cold weather people' to have a greater hardy list.

We have the AIS registration books back to 1929 (although that information was repeated in the 1939 checklist. ( I gave up at generation 10 & went to bed & DH finished it for me). The information is now on the electronic registration if you have access. We are not e-members so do not & have to depend on the checklist. Since I was checking on a median, it went past the TB X pumila cross in the 1950s.
We all will be interested in seeing your results in a few years.

This is for others reading the posts: blomma is crossing like to like to get what she wants. Broken color is the function of an erratic plicata gene. Isn't it fun to watch?

Do you click on the iris encyclopedia through the AIS site?

You reminded me that I hadn't renewed my surbscription to AIS. Could have sworn I did but my name didn't come up in a seach for region 11. Nor did I receive the magazine they send in January. The website changed in the last year, or so. Need to rejoin so I can get a password. If you join online you don't get the magazine since it can be seen online and downloaded. I want the magazine so will send a check.

I was able to download some very early check lists a few years ago I have '59, '69, '79, '89. But they really need to edited for they are hard to read.

I know I can repeat crosses with different results. I have also reversed crossing so that the pod parent became the pollen parent. I have read that the pollen parent determines the flower/color and the pod parent determines the vegetative structure---height, growth, # of branches, etc. How much truth is in that?

I got an Arilbred from my son in Nebraska named Rosemohr (Lewis 1949). It took awhile for it to bloom and could then id it. Blooms great with many buds, about 24" high. Below is the photos. I purchased from Schreiner Gracchus (Ware 1884) and Pallida variegata. Both diploids. Gracchus did produce a small pod with 2 tiny seeds but I dropped them and could not find them due to size. Grrr! At least I know it is fertile.

Who can Rosemohr be crossed with. Some of these historic irises must have some interesting genes. I wonder if pallidas leaves can develop on seedlings with the right cross. I will try to cross Gracchus and Pallida this summer since both are diploids.

1] Rosemohr
3] Gracchus
4 and 5] Pallida variegata

Certainly the pod parent gets credit for plant structure.

I don't know your arilbred--depends if it is OG or OG- the latter not too fertile. Or is it a regealia instead? Would have to look up more information. the real toughie checklist is the 1949 one. The 2009 one is a dictionary, more people hybridizing, I guess.

Have a quick question or two. How do you retain the fragrance from an Iris in breeding? Keep the fragrant one as the pod parent or does it matter. I ask because I Love the fragrance on both I.palidas.

How hard is it to work with the Flatties, and can they be hybridized with any other I. g.? I'm just learning.

kathy, I am guessing that retaining fragrance in seedling is pure luck. You may upper your chances if you cross 2 that have fragrance.

Will see what irisMA have to say. She is probably in bed.

I have never worked with fragrance. I think if you have it in both parents, there will be a larger % of seedlings with it.
I know nothing about the flatties. Same to same if they are fertile like anything else has a greater chance of success. Some people start out with those by having some plants with the extra flower parts (a fault in this garden) & try to have every flower produce the same. check your flatties for pollen 7 see what happens.

I don't want to sound dumb but what the heck is a flattie?.

The tops of the iris are flat, hence flatties! :)

They have what appears to be 6 falls, and no standards. Look quite similar to a japanese iris....Arlyn

Thanks for explaining. I will stick to bearded irises with the standards. I don't think I have ever seen a flattie.

'Six Pack' is a famous one.

Am trying to download pix but not working, this is the second day I've tried.

Just sent 2 d-mails to blooma with pix.

This message was edited Mar 8, 2013 12:51 PM

my sympathy I have very few computer skills so feel for other people having problems.

Kathy,
yes thank you again. Photo came through fine. You mean upload from your computer. Download is from a website to your computer.

Lol...ok now..be nice for those of us not that 'puter savvy... Yup, had a problem with 2 different rooms, tho uploaded in other areas of Dave's...hmmmm?

Just tried for the heck of it and here it is...Iris g. Amarylis

Kathy, I'll be nice and now you learned something. LOL.

Pretty!!