Tall Bearded Seedlings - possiblities of what can be

Texas~

Once you save the seedling(s) that you like, you'd have to multiply them by dividing the rhizomes. Hybrids don't come true from seed. I hope this answers your question.

Steve,
Those are more great names! I love what you come up with with. You know of course - - I'm only showing you the better seedlings. With each cross - - you get many more seedlings that are quite undesirable. But Steve, I know you'll get some mighty nice seedlings periodically too. In the long run - - it's really quite worth it! :-) Someday I hope to see your seedlings beauties here too!!

I'm not sure I understand your question about "And, what would happen if I crossed 2 of the same variety of iris?" Do you mean if you cross an iris with itself? (like Mesmerizer x Mesmerizer?) If so - - what can happen - - is that you bring out more of the recessive genes, and intensify the genes present. Both the good and bad!

You can bring out older, poorer traits - like old form; undesirable close, tight branching, lack of health and vigor (weaker plants - more disease prone); smaller flowers etc. In many cases it will bring about more faults - the more you inbreed. (As does anything you inbreed with over and over)

On the other hand - occasionally it can bring about better, new traits: A new or better form; better branching; stronger, healthier plants sometimes with resistence to some disease; it can reveal hidden recessive colors; or intensify (or bring out) colors and patterns that are already present; reveals unique patterns, and / or unique coloring, etc.

Many of the top iris hybridizers will inbreed some - - and then out-cross to something else to help maintain the health and vigor of the plant. I hope this answers your question.

~Margie

Denise,
Thank you for your comments! :-) Means a lot. This year I'll be registering a few seedlings for the first time.

Texas,
Flowerfrenzy (Laura) answered this correctly. You just allow them to multiply themselves. Occasionally - - you'll have a seedling that will bloom itself out before it has a chance to multipy. When that happens you lose that seedling (unfortunately) forever.

Mgh,
Such a lovely photo! Loved seeing it (the cute kids and seeing Denise's back yard too - - ;D )!! I enjoyed that hijack ride myself. :-) Someday, maybe I'll get to see Denise's (Snowpeak) Garden.

~Margie

Very interesting. Thanks for answering my question. Makes totally sense. I guess I just never thought about it before.

Thanks, Margie. That's just what I was asking! I have a purple iris in my yard(old variety...don't know the name) and I think I might practice with it to make sure I know how do the pollinating.....so when it comes time to cross the 2 I bought this year, I can get it right!

Steve

BTW, I can't quite take credit for the name of #24. The name 'Think of me' is the title of one of the songs from Phantom of the Opera. I thought the title and the song made a good match with your iris.

Margie, beautiful coloring on #26.

Sandy

Steve....................... I think it is a good match too. ;-)

The iris season is close to being in full swing. I'm becoming more and more busy now - crossing irises, taking photos and notes on seedlings, weeding out undesirable seedlings, etc.. If I disappear from the thread (and the iris forum) for a while you'll know why. But............... I'll find this thread later in order to update it with other good seedling photos from this year.

Sandy,
Thank you. When the sun hits that one - - it DOES look pretty nice. In the shade it has more of an orange/brown-ish look to it.

~Margie

#3 Bright Summer Fun
#13 Majestic Mountain
#15 I like Galaxy's Heart from above
34-1M Unbelievable Dream or Redeeming Love
#16 Velvet Sun of Field of Gold
#22 Abundant Hope
#25 Caramel Ripple is yummy.


Great Job! Can't wait to see them registered.

Roni

I just want to encourage Steve (and you others who are interested) in the hybridization adventure--it's wonderful fun even if they do turn out "icky"! And who knows, Steve, you might get lucky!

Margie, your pictures are absolutely stunning! My favorites of your seedlings are #1 and #12. (Hard to choose!)

When I lived in Oroville, CA for 20 years I tried my hand at hybridizing--and I enjoyed the results even if none of them were good enough to register. Now I live in a 2nd floor 1-BR apartment with a 5 ft. x 11 ft. south-facing balcony, where I have 3 irises in tubs, and an assortment of other flowers. One of my daughters lives nearby; she has some of my seedlings in her yard, and brings me blooming stems in spring, October, November, December. I couldn't resist: I saved anthers from a 1984 seedling (Cascade Pass x Victoria Falls) and put them on the stigmas of Earl of Essex, and there's a nice pod fattening up out there!

By the way, usually fall planted seeds germinated the following spring (I didn't keep a tally of percentages), and bloomed the spring after that. (I used The World of Irises as a crossing and growing guide.)

Thanks, Gussie. You've motivated me to go cross my I. germanica. Thats the only one I have blooming now. I'm going to try it as an experiment and see what happens! Now to reread the how-to info :)

Steve

Oh Margie !
This is too good for me to pass up.....of coarse they are all beautiful. When I look at these they make me think of beautiful flowing gowns and I love to watch ballroom dancing so... these are my favorites with my suggestion of names
#4......."Ballroom Elegance"
#6......."Ballroom Dance"
#BB13....."Ballroom Glamour"
#26....."Ballroom Gent"......or ..."Silent Victory"
I also really like
#16....."Velvet Sunshine" (of coarse you kinda inspired that one)
and
#34....."No Wonder"




This message was edited Jun 3, 2006 4:09 PM

Margie I came on site late as you can see by the Nov. posting. So I hope you will read the late part of the thread. Does BB#13 have luminata background. It looks like a possibility with the center and the edge. I really liked the bright yellow #16 and the speckled plants. #17 is great although some people aren't interested in pastels. Why should all speckled flowers be dark? No reason that I can see. I don't know how many of the seedlings would like New England, but I enjoyed seeing them. Lucy

Lucy,

YOU have a good eye!! Yes.......BB#13 DOES have a luminata background. As a matter of fact - - it is a luminata itself. One parent is a reblooming plicata - Lichen, the other is a luminata - Exclusive Design.

This past year - - I had no idea it was not getting any water. But it survived and even increased. Now that I'm replanting it and making sure it has water - I bet it may even rebloom. :-)

Most of these are vigorous growers and increasers. I bet they would like New England. Some of those above will be introduced in 2008 and some in 2009. My introductions should be available in the UK - Because Nola's Iris Garden has a relative in the UK that has an iris garden there, and sells on-line what Nola's sell. The garden may (or may not) be up during this time of year (I really don't know) but you can e-mail Nola's and ask for the website:
orders@walking-p-bar.com

I'm intrigued by the lighter spotted and lighter plicatas myself. :-)

~Margie

Margie I am surprised that you could get your plants to England because of the new EU regulations. My husband and I went over to England last May for their convention and people were STEAMING about them and the import trouble it caused. Perhaps you had sent your plants before hand. We work with medians not TBs but grow a few. The best TB growers here are the gardeners in Maine as they often have snow cover. Will look up your BB#33 parents, although we used to grow Lichen and remember its green tints. L

I started comparing photos and choosing favorites when this thread popped up, not realizing they were from 2006! Do you have updates on any of the seedlings? I'll have to read through this thread and see all the comments...

I love plicatas!

From the initial photos, I really adored Seedling #4. Similar coloring to #8 (which I also loved), but I thought those little spots of darker color on the standards were wonderful. I also really liked the wider, fuller form of the bloom -- is it typical for this seedling?

The shades of blue on Seedling #12 are really special, too.

And the border bearded seedling #13 you posted is absolutely scrumptious! Did it rebloom as you were hoping it might?

And gosh, the striped falls of seedling #22 made me gasp out loud!

They're all gorgeous, but these are the ones that would leap into my online shopping cart... :-)

Did seedling #20 bloom with those unusual straight-down falls again this year?

Hi irisMA,

I'm not sure how Gary at Nola's managed to get my introductions over there. You're probably right though.....................maybe they were sent before the new EU regulations. I guess I can ask him and see. :-)

Hi critterologist.................... seedling # 4 - - is now named "Birthday Confetti" and will be introduced in 2008.

Seedling # 12 - is now named "Sky's the Limit" and will be introduced in 2008.

Seedling #13 - This past year - - I had no idea it was not getting any water. But it survived and even increased. Now that I'm replanting it and making sure it has water - I bet it may even rebloom. :-) one of it's other siblings did (right in the middle of our HOT summer) and this one to me seems even more promising.

Seedling # 6 is now named " Pirate's Den" and will be introduced in 2008.
Seedling #7 is now named " Easter Wonder" and will be introduced in 2008.
Seedling #1 is now named " Secret World" and will be introduced in 2008.

Several seedlings I almost totally lost this year due to a nest of Harvester Ants just below the surface of the bed they were in. They were seedlings #18, #20, #22, and #24. They harvested all the roots for months during the hottest part of the year. Hollowed out tunneling just below the surface (under the rhizomes) allowed hardly any water or soil to keep them alive. (the ant mound was quite a distance away so I didn't have a clue to what was going on) When I realized something was wrong - - I was only able to salvage a couple of each. I'm afraid I may have lost my "golden pearl" seedling (not pictured above). However, the others still alive (Thank God), will have to begin to increase all over again.

A few of the spotted (plicata) irises have names now too - - but won't be introduced until 2009. (As will a couple more of the above plicatas).

~Margie

Ack! Sorry to hear about the damage from the ants... sure hope those seedlings survive.

Thanks for the report on the others! I've just bookmarked Nola's Iris Garden... :-)
http://www.walking-p-bar.com/shopsite/

Margie,

I'm glad to see this thread revived, as they now have names, and I can look for them. Wonderful job.

irisMA,

I wonder what you are talking about when you say " The best TB growers here are the gardeners in Maine as they often have snow cover" There are many great gardeners growing TBs here from all parts of the country, some in your state. I can personally say the Northeast is a great place to grow TBs. And saying Maine often has snow cover...Well that's right, but so do many of the rest of us. But even without reliable snow cover there are many great TB gardeners on this forum.

I don't see why Margies irises would not do wonderfully here. And I plan on putting that to the test :)

If you need any advice growing TBs, I'm sure someone here could be of great help.

pollyk - I, too, was a bit confused with the snow statement since many iris growers here on Long Island (zone 7) have very little snow cover.

Our irises have performed just as well in years with almost no snow as they have after the winter of 95-96 with five feet over the entire winter.

I was talking about iris growth in New England with which I am most familiar, I know that upstate NY grows them well. In MA the ground often freezes and thaws leading to heaving so we should use a light mulch. micro climates can appear in a single garden which changes growth. We have lost plants, any size, and when tried in a different bed they survive. I have written down the numbers changed to names so can look for them in 2008. It was fun to see the pictures and read the different comments on different ones. Great to see all the different patterns.

We've had plants that don't thrive in the first place or the second place we've tried them but we were fortunate that the third move was the one that we call the sweet spot and then the plant performed as expected. It's happened with several plants and, for us, it's either more drainage (TB's) or less drainage (JI's).

Several prominent growers recommend a brick to weigh down TB's for the first winter to help with the freezing/thawing problem. Still, many who have a rather large snow cover (like the 4' pollyk and all the area east of Lake Ontario, in NY, gets) never have frozen ground. The area I mentioned certainly has much more snow coverage than much of the populated portion of Maine.

I'm glad you clarified that irisMA. I know that freezing and thawing leading to heaving can be a problem. As Pirl suggested they do recommend you put bricks on the iris rhizomes to help prevent that.

One of our 'best iris growers' on this forum, Boojum, lives in your state. While her specialty is beardless, maybe she would have some advice for you on the TBs, as I know she grows them well.

I see that most of the postings have the D Ag. zone. Ours is 6a. Zone 5 is north & west of us.

Margie
My favorite of those you named is Sky's the Limit. I can see in the close-up that there is plenty of pollen. The pastel dotted plants especially marked between the veins is really different, a different marking than those from the 'Ring Around Rosie' line which are different also. At the club's last sale a poster was set up with flower pictures. The main comment was that people didn't know that there were so many colors. Plicatas always attract.

Hi day late, dollar short I am just now seeing this site andWOW you have a lot of great stuff, I love a lot of your seedlings, are you interested in any tradeing? I have 100's of different one's let me know. thanks Marie

Hi Marie,

Thank you.....I'm glad you like them. I can and have traded some irises. My introductions are handled through Nola's Iris Garden http://www.walking-p-bar.com/shopsite/New%20Introductions.html , and through any other iris gardens that may have acquired them since introduction. Many of those above will be 2008 and 2009 intros. Soon, I'll post more seedlings from THIS past year. :-)

~Margie

Hi Margie
Thanks for the note, so I would have to go through one of the iris companies? You do not trade otherwise? just a thought thanks Marie

Hi Marie,

I can and do trade irises otherwise - - If I have them on hand. You see - - I have a small yard and cannot grow a lot of any one iris. Even my own seedlings I haven't enough room to keep a lot of them on hand. So personally - I only keep a few of each and use them mostly for hybridizing purposes. (The named iris garden or gardens have the bulk of them) I know it would be a different story had I an acre or so of land.

If you are interested in trading we can always touch base at the end of summer to see if I have an extra one of those you are interested in. Sometimes I DO......... and sometimes I don't, depending whether they have been sent out to Iris Conventions or Region Treks. (Or if I have seedlings RETURNING to me from Iris Conventions and Treks.................in that case you'll be in luck!) It never hurts to ask. Just click on my name to the left, and go to "Send Margiempv an E-mail". I'll be happy to see what I have available. :-)

smiles,
~ Margie

Hi Margie
We can keep in touch and see what we have, I know it is a long way off, always thinking iris. I am trying my seeds from this year to see what happens, could be a whole lot of nothing. I do have a lot of land to work with, however gophers have moved in and I have to wire everything first, makes for a lot more work but I lost a lot of iris because of them. 'anyway could yack all night probably about iris:)
thanks Marie

OK Marie,

Let's do that!! :-) What are the parents of your seeds?

Hi Margie

most are Bee x Mariposa skies, jurassic park x bee, night magic x bee, there are about nine different ones, I know they could be anything, what is absolutely amazing to me is the parentage as even the grand parent plants impact the outcome:)

Hi Margie,

Just for clarification,
you have named just 5 of all the seedling photos above for introduction in 2008 and have chosen a few additional seedlings for introduction in 2009 but you have not yet told us those names?

Or did I miss some of the new names selected?

Happy Holidays,

Pat

Margie,
Just found this thread also. Congrats again. Looking forward to buying some of the 2008 intros. Will try to get in line earlier this year! Ha!
Laura

Oh, #4 and #11, absolutely beautiful!

Hi Laura and Marie,

The Christmas season has a way with taking up a lot of my time this time of year. :-) It is a busy time for sure - - but I sure love it!!

Laura, #4 - will be available this year as a new Introduction (if all goes as planned). It is now named "Birthday Confetti". #11 - I'm watching along. I wasn't going to introduce it because it looks to be a Border Bearded and I prefer introducing Tall Beardeds. (So, I'll give this one another look)

Below is a copy of the ad that will be coming out in the Tall Bearded Iris Society http://www.tbisonline.com/ Magazine this Spring. It has some of last years and then also the 2008 intros shown. If you don't belong to this group _ I want to encourage you to join. The magazine that comes out twice a year is filled with lovely iris photos and articles that is sure to please you.

Marie, Good luck on those seeds! I've heard people say that the ones that the bees choose for the pollen parent usually can result in some real beauties. I use to get rid of my "bee podded seeds", but not any more. :-)

~Margie

This thread is getting a bit long............................so let's continue with it here beginning with some new seedlings:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/797687/

~Margie