Almost time to start making crosses!

Hello all... I've posted this info before, but with thoughts of spring in our heads, it's time to start thinking about the crosses we hope to make. I've posted this again to try and encourage those of you that haven't tried hybridizing for one reason or another to jump right in when those spring blooms appear.

Click this link, when the page opens just scroll down to the photo album titled "Iris Hybridizing" then click it.

http://leticia.smugmug.com/

Good Luck, Dan

This message was edited Dec 23, 2008 6:38 PM

WOW, is all I can say, your explanation and detail are stunning, thanks so much for the great instructions, I have been afraid to do much hybridizing and now I feel like maybe I could do this....thanks again I love the growing cages, that is what I will need, all kinds of creatures here that would munch it all down......Marie

Dan, Merry Christmas to me, Merry Christmas to me. Thank YOU very much!!!!!!!:)

Great Dan, all my crosses are in my head until the snow melts & May arrives. Are you going to work from the bitone BB?

makj, skwinter... You're Welcome. I hope you will give it a try. It will open up a whole new dimension to your gardening experience. It is also easy, and quite addictive! The growing cages are essential here because of squirrels. They cannot stay out of my pots... dig, dig, dig.

Lucy... Yes, I will be working with the bitone BB. It's growing in couple of other climates, including Breezeway Gardens in Wisconsin for the 2010 AIS Convention. I'm hoping it stays short!

Dan

How does one store the pollen from the earlies to mate with the lates ?

We put a jar of 'flower dry' in the fridge & drop marked envelopes of pollen in the jar with a tight cap. Sometimes it works & sometimes doesn't work. Have to store when working with pumila on later flowers.

silica crystals ? Paper/pourous envelopes ?

We use coin envelopes. I guess it is silica--anyone know?

I just use powered milk and coin envelopes.

D

does the milk act as a drying agent????

also both Dee and Dan, what kind of tweezers do you use?????

I have never frozen pollen for use later, so cannot give a personal experience. I read an article in an older issue of the AIS Bulletin on the subject, and will repeat it based on what I remember... Pollen is plucked, dried, then put in paper envelopes. (maybe the coin envelopes mentioned by irisMA and Dee) The pollen is then placed in a 35mm film cannister with a bag of silica gel, then into a ziplock bag and put into the freezer. When needed it is removed, allowed to thaw, then (I think) the remainder goes back into the freezer for later use. I googled the topic and got some very similiar info from a daylily hybridizer. This person uses pill containers with 14 compartments for storing pollen. I would be reluctant to use the open compartments for fear of a few errant pollen grains mixing with pollen from others crosses. Not sure I would go for putting collected pollen in egg cartons as mentioned either. I use separate containers for athers from individual cultivars... no chance of dropping an anther into the wrong compartment, or of accidental mixing of pollen. Anyway heres the link to that site, which does explain the freezing method as I remember in the other article.

http://www.shieldsgardens.com/DLPlace/pollen.html

makj... I use common household tweezers. Not all are suitable for me, but I've found one that works perfectly. You may want to give several pairs a try and see if you can find that special one. As you will see in the article in the above link, some folks like locking tweezers. I tend to agree... as I sometimes drop an anther with the regular tweezers, but have really grown accustomed to their feel.

Another suggestion to those making crosses for the first time. Make as many crosses as possible. You will get more experience and have more seeds to plant, giving you an opportunity to learn about planting/germination and improve your germination rates.

Dan

thanks again for all the info Dan, after reading your website and seeing all those pic's I feel less afraid to give it a go and I will do as many as possible, in hopes something will grow:)

I use a long handled pair of tweezers I get at the fabric store for helping thread serger sewing machines..I drill a hole in the solid end and put them on a long string so I do not loose them as before doing this I would loose a pair a week, now have had this pair for 3 years.

The powdered milk acts as a drying agent.

Hope this helps you in making tons of crosses, you will never know what you could get if you do not try.

D

so if I went to one of the larger sewing stores I could probably find one????
I broken down and bought an apron, yes I could have made one, LOL but I am sure it would not look the same...
so I can wear that and dig iris, label etc... and put the sharpie etc... in the pockets.. tired of setting stuff on the ground only to have to find it...
hybridizing has always fascinated me, so I am sure it will be fun....the first year my friend and I were "irising" she did a fair but of hybridizing, and after all was said and done, the result was "Sprout" a single seedling that survived and bloomed, a real basic blue.... but it was exciting to see this little thing from start to finish....

makj Yup go to Joanne's if you have one and get a pair, always near the quilting area or sewing machine area. I have an apron, for the tags, paintpen, etc, I have an old blue icecube tray for putting the anthlers in with a small label. If windy I have small coin envelopes.

The first times I did hybridizing I almost quit because I was not getting very good takes at all. Found out that the humidity has alot to do with how many takes.

With our late year this year I did about 600 crosses or more and only 300 took, now to see how many germinate. But being early out of 300 one gallon pots I have about 45 that are showing green:)

Good luck

D

thanks Dee, good info, great idea with the cube tray.....
I have a dumb question or two....I am putting some iris on my trades list and I don't think I am filling out the info correct Species I put Tall bearded iris, cultivar name of iris, genus Iris is that wrong????

Species I believe they mean Iris Germanica as that is what we have to put on phytos to ship overseas as species.

D

I have never frozen pollen--just refrigerated it. I probably should freeze as I could use TB pollen on the smaller plants. My crosses for pink SDBs didn't take last spring. I was using a seedling which had quite a bit of pollen, but no luck. The seedling better watch out as I plant to cross onto it this coming spring. We use locking forceps to hold the anthers. Keeping pressure strong with my arthretic hands is difficult.

I have a pair of those as well, but with me I can not get it unlocked fast enough. LOL

D

Though since the subject Came up I would share some of the crosses I am hoping to make.

I want to test all the Lakeside Elf Seedling so I am crossing those that even though they look IB are OGB- and one that looks like it has Aril in it with Anaheim Daughter.

I have been working on beards and will try to cross siblings of my Devil's Fork X Dark Passion cross and see what I get. I will probably cross these also to Galactic Warrior.

One of Sunstrip X Touch of Mink Babies has 5 buds and even if I do not introduce it I want to see if it will throw this trait so I am going to cross it to one of my Cimaron Rose X Touch of Mink babies and also to the two best of the Dinky Circus babies.

I am hoping to hang on to my AB seedling. It did well in CO, but it was lost here so glad to have the CO visitors back. It did bloom here last spring. Is Lakeside Elf 1/2? It is here & along with everything else under over 6" of snow. Can't find the picture in the computer. Have been having internet connection problems & all the pictures don't seem to turn up. I am sure they are not related, working as a novice.

Anita--I like the perky style of the yellow beaded purple on the left. I will work with both the pink & red amoena SDB lines & the BBs. I will try & improve form of a white BB which grows like mad.

Iris Ma
Here is a close up of the beard
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5005986
It actually has 4 -5 colors want to see that variation on a big fat catipillar beard

Herre is a pic of Lakeside Elf
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5409019

I am looking forward to the bushy beards as well Anita.

As I am working on the webpage I will be reading and typing up the descriptions and think hey that would be a great cross with____ and write into the future cross book.

I am quite curious to see a cross bloom this year for the first time, and that is from an iris doubtful if it will ever be introducted but the bud count and branching is super, so crossing with lower counts/branches that I like to see what happens.

D

This is Dark passion as you can see it has a great beard. All the offspring may be crossed back to this parent.

Yup like that one

Could anyone tell me if there is a source telling the varieties that are fertile as a pod parent or pollen parent or is this a hit and miss deal learning by trial and error and word of mouth?

Yah, I need that info also.

Most tall bearded are fertile
SOME! IBs are fertile either pod or pollen usually not both. there is a list of those floating around I will see if I can find my copy and post it somewhere
BB are just short tall bearded and most are fertile
SDB depending on heritage are also MOSTLY fertile
MDB same as SDB
Arilbreds - are dependednt on heritage and yes it is a word of mouth and experience and even then we still try

the beardless I am not too sure of
versicolor are very fertile
some beardless will self themselves

Hope this helps
A

Thanks, every extra bit of knowledge helps !!

Just remember that everything has exceptions
and though fertile they may be difficult to set seeds on
:)
Anita

I have a list of plants in my garden which have pollen, although I am always behind with it. Some plants have a reputation for producing good seedlings; Chubby Cheeks for SDBs, Goldkist for TBs for example. I do a lot of pedigree reading during the winter in the R & I booklets, not to copy, but looking for fertile plants. Some good cantidates won't grow in our area--that's true all over the country. We do span a continent after all. Look at plants which do well in your area, in your garden or other area hybridizers, see which plants they use--it could give a clue.

Thank's that does help I just thought maybe I'd play around with it a bit nothing too serious because I don't think I'd have the time to learn all the in's and out's, whats been done to death and what just won't work maybe if I started ten or twenty years ago but...., still I think it may be a bit of fun.

I am going to give hybridizing a chance this year, I am usually so busy taking pic's and digging and selling that, I thought everyone I have talked to thinks it is great and I am amazed at the possibilities. Someone told me that Puccini and Louisa' song make great parent plants, and I really love both so why not see what happens.....

Hi, Dan. Sure hope the 2 seedlings I got from you bloom for the first time this year. I have 79 seedlings from '07, my first year to hybridize, thanks to Dan's great website-- and lots of 08 seeds we're just getting out now. It will be so much fun to see "my" first blooms.

DaLoveRat: Guess we are never going to get to trade--last year's iris lifting here was ruined due to Hurricane Ike for me. I didn't take up a single clump in 2008 as I feared to replant anything due to wet beds. We lost some to rot, but looks like most of mine made it through okay so maybe this fall we can still do some trading.

What are R & I booklets ?

Nice to hear that 'Chubby Cheeks' is a good parent, better pod or pollen?. It is a nice looking iris, good blooms and good rhizome maker. All around dependable.

'Galway' makes pods, if anyone is interested. 19 seeds out of that one. As did 'Susan Bliss' altho my big fat bum ended that experience abruptly.