ALPINE VISTA MDB

 

My garden was a Region 6 show garden in 2005. We were sent irises from various hybridizers to grow in 2003.  A few were MDB's and SDB's, these I planted in two 3X6 beds next to the garage and house. The main IB,MTB and TB iris were planted in the garden and special beds. As years went by I kept the small irises in the two 3X6 beds and added afew and lost a few. Never thought of crossing any until 2008. 

 I lost most of the markers on these irises and since they were only seen by me, and they bloomed too early to put in an iris show, I pulled all the markers. This left me with some I could indentify but most in the unknown category.

In 2008 as they started to bloom in April, I had the hybridizer "itch" to cross something, and I made a few crosses in the Lilliput irises. A couple of pods showed up that summer and I collected them "Bee Pods"and planted the seed in the fall of 2008 and they sprouted in Spring of 2009. Well a lot of other irises sprouted too in 09 and I had to find room somewhere and the last small plants ended up in a flower bed in my front yard.

These scrawney plants bloomed in 2010 and the white over yellow, and the purple were the results of some of those plants. Comparing these seedlings with Alpine Vista you notice a big difference in form.

Since I was dumb enought to cut those iris, I  collected their pollen and placed it on two others of the same form that came up later. Two pods formed and I collected the seed which  are now in my fridge.  The odd thing is the seed dried smooth like a hummingbird egg and about the same size, weird.

Now I am waiting on Spring to plant the new seed and  to see if the two year plants lived through the winter and if they formed new plants.

Kent

Indpls In