If you get Joe Ghio's catalogs you can read a story about how when he acquired more land to grow seedlings, he started to plant out those seedlings which had germinated the second year after planting (formerly he just threw them away).  One of the first Iris he selected from those became STARRING.

IMHOP  I think you can see the 'quality' of a cross in 20 seedlings... but if you are looking for that 1 in a million combination - it could be any one.

Chad

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From: Linda Mann <l*@lock-net.com>
To: i*@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, July 11, 2011 10:46 AM

Subject: [iris-photos] Re: HYB: how many should I plant?

 

I guess I should clarify - what I'm trying to get a feel for is how many
seeds/seedlings do experienced breeders plant when they are trying to
combine recessives this way?

It sounds like the more the better.

Or do they usually try to stack the odds more favorably than this type
of half X half cross. From reading pedigrees, it seems like most
crosses of this type involve crossing an offspring back to the parent
carrying the recessive. Better odds!

With so many seeds this year (80+ diff crosses to choose from), I won't
plant each seed as it sprouts - will pot the entire lot as soon as the
earliest ones sprout.

<Don't bother with burrito method. That will only give you the ones that
can germinate first.

Chuck Chapman >

Linda Mann east TN USA