Re: missouriensis interspecies hybrids?

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Dear Bill;

           Between work and the garden this is a busy time and I wasn?t able to find the time to answer your post the other day. But here goes. There exists a list of each species showing their named varieties, and a second section showing their crosses. This is in an appendix of the SIGNA checklist. SIGNA is the species section of the American Iris Society. I recommend both, and SIGNA has a great seed exchange.

            But to answer your question. Iris missouriensis has been used very little, so far, in hybridizing. The famous English plantsman, Amos Perry made three crosses back in the 1930?s. ?Monwat? was I. missouriensis x I. douglasiana. ?Toltec? was a cross with Iris tectorum and ?Tollong? a cross with Iris longipetala. Note the ?tol? referred to Iris tolmeiana a synonym of Iris missouriensis and the ?Mon? to Iris Montana another synonym. This practice of combining scientific names to form cultivar names is frowned on today, because the scientific names change, as they did in this case. Unfortunately, although Perry?s nursery was very large and sold all around the world, World War II caused him to plow under most of his ornamentals and grow food for Britain. I am not sure any of these survive today.

            Recently Glen Stoneking-Jones registered a second generation cross of  Siberian hybrids and missouriensis. Unfortunately it has been very reluctant to flower after it was registered and therefore has not been introduced.

            Obviously it is possibly to use missouriensis in crosses, and I would love to see a number of them tried. It would be interesting to know about failures as well as successes. Actually the negative information may be more important in discerning relationships.

Bill Chaney <Bill@blackarabs.com> wrote:

I am interested in I. missouriensis and  hybrids of missouriensis with
other species.  I currently live in the Monterey Bay area of California,
but my long range goal is to move from California to Oregon.  I have
already purchased land there, near Sun River, and it borders the Little
Deschutes river.  My 13 acres has about 10 acres with missouriensis all
through it.  I have yet to be able to visit it in bloom, nor could I
find seed pods last fall, but I did relocate a few plants to my home
here, where it seems to be struggling.  It has survived, but I don't
expect I will get flowers this year.  I have seed from the exchange that
must have been collected near my property, but no germination yet.

Is anyone aware of interspecies hybrids with missouriensis?  Anyone
growing missouriensis as a garden plant?

Bill Chaney