Re: Re: Alpha Gnu vs Blueberry Filly

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I grew both when they were first introduced.

 

Alpha Gnu seemed much more in tune with the Spec-X category and, to be frank, I didn't like it very much even during my broken colour phase.  Something about the substance and form of the bloom.  That's an aesthetic valuation btw; otherwise it grew like a weed, put up a ton of stalks, excellent bud count, good clumping/quaternary structure... and lots of other people took pieces of it.  It outgrew a borer attack, not something we see frequently here. 

  

Blueberry Filly behaved much more like an IB in our garden.  The colours were different - somewhat stronger - and the form was better.  It did not grow as well; not that it dwindled
and died, but it didn't need division every other year.  It would not have stayed in the garden if it hadn't been a BC.

 

My personal feeling therefore is that Brad made an honest decision to place where each should be placed, and that he made the correct decision in both cases. 

 

I do want to point out the use of 'Ostry White' as a parent.  I have used this species as a parent as well and I have found its children to be wildly variable even within the same seed pod.  If I ever get a breeding program back together for bearded iris, I think I would use it as a parent for everything, just to see how extensive the variance can be.  Others can chime in here; however I remember it as being recessive in many traits.

 

I did enjoy the typo "Blueberry Philly".  I was thinking of one of those huge Philly steak sandwiches... with blueberries sprinkled on top.  The combination sets my stomach heaving.

 

New Year's Greetings from a very wet Ottawa,

 

Sandy Ives