Re: Re: HYB: long chill requirements?

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Sean,

While you are right about about the use of I aphylla in tet MTBs by Hager and the Craigs, and more recently several more of us tet MTB fans, Schriener used aphylla in TB breeding long ago and can it be found in the background of many of their dark TBs. Of course if aphylla is there, it has spread into many lines by now, although it is way back there.

Bill Chaney

On Monday, January 19, 2015 1:14 PM, "Sean Zera z*@umich.edu [iris-species]" <i*@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

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It's my understanding that aphyllaÂhas been used only relatively recently in the creation of tetraploid MTBs, but wasn't used historically for hybridizing in TBs and so wouldn't be in their ancestry. TBs were mostly diploid hybrids involvingÂpallidaÂ(in its various form) and variegata until they were crossed with multiple wild tetraploid "germanica" types (whose taxonomy is still confusing). Since the diploids had already been selected for taller plants with more and larger flowers and a range of colors, crossing toÂaphyllaÂwould have seemed a step backwards at the time.

Otherwise, since aphylla also occurs in central Europe, it experiences the same winters as variegata.

I'm by no means an expert on the subject - hopefully others will weigh in to correct any errors I've made!

Sean Z

On Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 8:23 AM, Linda Mann l*@lock-net.com [iris-species] <i*@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

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Thanks, Sean.

So you think I. variegata comes from a climate with more hours in that
32o - 45oF than other bearded species in the background of TBs?
Somehow, I got the idea that maybe aphylla or whatever was passing for
various other dwarf species that got mixed in the TB gene pool came from
consistently cool climates.

It's probably just random 'luck' of gene combination, that has put
Immortality's seeds out on the far end of the distribution of chilling
requirements.

PS - I get <much> more uniform and faster germination of seeds in the
fridge than outdoors, but that's probably mostly my wretched erratic
climate. Combined with the gene pool I insist on working with.

Linda Mann east TN USA zone 7