germinating old iris seed

 

An iris friend and ASI member in Sydney who is embryo culturing oncocyclus seed for a few of the Australian growers has recently emailed the following:

"In 1982 I was living in Montana and found some irises growing in the ditch alongside the road out of town.   Later in the year I stopped and found lots of seed pods on the now dried out plants.   The locals called them I. Montana, but the reference books describe them as I. Missouriensis.   No Matter.   I collected a few of the very small seed from each of several pods and brought them home with me.   They have been in the refrigerator ever since.   In 1986 I tried to germinate some by EC, no joy.  But I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out.   Anyway about a month ago I ECd 10, 8 embryos on agar.

 

               Today I have two embryos germinated!   There is one more that is almost there.   Whether they will grow or not I can’t say, but I have two germinated from 30 year old seed!"


Indeed Peter has ECd old onco seed too from about this period.   Peter has been a godsend to those of us in Australia who want to grow onco species.


warm regards,

Pat


Pat Toolan
Immediate past ASI President 
PO Box 568,
Angaston
SA 5353
08 85 648 286


To: iris-species@yahoogroups.com
From: bigalligator@bellsouth.net
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:04:56 -0400
Subject: Re: [iris-species] Iris hexagona

 

> The Rainbow River plants would be the earlier-blooming I. savannarum. I would guess nobody sells the "true" hexagona, since savannarum is far more >common and widespread and usually goes by hexagona.
 
Sean,
       The map of Florida vascular plants shows no Iris savannarum, but others have said it is a real species and is the one found in this part of the state.  Does SIGNA and AIS count savannarum as a real species? 
 
Mark A. Cook
b*@bellsouth.net
Dunnellon, Florida.  

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