Hello Jeff,
Sorry to hear about your unsuccessful attempts with
purpureobractea. Good luck with those two pods on
'High Sierra Snow'.
I might get a first try today, since the torrential
rains have let up. We don't have any TB's blooming
yet, but I'm thinking of using aphylla with it.
I'd seen that article title you mentioned, when I was
searching for information on Iris junonia last year,
but I didn't have a source for it. Do you know what
general reason, Harald Mathes had for recommending
those three species in particular (for arilbred
crosses)? I'm guessing maybe he'd seen some especially
promising seedlings after 10 years of working with it.
But what was it, that was especially promising?
And that's a good idea, about trying to contact
Harald. Many of the species beardeds that I've been
collecting, have come from him, through various
sources. Thanks for the information and suggestions.
Best wishes, Tom
Jeff wrote:
I like the purple bracts on PB, but also the fact that
the flower stalks are multi-branched and
long-blooming, even if the plants and flowers are
median-sized and a bit plain; it has potential...
...If you are interested, Harald Mathes wrote an
article titled "Ii. junonia, purpureobractea &
schachtii: Breeders Should Keep an Eye on
Them" in the 1998 Aril Society International Yearbook.
Though it gives no results of breeding attempts with
PB specifically, it does indicate he's been working
with it for the past 10 years or so. You might wish to
try and contact him through the Arilrobin, another
Yahoo iris group.
