Re: [ SPEC: CULT: Setosa seedlings]

Kathy Haggstrom <hagg@alaska.net> wrote:

> Chuck Chapman wrote:
> 
> >  Some of the crosses have had wild variation in height with plants going
> > from 6" to 40" in height. A number of color variations.  I'm selecting
> > for bud count and bloom duration and getting an
> > increasing number of flowers on the shorter varieties. I'm focusing on
> > the
> > shorter varieties as them would seem to fill a gardening niche whereas th
> > tall
> > varieties would have to compete with siberian. The height of 36-40" of
> > some of
> > the seedlings had surprized me as one parent was 15" and the other was
> > about
> > 20"
> 
> These size variations surprise me too. Are these seedlings from a crossing
> of differing varieties and from differing areas, or are they fairly
> homogenous genetically? I don't get such wide size swings with basic stock.
> I would consider my stock somewhat homogenous size-wise.
> The 6" seedlings you mention: are they crosses with I. hookeri, or perhaps
> the ubiquitous dwarf setosa sold in gardening centers (wondering how you
> get the short size)?
> I've had a question about branching for quite a while which is quite basic,
> but I just can't answer it myself, because I have nothing else to compare
> with. Perhaps you can help (please excuse the total lack of knowledge on
> this one): You mentioned branching earlier, and I've heard this term often
> in relation to Beardeds. I have no idea what constitutes good branching in
> a plant - I'm sure it's different for differing species. I consider any
> setosa I have to be floriferous if it produces 7 blooms on one stalk. That
> usually means it has one terminal bud, a secondary bud, and then perhaps a
> third in the crotch, and then further down the stem two smaller branches
> with two blooms each (one at the end of the branch, and one in the crotch).
> The larger the clump the more likely it is to produce a "floriferous"
> stalk, and more stalks also. I count a plant floriferous as much if it is
> able to produce many stalks as if it is very branched. What constitutes
> good branching for a setosa in your opinion - is it more than three
> branches per stalk? It would  be a good idea if I got this clear in my
> mind......
> Focusing on shorter varieties so as not to compete directly against
> Siberians is a good idea.
> Kathy Haggstrom
> Alaska/USA/zone 3
> 
 

The shorter plants and the taller ones are from the same cross allthough I
also have very short ones from canadesis (or I hookeri) crosses. The crosses
with the wide variation had as one parent a short canadesis (10") that has
been collected from Newfoundland by a Canadian Iris Society (CIS) member. The
other parent was a setosa from SIGNA seed growen by another CIS member. Her
setosa must have been open polinated as there was a wide variation in plants
and one of them turned out to be a sibtosa (interspecies cross of siberian and
setosa) and sterile and no seeds. The short plants came from F2 generation of
sib to sib cross. Thus the short size would likely to be from the canadesis
form with some modifier effects. The short varieties can be very short of bud
count and I focus on ones that have 5 or more buds. The very tall ones have
11-13 flowers on 3 branches plus terminal with occasionally 3 terminal buds
and several double budded ends and occasional secondary branches. I have
several at about 20-24" in height with 9-11 buds. Each has to evaluated in
comparison to others of the same general height. I continue to use these lines
as they produce such a wide variation that gives lots of room to move in
several breeding directions. I beleive that there are some Japanese setosa
that are quite tall but still not as tall as some that I have grown. There is
probably no good way to find the parents as the original SIGNA source would
only be able to identify pod parent, and they had obviously been open
polinated. 
There are also a tendency for some to produce flowers over a long period of
time and this is also noted. I hadn't made any particular noes of branch count
so I'm relying on memory.
Could you provide some description of plants that you have seen and
cultivated?

Chuck Chapman, Southern Ontario Canada. 




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