Re: HYB: more experiments...& question

<Guess I'm still a little confused about your definitions of rebloom classes!? >
I have avoided most of the really early/really late cycle bloomers because they are non-bloomers here. Because I grow several rebloomers that bloom here during main bloom season in spring (<not> so early that they usually get frozen out) and again in the fall, I tend to think of those as cycle rebloomers because that's what they do here.
But I've learned that some of those that cycle here will bloom at other times (i.e., "summer") elsewhere, and have even had a few bloom in the summer here.
So, basically, I don't see much bloom on true cycle rebloomers other than HARVEST OF MEMORIES and a couple of my own seedlings from IMM X CSONG. One of these is often frozen out, the other usually manages a few blooms in a 6 ft row and often blooms really well and is fertile most years. There are some others that grow well here, but don't often bloom and haven't been fertile.
By too early, I mean they are putting up stalks at the same time as the medians. Most of my seedlings are not putting up stalks yet - they know better!
<Most rebloomers, but not all, bloom early in the spring.? Summer bloomers, belong to the group known as multiple bloomers, formerly everbloomers or continuous bloomers.? (Immortality, etc.)??By their defintion, do not normally bloom in the late fall, although some?can do so in addition to their summer bloom.? >
<Cycle rebloomers NEVER bloom in the summer, but come along in the fall.? It is my understanding that they do not contain the genes or triggers that allow summer bloom.? When we get the early fall freezes, Oct 15 last year, most of these do not make it.? I've not grown all cycle rebloomers, and I've never gardened in zones 7-9, so I'm speaking of rebloomers as I know them in my garden.? Thus the name cycle.? Harvest of Memories is one that comes to mind.? >
Harvest of Memories is usually late enough in spring (main bloom season, not extra early, no sign of stalk formation yet), early enough in fall to give good bloom and good fertility.
Because I've gotten cycle rebloomers from IMM, and a cross of IMM with HARVEST OF MEMORIES produced a "summer" rebloomer (SUNNY DISPOSITION), my theory is that summer rebloom <can> be a dosage effect (multiple alleles? multiple genes? I have no idea).
I'm going to try (again) to make some half sib crosses of IMM rebloom kids just to see what the rebloom habit of the next generation is.
<What do we get when we mix the multiple rebloomers with the cycle rebloomers???Can we breed irises that bloom earlier in the fall (when we want them) without them blooming (sometimes) in the heat of summer when we don't want them?? > 

We don't want summer bloom? Oh, so we can dig..

Hope that clarifies things.?

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.DiscoverET.org/etis>
Region 7, Kentucky-Tennessee <http://www.aisregion7.org>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
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