Re: Loss of color
- To: i*@Rt66.com
- Subject: Re: Loss of color
- From: C*@aol.com
- Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 00:06:54 -0400
In a message dated 96-04-30 14:42:23 EDT, you write:
>Hi Bob! No, the color of the flowers doesn't change with
>time; it's in the plant's genes. However, the amount of
>sun they get (and other growing conditions like water,
>nutrients, etc.) can affect the color of the blooms. I
Tom, I can think of two exceptions to the rule that irises do not change
color over time, BUT I WOULD AGREE THE EXCEPTIONS I MENTION ARE RARE! First,
is the case of the famous iris W. R. DYKES. It was considered to be the
finest large yellow in its day, but all clones of it seemed extremely
susceptible to a virus, and in a few years after it was introduced it was
virtually impossible to find a clone that did not produce yellow flowers with
purple virus streaks. The second exception are the mutations that have taken
place from time to time. Two have taken place in my garden. First, a clone
of I. florentina mutated to a bitone violet which held (there were other
instances of this mutation taking place in iris literature). After
furnishing plants to several prominent members of SIGNA and consulting with
them, I registered and introduced this mutated form of I. florentina as ELSIE
CROUCH DILTZ. A second mutation that has taken place in my garden was a
sectional chimera clone of the cultivar POINT MADE. half of the stalk
produced flowers that were devoid of yellow. Saving the increase of this
clone, one of the increase has produced all flowers devoid of yellow....but
in other ways identical to POINT MADE. I am now evaluating the increase of
this clone to see if the mutation will prove stable...and if so, I plant to
register and introduce it. Clarence Mahan in Virgina
