Re: Space Agers -Gaudy and/or Showy?

Bill Smoot writes

:     Now I think that I'll "stir the pot" and bring up a discussion concerning
:one of the irises that Tom mentioned - Sky Hooks.  Do you think that the
:hybridizing for appendages such as the horns, spoons, flounces, forks, and etc.
:found on the ends of beards of Space Age irises is gaudy, or showy?  Also is
:this a trait that hybridizers should work with, or leave be?

I'm not a space-age enthusiast, but neither do I harbor prejudices against them.
Sky Hooks is on my list because it's a very nicely shaped iris, with (to me)
a pleasing pastel color and good garden performance. I think the horns add a
little something to this particular iris, but I would still like it without
them.

Personally, I think spoons and flounces are a bit much--it just gives me a
chilling premonition of "double irises" and what a nightmare that would be!
But the horns I think can be very attractive, and add to the appeal of an
iris's shape. I wouldn't want them on all irises, but for a change of pace,
they're fine.

Yes, I think hybridizers should work with these: first to make the trait
more stable. Every one I've grown shows a lot of variation in the size (or
even presence) of the appendages, differing from bloom to bloom or even from
fall to fall on a single bloom. The trait needs some taming. And, of course,
the color range and overall quality can be improved on, as with most kinds
of iris.

I guess I feel OK about space-age iris because I'm confident that they will
always be "novelties"; I don't think hybridizers will ever try to completely
get rid of all irises without doo-hickies (as they have tried to get rid of
tailored irises, irises with haft marks, and irises without super-wide falls).

FWIW.

Happy irising, Tom.

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Tom Tadfor Little         tlittle@lanl.gov  -or-  telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor   Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Telperion Productions     http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
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