Re: CULT:Bloom report-almost
- To: iris-talk@onelist.com
- Subject: Re: CULT:Bloom report-almost
- From: J* C*
- Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 00:57:46 PDT
From: "Jan Clark" <janclarx@hotmail.com>
Betty wrote: But I didn't succumb to the
>temptations of a Schreiner's catalog, and one of those special offers, until the fall of 1983.
>The next spring I was deeply involved in creating a fancy graduation gown for my daughter when my 'new' irises bloomed. Only three out of seventeen bloomed that first spring .....
I don't know if it was beginners luck or climate, but out of the first 30 or so, at least 1/2 bloomed that first season ( just a short 18 months ago)and I was right there waiting with my tweezers.
My first bloom was on Aura Light, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven! In two years, and with heaps of bloom, I still haven't managed seeds from Aura Light.
I planted 500 seeds from that first manic bout of hybridising, and the first blossoms will most likely appear this Spring. I had a quiet laugh today, when I noticed a tag identifying a cross as one of 52 seeds. Only 3 plants from that cross survived after being transplanted the day before our first heavy frost. I hope this years (1050) seeds fare better, and feel I have a lot more experience now. Growing seeds in Autumn gives me a better chance of seeing bloom the following year, considering our mild winters.
Next year (or late this year) I will try an even earlier start, and plant some seed fresh from the pod.
Only six more months until bloom season, and plenty of time to snuggle in front of the log fire with my iris books, and plan next Springs crosses. Sigh!
Jan Clark
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