Re: Bloom Sequence Project Update
- To: <iris-talk@onelist.com>
- Subject: Re: Bloom Sequence Project Update
- From: J* a* C* W*
- Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 09:59:02 -0600
From: "Jeff and Carolyn Walters" <jcwalters@bridgernet.com>
Hello Talk-ers,
The Bloom Sequence Project that has emerged from discussion on this list
over the past week is moving ahead! As of this morning I am aware of the
following people who have expressed an interest in participating in this
project:
Ellen Gallagher Zone 3 Karen Jellum Zone 3
Carol Fisher Zone 4 Carryl Meyer Zone 4
Maureen Mark Zone 4 Cindy Rust Zone 5
Jeff Walters Zone 5 Dorothy Willott Zones 5&6 (2
sites)
Gary White Zone 5 Judy Eckhoff Zone 6
Kathy Guest Zone 6 Ann & Ernie Henson Zone 6
Pat in Dallas Zone 8 Cliff Snyder Zone 8
Mike Sutton Zone 9
As can be seen, there are immediate openings available in Zones 2, 7, and
10! Actually, there are openings available in all Zones, as everyone is
welcome to participate - this includes any Talk-ers from outside North
America who would like to join in!
In order to get the ball rolling we need to come up with our initial list
of indicator cultivars. The ideal indicator cultivar is one that reliably
opens its first flower exactly in the middle of the bloom season for the
class of iris to which it belongs. Cliff Snyder and Dorothy Willott have
offered to check their records and suggest indicator cultivars in addition
to the ones I have been able to identify from my own records. We need to
have more input on indicator cultivars for the beardless classes (SIB,
SPU,
JI, LA). Anyone who has input to offer on cultivars from these classes (or
any of the others), please email me at the addreess below.
Ellen Gallagher suggested that we be sure to include some of the historic
diploid cultivars in the bearded classes - any suggestions of names will
be
gratefully received. In my posting to the list suggesting an outline for
this project, I
excluded SPEC irises as a class because of their diversity. That does not
mean we couldn't include individual species for their own sake, rather
than
as indicators of anything else. Let me know how you feel. Another aspect
that may be worth consideration and discussion is how we can incorporate
observations on rebloom into this project.
We need to designate a working list of cultivars to be observed as soon as
possible, as the bloom season is already well advanced in the warmer Zones
and fast approaching in the rest. We should heed Anner Whitehead's wise
counsel, and regard this first year of the project as a preliminary study
that will provide useful information, but will be more valuable in helping
to refine the procedures and material we will use to make our observations
more accurate and consistent in future years.
Anner wrote:
> I'm inclined to think that rather than attempting to identify a priori
> individual cultivars which would serve in this capacity, it might be
valuable
> to assemble information on many named cultivars--whatever people
> reported--break it down into size categories and then subcategorize them
by
> registered bloom time. From this information, assembled over two or
three
> years, the names of indicator irises might declare themselves.
So, whatever indicator cultivars we come up with for this year's bloom
season, all of us should also be keeping our eyes out for even better ones
to use in the future!
Happy Irising!
Jeff Walters in northern Utah (USDA Zone 5, Sunset Zone 2)
jcwalters@bridgernet.com
Bloom Sequence Project Coordinator
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