HYB: a pollen dauber's ramblings
- To: iris-talk@onelist.com
- Subject: HYB: a pollen dauber's ramblings
- From: D* K*
- Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 12:36:18 -0400
From: Dennis Kramb <dkramb@tso.cin.ix.net>
I'm happy as a pig in mud that this bloom season is so stupendous. Spring
has been gorgeous for Cincinnati...no frost for the last month, and plenty
of rain and warm sunshine! I have dozens of cultivars in bloom...including
a few unknowns...and I've made crosses on all of them! Such indescriminate
crossing may not lead to any exciting "breakthroughs" but I don't care!
I'm having too much fun. (I *am* making a point of crossing rebloomers
with rebloomers, near blacks with near blacks, and near greens with near
greens...but other than that....just whatever blooms & gives pollen)
This morning I sat in envy of one of those big black & yellow fuzzy
bumblebees as it effortlessly flew from iris to iris climbing down inside
each flower. If only we could train them to do all our dirty work for us!
"Mr. Bumblebee, go cross KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS with MAYA MINT, and then report
back to me for your next duty!"
I must have made at least 50 crosses already...and none of the TB's or the
beardless irises have even started blooming yet. (My versicolors should
put on a grand show!) So I've got hundreds more irises to play
with...hooray!
I'm starting to understand what you folks mean about "proper weather for
hybridizing". This morning it was cold & wet, and the pollen was hard to
work with. Now the sun is beating down and it's scorching hot. Better for
the pollen, worse for the pollen dauber!
Dennis Kramb; dkramb@tso.cin.ix.net
Cincinnati, Ohio USA; USDA Zone 6; AIS Region 6
Member of AIS, ASI, HIPS, SIGNA, SLI, & Miami Valley Iris Society
Primary Interests: ABs, REBs, LAs, Native Ohio SPEC and SPEC-X hybrids
(Check out my web page at http://www.badbear.com/dkramb/home.html)
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