Re: Are they all REALLY different? Well, yes!

In a message dated 8/16/2007 8:45:51 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
flatnflashy@yahoo.com writes:

<<it may not be such a good thing for the iris market to be  filled up with 
irises that all look the same no matter how well they meet the  standard or 
contribute genetically.>>
 
Please keep in mind that there are desirable qualities other than color and  
form.  
 
An iris friend (hybridizer) and I were recently discussing our shared  
fondness of wide fans that stand tall and actually fan out, with the side fans  
nearly touching the soil.  This is but one of the goals being pursued in  iris 
breeding.  
 
Genetically speaking, each and every iris is different.  Even the  siblings 
that "look" exactly alike are different.
 
I think it's a part of the human condition to want to improve on our  
favorites.  Find the fault as it presents in our garden and try to fix  it.  Give 
Song of Norway more modern form (the only fault as I see it,)  give Edith Wolford 
& Beverly Sills better soil adaptability, improve  the bud count on Dusky 
Challenger. (Dusky disclaimer at the bottom) 
 
Goals other than color and form being sought include the  following:
Height (either taller or shorter)
branching
bud count
multiple buds in each socket
bloom season
bloom sequence
foliage
season extensions, including but not limited to rebloom
(anyone working on winter plant dormancy?)  
 
Goals in bloom development include:
form
petal size
petal configurations . . . ruffles, lace, tailored, etc..
beard color

beard size (width and length)
beard protrusions (space age) 
hafts
haft marks & length of haft marks
standards: domed, open well held, open-floppy
falls: horizontal, flared, or droopy
 
Then you have the different bloom types: 
selfs
amoenas
bi-tones
bi-colored
variegata 
plicatas
plicata sub groups: zonals, glaciatas, luminatas, etc., etc..
 
Then there are special groups:
space age (various types)
broken colors (all different) 
 
As extensive as this list is, I must have missed several things.  To  many 
people, they all look alike, yet none share all of the characteristics I've  
listed.  
 
If the original poster is still reading, I'd suggest she begin her iris  
collection with a couple of AM collections, or an AM collection and a Dykes  
collection.  Although some of us see major faults in some of the award  winners, 
this is probably the best way to establish a good and varied collection  at a 
decent price. As time passes, you will develop your own favorites  among the 
lists I've presented.  
 
DUSKY CHALLENGER:  
Some people/judges (critics) have said this iris does not have enough  buds.  
In my garden, south central KY, this gorgeous iris shows an amazing  
variation.  I can't say with any certainty what causes the  variation.  Some stalks 
have seven buds.  These stalks  present a lovely stalk.  When the stalk only 
presents four buds, this  iris is impossible (almost) to beat.  The blooms will 
be huge and the  color saturation is deeper.  This is how it looked the day it 
won "Best  Specimen of Show" for me.  
 
 

________________________________________________________
Betty W.  in South-central KY Zone 6 ---If you don't cross them, you can't 
plant them!  
Bridge In Time Iris Garden@website:
Some seedlings planted and some still  in the pots! 
_www.thegardensite.com/irises/bridgeintime/_ 
(http://www.thegardensite.com/irises/bridgeintime/) 
_Reblooming Iris - Home Page_ (http://www.rebloomingiris.com/)  
_iris-photos archives_ (http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/)  
_iris-talk archives_ (http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/)  
_AIS: American Iris Society website_ (http://www.irises.org/)   






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