HYB: inheritance of vigor..

I've been reaping the benefit of Sharon Mc being frozen as the jet
stream has given us the opposite weather - more like March here.  Cold
at night but sunny and pleasant during the day.  Out weeding and working
(again/still) on plant labels, getting the notebook more or less up to
date, and taking notes on last year's seedlings.

The vigor of last year's surviving seedlings sure is variable.  By vigor
I mean both health, resistance to weather ups and downs, and how much
they've grown so far.  LIGHTNING RIDGE is one of the most durable,
reliable bloomers here.  I can't remember a single year it hasn't
bloomed since I got it more than 20 (??) yrs ago.  Its seedlings are
pathetic - the smallest of the crop, and not all that healthy looking.
They may just be slow growers, but I am really disappointed.

HARVEST OF MEMORIES is a wonderfully tough, super healthy, fairly fast
growing iris here, but many of the crosses I made with it have produced
average children.  Lloyd Z tells me HOM was an exceptional seedling in a
crop of so so babies, but I'm surprised that the health of its children
isn't better.  An exception - several seedlings from FEED BACK are
almost comparable to HOM in enthusiasm and health.

ART DECO produced 3 bloomstalks its first year here and set several
pods, hates it here and has nearly died.  Crossed with UNDERSTUDY, one
of the healthiest, tho slower growing irises here, seedlings are some of
the most vigorous, healthy ones of the crop.

The best looking seedlings of the lot are from TEA LEAVES, a reliable
moderately healthy performer here, and PEACH SPOT, barely hanging on to
life, surprising that it bloomed at all, and even more surprising that
it made viable pollen.  It produced one stunted stalk with one flower.
Only 4 or 5 seedlings from this cross germinated, but the plants beat
anything in the garden.

So much for crossing the 'best' with 'best' as far as vigor and health
goes.  Just as KK, Neil, Tom Parkhill, Walter Moores have been telling
me all along, genetics are so scrambled in modern TBs, you never know
for sure what will come from any given cross.

No wisdom gained from these experiments, but considerable humility
added.....
--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
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online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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