Re: HYB: First Crosses

I think that's a good idea. I will limit myself primarily to strongly fragrant parents. I'm thinking I will try to cross each iris I have that has a strong, pleasant odor (in my judgement). I will only cross those that have low scent (with a high scent iris) if they have some other desirable trait that I'd like include in a fragrant seedling.
I don't have so many TB irises yet (maybe around 120 varieties). Limiting myself to these fragrant ones will make my decisions much easier. 

-Matt

On Dec 7, 2006, at 11:03 PM, christian foster wrote:


Matt,
Let me add COUNTRY SKY to the list of stinkers, however I got the idea your question was more about logistics than stinkers.
If you want to limit the number of seeds you get the best way is to limit your crosses. If you want to limit your crosses and you have a very specific goal like fragrance then use strictly stinkers as your parents. If you want stinkers the last thing you want to do is clutter up your beds with non-stinkers- even if they have smelly parents.
If you have really good self control you could limit yourself to say 100 crosses a year, average 30 seeds a pod, adjusted for crosses that don't take, you might be able to keep your annual seed effort down to 1000 seeds or so. I'm guessing that stinking can be evaluated in the maiden bloom so you wouldn't have to hold seedlings past that for evaluation. Or you might try only making crosses every other year...
I think if you devise a system for planning and tracking your crosses you will become less overwhelmed with your options. After all, you can't cross anything that isn't already growing in your garden, or your buddy's garden, so there's no point in worrying about what that potential parent may contribute til you get it. 

  christian
  ky
Matthew Booker <apetala2@yahoo.com> wrote:
  On another note, I am considering doing my first crosses next year.
However, I'm a little bit overwhelmed with where I should start.

I understand the morphology of the flower well, so I know exactly
where it to the pollen and such. That doesn't scare me.

I understand genetics pretty well. I'd better: I work in the genetics
department of a major medical school. That doesn't scare me.

It's just the number of choices I have in deciding to cross what to
what. That's what scares me. I need to be somewhat judicious in my
decisions as I do not have huge amounts of space. I'd like some
feedback as to what are the best things to consider when making these
decisions.

I've already decided that I am going to concentrate on fragrance.
I've always loved the smell of fragrant irises. I will also pay
attention to the overall vigor and blooming consistency of the
parents. I realize this is very climate-specific, but I can only feel
confident about things that grow well for me.

Finally, does anyone know a good reference regarding iris genetics?
There's been talk on this about the plicata gene and its alleles. Are
there other iris genes that are well-characterized (or at least
somewhat characterized)?

-Matt Booker
Melrose, Massachusetts
Zone 6

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