Re: Re: CULT: Adaptability of Irises

From: Haggstroms <hagg@alaska.net>

Sandy Ives wrote:
> Interesting concerning the Kasperek/Ensminger lines.
> We have had various Ensminger broken colour cultivars and have had mixed results
> at best.  Maria Tormena has been his best so far in Ottawa; we lost the first
> plant to borer and the second has been slow to increase.  Maureen likes Very
> Varied, but we haven't had it really that long.  All and all, I find all to be
> finicky, if not outright tender.
> The Kasperek cultivars have been much stronger.  Tiger Honey has performed
> exceptionally well in our garden and Nigerian Raspberry (I believe) was so
> strong and garish in Ian Efford's garden that he might try to pawn it off on us
> We planted six in a commercial garden outside the city.  Our intention is to self
> these cultivars (as per Don Spoon's AIS article of last April (?)).  Therefore,
> we should have a very good picture in a few years regarding the line breeding
> problems of his broken colour plants.
> Walter Moores mentioned that Keppel's Sneezy failed the first winter (MS).
> While it did survive in Ottawa and it did have a lovely bloom, it was not in
> class; more a border bearded than anything else.

While I have nothing informative to add, I just wanted to say this thread is
interesting in that it has been following a certain line of Bearded,
discussing its strong and weak points. Being fairly unknowledgeable I had to go to
an Iris book when talk got around to problems in line breeding. I find I have been
learning a lot more by the discussion of the supposed weaknesses, because it is, in
effect, redirecting my thinking in a practical way, in much the way a case history
does.

 I'm kind of glad people are willing to discuss weaknesses of plants they like as
well as promote them, as I think one can do both, even with a single cultivar, with
no disrespect . Of course, I'm referring also to another thorny-issue specimen, the
subject of which is surprising me in its intensity, but potentially has real value
in guiding all who seek to hybridize. I kind of wish that subject could be discussed
a little more fully, without fear of  being shouted at, as I think there is a lot to
learn from an illustrious specimen that is proving so variable country-wide.

Because I have an interest in the issue itself, not the cultivar (I've seen only one
Bearded in my life) I was looking in the Archives to see where it performs well and
poorly, and for what reasons. I came up with some rough conclusions (I'm not
proficient in searching the archives - it takes me forever. There is a lot of great
stuff there. I kept getting sidetracked.), but I still have a lot more to wade
through. So far, it does seem to suffer from several big variables (discounting
personal taste) - regionalism and temperatures.

Please forgive this observation if it is an ill-informed one (I'm sort of in over my
head), but "Thornbird " seems to suffer some of the same problems as was being
ascribed to certain of the Ensminger line,  that perhaps both are stepping-stone
plants that have not yet had certain weaknesses bred out of them (or perhaps, better
adaptability built into them), and thus aren't at the pinnacle of their style line.
Where does the responsibility lie in recognizing and honoring such "new"  looks and
lines, I wonder?  I also found a  pattern of written shouting directed toward any
who seriously critiqued the cultivar, which is most unfortunate, and probably means
this issue can't be given a serious look-at on the list.

One other little note: I. setosa seem to echo many Bearded variations, and I assume
most of the beardless iris do the same, and is probably more a matter of genetics
common to flowering plants rather than specific iris characteristics. A  setosa
platyrhyncha I  have (a form which has rudimentary standards, normally shrunken in
setosa), produces flowers with horns where the beard would normally sit on a
Bearded  from time to time. I assume they're produced by the same cell tissue? in
both. This flower could not be accused of being lovely - in fact, what with the
small, mottled horizontal-lying standards, and the random shaped protrusions from
its throat, it looks a mess. I'm assuming the same genetic factors gave rise to the
"Thornbird" line, as the horns on this setosa are indeed fickle.

Where my personal interest lies is  I'm having fears of eventually producing the
"ThornDog" of the north, and having to confront my Frankenstein in gardens all over
Alaska - exquisite and delightful in some, homely and lifeless in others. I'm hoping
I'm not the only one who has nightmares of such a scenario .

Kathy Haggstrom
Anchorage, AK USA




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------

Finding a sweetheart is hard work. Shopping for one shouldn't be.
Click here for Valentine Surprises.
<a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/SparksValentine5 ">Click Here</a>

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index