Re: Re: HYB: Rebloom

----- Original Message -----
Do I understand that no one is willing to introduce anything until they achieve this ultimate goal of "modern/Decedance form" and rebloom??Which zones?? 

Betty Wilkerson/Bridge In Time/KY/zone 6 . . . talking about it.? >
Betty -- I'll be introducing five irises this year through Winterberry Gardens, four TBs and a BB. Just one of them is a rebloomer. None is of "Decadence form". They are: 

POOH'S DREAM (Winesap X Opportunity), TB
ALLELUIA (Sldgs involving Spirit of Memphis, Wabash and Congo Song X Saturday Night Live), TB THAT CERTAIN SOMETHING (Robe of Royalty, Chief Quinaby, Dusky Dancer, Wabash), TB 
PETITE VIOLETTE (Summer Olympics x Lumalite), BB
STEALTH FIGHTER (Titan's Glory x G95W2:(Holy Night x Sweeter Than Wine), TB & RE
All of these are modern form, of course, but not of the "Decadence" style. If you check the Registrations, you'll see that they've all been registered for 5 or more years. So, why have they not been introduced earlier? Because, with the exception of Petite Violette, they have all been slow to mature or slow to increase. So, why are they being introduced now? The short answer is: Because people like them. The longer answer is that, in addition, each of them has a uniqueness. With early-blooming Alleluia, it's the color -- just right for Easter. Pooh's Dream is also the color -- big, tailored and blending light and dark honey tones. That Certain Something has a rare texture, something like suede, with a color that Keith Keppel described as "smoky plum". Stealth Fighter, a deep purple with flaring near-black velvet falls, has repeat-bloomed once, in addition to reblooming in the fall. I don't think there are too many near-black velvets in the reblooming ranks.
As Ginny Spoon and I discussed which cultivars to introduce, I hesitated on Pooh's Dream, specifically because its flower form is not the latest fashion. Maybe, I said, its time is past. But we agreed, in the end, that, if it were not introduced now, a handsome flower would never see the market. 

So, there you are  --  full disclosure, as the media types like to say.
I should add (full disclosure) that, although the rest have been good increasers once they matured, I have found That Certain Something hard to grow here in my own garden. It grows better at Winterberry than here in its home territory. I'm at sea level. Winterberry is in the mountains. Its sibling, BULBUL AMEER, is also hard for me to grow, but Anita Moran tells me it's doing fine at her place in hilly Maryland. Maybe the climate is the difference.
By the way, look at the potential rebloom genes in Pooh's Dream, Alleluia and Petite Violette. I haven't tried exploiting them yet. Some of you who have them might think about it, if you're so inclined.
So, Betty, some of us are willing to introduce irises that aren't of the latest fashion, but that we think have a particular merit. I hope our numbers don't decrease, because I, for one, prize variety. -- Griff 

Zone 7 along the tidal Potomac near Mount Vernon, in Virginia

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