HYB: CULT: working with historics & unknowns & germination (was OT: Bio)

Welcome to the group, Debra.
My growing season is longer than yours, but like you, I've been trying to speed up time to first bloom by refrigerating seeds to get earlier indoor germination. And like you, I've had seeds start to sprout in the fridge, then just sit there and not do anything. Sometimes, it takes up to two weeks to break ground, if they come up at all. But some never do - at higher temperatures (i.e., 70oF+), I think they are inclined to rot. Or maybe it's just the particular crosses were puny or more sensitive to temperature - never did the comparison experiments to find out.
I posted a series of photos a while ago showing some seeds germinated in the fridge, moved to germination pot, & now they are up, so will post a follow up.
I also enjoy experimenting with unknowns and historics. Some historics crossed with modern produce very nice intermediate traits, some produce babies with older form than their older parents. I grow one particularly nice brown/bronze/gold blend unknown that looks like it's probably a 70s introduction and so far, everything I've crossed it with has produced seedlings that look like they come from the 30s. Or earlier. Color and substance is cleaner/stronger than that era, but form, bloom size, stalk traits are really retro. I haven't completely given up yet - one last batch of seedlings to grow on, but probably no more wasting time with that one. I'll just continue to grow it and enjoy it.
I'm slowly working towards rebloom, using IMMORTALITY a lot, and it also tends to produce a lot of retro/median looking seedlings, but every now and then it will nick well with something and produce really nice blooms. If I ever figure out how to guess from pedigrees which mates will work well in crosses with older things to get what I want, I will be sure to let everybody know! 

Best of luck, Debra.

<Most of the iris I have to work with are
unidentified. I'm experimenting with crosses of historics x moderns.>

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.DiscoverET.org/etis>
Region 7, Kentucky-Tennessee <http://www.aisregion7.org>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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