Retro Hybridizing,wind tunnel varieties

It was just a question of time before the idea of breeding historics came up.
It perhaps is the equivalent of the David Austin roses. Anyone interested in
doing this doesn't need to go to the varieties of the 50's and 60's. My
seedling beds produce these forms in abundance. Supreme Sultan, Twist of
Fate, Busy Being Blue are three that come to mind as producers of the
tailored form. After looking over the 1996 registrations there is a great
abundance of registrations from areas in the former Soviet Union which employ
20, 30 and 40 year old varieties as parents. I understand that several of
these post Soviet hybridizers are looking for distributors. Is there some
commercial garden out there waiting to jump on this potental sales bonanza? 

You folks in the windy states do have a problem and your hybridizers are
rising to the challenge. I would make two comments regarding varieties for
your gardens. First, many registrations do not reach their registered height
outside their home gardens (if there). Second, remember that iris need the
substance of the willow tree rather than the oak tree. There term "substance"
should be replaced with "durability". (I had quite a heated exchange about
this with someone whom I suspect was responsible for the use of the word
"substance" in the Judges Handbook at a judges' trainging session. I think we
provided quite a lot of entertainment for a bit.) Thick substanced flowers
may have little durability, snapping in the first wind, while thinner
substanced flowers with flexible petals will look good as new when the wind
has passed. All the same I know you folks in the windy areas will not
begrudge me my four foot tall, multiple branched, multiply budded, heavily
ruffled and laced and generously horned, spoonded or flounced varieties if
they grow well in my garden!
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