Re: Iris Breeding
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Iris Breeding
- From: S* M* <7*@CompuServe.COM>
- Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 12:35:19 -0700 (MST)
Clarence Mahan wrote:
: The chances
: for vigor (and remontancy) are greater with selective "out breeding." Hybrid
: vigor, etc.
Right! With emphasis on SELECTIVE.
Expanding the gene pool is important, but outbreeding for its own sake is not
the answer. I've obtained some very nice things from crosses between my own
seedlings and iris from different hybridizers, as well as from crosses between
two different hybridizers' varieties -- but I've also discarded MANY lines from
which I could not breed out an undesirable trait that had come from an outcross.
For example, I crossed one of my most gardenable arilbreds with west coast
arilbred known for its impressive flower & suicidal tendencies -- hoping for
spectacular flowers on gardenable plants. What I got was almost a hundred
seedlings with flowers like that of the gardenable parent and growth
characteristics of the other one. I tossed the surviving seedlings, of course
-- but at least I got some ideas for further experiments....
Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compuserve.com
