Re: Rebloomers and Rot (Was IMMORTALITY)
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Rebloomers and Rot (Was IMMORTALITY)
- From: m*@tricities.net (Mike Lowe)
- Date: Sun, 16 Feb 1997 12:29:03 -0700 (MST)
'Autumn King' was the first tetraploid iris hybridized and introduced as a
remontant. It provided a foundation for early hybridizers working for
remontancy. G. Percy Brown's entire line had Autumn King lines through
'Autumn Twilight' and 'September Sparkler.' Frank Jones' line traces back
through G. P. Brown cultivars to 'Autumn King.'
While the Autumn King line is not as widely spread as the Rameses/King Tut
reblooming foundation, the Autumn King linage seems to produce rebloomers
that remont early and reliably. Whether or not 'Autumn King' is
responsible, empirical evidence suggest that reblooming lines founded on
this iris share several traits, ie.:
* shortness * resistance to leaf spot
* narrow hafts * pendulous, drooping falls
* resistance to soft and botrytris rot
* resistance to crown rot * moderate bud count
* prominent haft markings * poor branching
* ability to continue blooming and reblooming without frequent
division
and resetting.
In iris breeding as in life, there are trade-offs. At least in the breeding
of iris you can choose the downers!
Cheers,
Mike, mikelowe@tricities.net -- http://www.tricities.net/~mikelowe/
South Central Virginia, USA
