HYB:Seedling Vigor

I have seen some post about crosses of  parents that do not grow for them.
Crosses made with one or both parents that perform badly for them. Yet  most
seedlings they get have good vigor.
Could this be a survival of the fittest thing? In my limited experience I have
only used vigorous parents. Almost all of my seedlings that survive past 2"
tall have good vigor.

In the past I have had very poor germination. This year it was about 40%. I
had 4 or 5 seedlings that did not grow and likely will be dead by spring.
Could it be only the vigorous ones germinate and grow?

I pot my seedlings in 4" pots, one to a pot, in May. I do use liquid
fertilizer every two weeks. By late July when they are lined out most are
showing increase. Some are showing increase on the increases by October.

The ones that have bloomed and have saved for one reason or another are dug. I
then line these out. They do not show the vigor they did as seedlings. Most
have good vigor but not like their first year.

I am thinking this is because of the amount of fertilization they are
getting.The information I am getting: nitrogen causes rot; fertilize lightly
or not at all; generally heavy fertilization  is bad for bearded iris.

In the past ( before my computer) I had iris growing next to other flowers
that were heavily fertilized. They had super increase and huge rhizomes and no
rot. They did not bloom great even in full sun.

Just Thinking

Mike Greenfield
Zone 5b SW Ohio

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