Re: HYB:Pod parents (care and feeding)

Hmm, spontaneous abortions do occur, but there are drug addicts out there who's bodys are probably poorly nourished... and they don't always abort... some maybe even go full term (?)
   
  I think you're right that the pod is 'done' making seeds by not later than four weeks post cross, regardless of the nourishment after that point.
   
  I've been thinking of this, 'what is the pod doing' question for a while.  What makes sense to me is that the pod on an iris functions in a similar manner to an apple or more closely a pomegranate.  So, the way I have it figgered... after about four weeks (maybe as little as two weeks) the seeds are 'made'.  I suspect that some of the germination inhibitors may be being manufactured in the remaining weeks, but that's a hypothesis.  
   
  Once the seed is made the pod itself functions primarily as a delivery vehicle.  We don't consider the pod to be attractive to eat but perhaps once upon a when it was a favorite of some species, lets just say a racoon.  So Mr. Racoon likes iris pods and comes along and picks a pod to eat.  He may pick it in the first four weeks and if he eats it it will be bitter and he may not finish it, he leaves it on the ground somewhere.  A couple weeks later he comes along and picks a pod that's just right ripe, tastes like he wants it to, he has a few more and after due course, he drops the seeds somewhere.  A couple weeks later, Mr. Racoon has lost interest in the iris pods and they mature, break open and scatter seed at the feet of their parent plants.
   
  I figger it's in the best interest of continuation of the species for the seed in all those pods to be viable seed.  Those seeds which are spread around by Mr. Racoon may even have the advantage of not having to compete with their own parents for room to grow.  I figger that the only difference is that those that mature in the pod on the parent plant are timed exactly right for a specific climactic condition.  If their native season is comparable to mine... or Linda's, those seed fall on the ground and have several weeks of the hottest summer to dry out before the 'rainy' season of fall hits... which naturally is followed by spring......
   
  So far I have don't have enough data to support the idea that earlier harvested seeds are more or less viable or more likely to germ before winter....
   
  Christian
  ky 

Autmirislvr@aol.com wrote:
    To take it to a human level . . . spontaneous abortion is not uncommon. Why 
couldn't it happen in iris seed? 
   
  

During maturation of the seed, that is the iris plants main focus/job. 
Experience with iris seed tells me that viable seed are produced within the first 
few weeks after pollination . . . probably 4 weeks. 

Back in 1990 we had a very wet spring. Pods were rotting on the stalks. 
Slimy pods were everywhere. One pod (Orange Empire) was on my work bench for a 
long time. Notes say I almost threw it away. Finally I put the pod, which 
had disintegrated into a pile of slime, with seed (both still green) in a 
sieve and hosed off all the SLIME. Let the seed dry. Nine of the seed sprouted 
the following spring.

Years before I started with irises, I was an avid organic gardener, and 
subscriber of gardening magazines. I read everything published on seed 
production. Maybe the things I read were in error.

<<< Secondly I have never babied a plant with a pod on it and have had pods 
with as many as 60+ seeds. And you will notice that some of your seeds are 
less fat than others...as constrained by the size of the pod. A fertile 
seed is a fertile seed is a fertile seed. However, I think that the availiable 
nutrients may affect the size of the seeds which may affect sprout vigor. 
If that were true then babying the pod parent would possibly be worth while.>>

Christian, I too have had pods that produce 60+ seed. But some times they 
can fool you. A huge pod will produce 10 seed and a small pod will produce 
35-60. Usually that large pod is all pod with thick walls while the small one 
had thin but tough walls. 

<the parent can support. >>>

Let's say for instance that a bloom sets 60 seed in the pod and they start 
to mature, but a few days into maturation something happens! Let's say the 
last rain was weeks before the pod set, and the temperatures soar into the 
upper 90's. This is what happened this year. 

The plant has no energy, no reserve to mature the 60 seed. Perhaps the 
nutrients are in the ground but can not be released due to the lack of moisture. 
What then? Does the plant simply abort the entire pod? Some do. Is it 
possible that the pod/plant aborts some thus saving some? I really don't know. 

But I found pods with evidence of aborted seed (still in the pod) along with 
mature seed. Of course, it's not the first time. And maybe something else 
went wrong with the aborted seed. I'm simply offering this as one possibility. 
Again, I'm not a scientist. 

But I believe my seed harvest will be enhanced by having plants that are in 
optimum condition from bloom thru seed pod harvest. 




Betty W. in South-central KY Zone 6
Bridge In Time Iris Garden@website:
_www.thegardensite.com/irises/bridgeintime/_ 
(http://www.thegardensite.com/irises/bridgeintime/) 
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