Re: Old Hybridizers' Tales
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Old Hybridizers' Tales
- From: "* A* M* <w*@Ra.MsState.Edu>
- Date: Sun, 5 Jan 1997 13:43:35 -0700 (MST)
Back during the bi-centennial year of 1976, I had irises blooming
during June and July. Our club meeting in Ft. Worth was like July 3 and I
wanted to bring an arrangement to the meeting. Well, I had several whites
and blues in bloom but no red. I needed a red to fit the patriotic theme.
So, I bought a bottle of red food coloring and placed some of it in a
container with a white iris. Voila! A veined pink iris! More red
coloring dropped in the bottle didn't add to the redness, but I decided to
use the veined pink anyway in the arrangement. I took it to the meeting
and did it ever get attention, particularly the veined pink. A lady who
knew I hybridized asked me the name of the pink iris. I told her it was
CAKE COLOR. She said she would get me $50 for a rhizome! I had a hard
time convincing her how the pink iris came about.
I have fooled with food coloring several times since but always
got a pale over-all color always with deep, deep veining of whatever color
I was using. I used just white irises...never occurred to me to try this
with a plic.
Walter Moores,
Enid Lake, MS
