HYB - TB: Reg. 7 Irisarian Reprints #4

> The articles from the "Irisarian"  are long so they should come in
> increments of one or two........  I will  tag them as Reg 7 Reprints and
> see how long it takes..........  If one is not interested..........  hit
> the "delete" key.
> 
> A series of articles reprinted from the Region 7 IRISARIAN with myself as
> Editor in 1990-91.  [Gary Sides--Jan. 1998:  Posted to Iris-L]
> 

RAINBOW'S END
Ed Roberts     Frankfort, KY
	    
It was in the year 1950 that I registered my first seedling, ENCHANTED
ISLE.  That, I know, was a long time ago, but to me it seems like only
yesterday.  Now, after 40 years of hybridizing, I still love to walk down
the rows of seedlings and see the new ones the Master has painted.
	    
I have been a tough critic of my seedlings (that's the way it should be). 
Grow some of the new irises from other hybridizers in the colors you are
working with, and in this way you can compare your work.
	    
Things you look for in your seedlings are eye appeal, set a stalk of the
seedling before yourself and take a long critical look, then ask yourself,
"Would I pay $35 for this?"  Look for branching and bud count and how about
big ruffled flowers with good width of falls and nice domed standards, but
don't forget good substance and good growth.

I make about 60 crosses a year, and end up with 25 pods or so.  In 1989, I
made 68 crosses and got only 7 pods, but if you recall, 1989 was a very
poor year with all the cold and rain.
	    
For years I tried to improve on the red irises by crossing the Tompkins and
Schreiner lines and I have to say, there were some good red seedlings that
came my way.  I have a seedling from 1977 that is as good as any of the
Schreiner reds that are on the market today.  It is a cross of Vitafire X
#712: (King Mountain x Royal Ruby).  I gave up on the reds 7 years ago. 
But two years ago, I took another look at them, and I think now that a true
red can be had by crossing the tangerine bearded iris into the reds.  I
started by crossing Far Corners into my old red line.  Dutch Magic is
another I put into my reds.  In 1989, one came out a good red color with
bright red beards, but the form was poor, and the substance was soft.  I
will try to work JOLT, FAME or PULSAR into this line and see what happens.
	    
Some seedlings of interest are:  CONDOTTIERE X MAGIC MAN, gave neglectas
with S. light blue; F. soft lavender to dark pansy violet, the beards of
most were red to tangerine.  One big wide beauty is now SYMBOL OF PRIDE. 
SPECULATOR X FAR CORNERS, most were yellow, but #889 was deep peach with
the SPECULATOR form, and fine lace on all petals, even the styles with
orange-red beards.  VISUAL ARTS X POST TIME, there were nine seedlings from
this cross, all very good, two were outstanding, one was a rich dark
magenta with S. and F. edged in dark brown lace, the hafts brown with brown
beards tipped magenta with the form of VISUAL ARTS.  The #2 seedling is
more on the lighter side of magenta, only the tips of the S. and F. have
the brown lace.  These two will stand out in any garden.  There are many
other fine seedlings like the rich blues from RUFFLED BALLET X FIVE STAR 
ADMIRAL; whites from POWDER SNOW X LACY SNOWFLAKE; amoenas from LOVE CHANT
X PEACH SPOT; I could go on and on.
	    
Let me say, if you want some great seedlings, make some crosses with
CARRIAGE TRADE.  This iris is heavy with the CUP RACE line.  Take a look at
SILVERADO and WINTERSCAPE, just to name two from this great iris.
	    
In the coming years, I will do a lot of work with iris that carry the Paul
Cook line of breeding.  I hope to have whites with blue halos, whites with
pink rims, and so on.  I now have a large white seedling from STAR WARS X
CONDOTTIERE that has a bright blue rim on the falls.  This is only the
beginning.  So, wish me luck!


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Gary D. Sides   Nashville, TN  USDA 6/7   gdsides@ccast.com
TB Iris Rebloom is Up and Coming!   Got any?  Want some?
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