Re: HYB - TB: Reg. 7 Irisarian Reprints #1

great articles, please continue them and thanks for sharing.

Dorothy in Albuquerque
gordon@nmhu.campus.mci.net
----------
> From: Gary D. Sides <gdsides@ccast.com>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <iris-l@rt66.com>
> Subject: HYB - TB:  Reg. 7 Irisarian Reprints #1
> Date: Thursday, January 01, 1998 9:09 PM
> 
> 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]
> 
> BEGINNER'S LUCK
> Al Roderick     Farmington, Missouri
> 
> Excitement starts at sunrise when you're a pollen dauber.  From the time
> you see the bloom stalks swell in the foliage until the last bloom folds,
> its a thrill.  Each morning, I can hardly wait to get in the seedling
patch
> to see what surprises Mother Nature has in store for me.
> 	   
>  My purpose in hybridizing is to enjoy the fun and excitement of creating
> something new and to improve the species.  I do not go about it
> scientifically, only the mental and visual expectations from selected
> parents.  I keep exact breeding records and have developed breeding lines
> in blue, yellow and pink.  Although plicatas have always been my
favorites,
> I have never made any plicata crosses.  Perhaps I will, now that I have
the
> time and space to expand my hybridizing program.
> 	    
> I am presently only working with tall bearded and border bearded.  In
past
> years, I averaged growing about 250 to 500 seedlings because of the
limited
> time to make the crosses and limited space to grow them.  It is not
> necessary to grow thousands of seedlings to get results from your
efforts. 
> It only takes one cross to produce that "Dykes" winner.  My first crosses
> were made in 1970 and from those, I introduced RUFFLED BALLET, MOODY BLUE
> and MELLOW YELLOW in 1975 with a total of 21 introductions to date.  (Ed.
> note--RUFFLED BALLET won the "Dykes" in 1983.)
> 	    
> My advice to anyone who is considering hybridizing is to first decide on
a
> goal.  What do you want to accomplish or work toward?  You can then
direct
> your efforts in that direction.  That will also determine to a large
degree
> which varieties you cross and which seedlings you select to keep and work
> with.  For a small hybridizer, it's impossible to work with everything. 
> You may want to work with blacks, pinks with blue beards, reds, plicatas,
> improve o existing colors, work with other types such as medians,
standard
> dwarfs, etc.  Regardless which area you work with, there will be many
> surprises along the way.  Even after you set your goal, it may be
illusive
> or you may get sidetracked after you see which direction your hybridizing
> takes you.  
> 
> How you select parentage will be the most important decisions of your
> hybridizing career.  It will determine your success or failure and
whether
> you continue or loose interest.  Use the very newest varieties available
to
> start.  Tremendous advancements have been made in the last 10 years and
if
> you start with varieties that are 20 years old, your seedlings will be 20
> years behind already.  Keep in mind that before a variety is introduced,
it
> is already five years old and has already produced seedlings for its
> hybridizer.  However, there are exceptions.  Some of the older varieties,
> used with the right partners, produce excellent seedlings of modern type.

> I still use RUFFLED BALLET and SHEER POETRY as they both pass on those
wide
> hafts and ruffles which are so popular today.
> 	   
>  So how do you decide on parents?  Keep in mind the standard of today's
> introductions.  Visit other hybridizers gardens and seedlings to see what
> is already being produced.  Compare your seedlings.  You may go home and
> start over.  Since wide ruffled falls are popular, I do not use varieties
> that are narrow at the haft and are tailored.  I try to select parents
that
> have good branching and bud count, although that may not always show up
in
> an excellent seedling.  Select varieties that have good substance that
will
> hold up in adverse weather conditions and will not fade in hot sun.  Use
> varieties that are hardy and grow good in your area and do not have to be
> pampered to get good results.  These traits are easily passed on to
> seedlings both good and bad.  For an example, many of the California
> hybridized varieties do not grow well here in the midwest and are not
> reliably hardy.  Our winters are harsh with fluctuating temperatures and
no
> snow cover.  Unless you cross them with hardy varieties, your seedlings
may
> lack the vigor to pull them thru the winter without protection.  I do not
> cuddle seedlings but let nature eliminate the weak ones for me.  Do not
> select two parents with the same fault, such as floppy standards, poor
> branching, narrow falls or poor substance, etc.  That will usually
compound
> the fault and will usually be difficult to overcome.  If you do select a
> parent with an obvious fault, cross it with a variety that is strong in
> that particular area and hope the good characteristic will be strong
enough
> to express itself in the seedlings.
> 	    
> Do not expect to reach your goal in the first generation of seedlings,
> although if you use the right parents, you may get excellent results with
> your first crosses.  You may need to cross seedlings 
> together or cross them back to the parents in order to advance your goal.

> The genetic pool of todays iris is so complex, I would venture to say
that
> it would be almost impossible to predict the outcome of a particular
cross.
>     
> 
> I would not throw away the best seedlings from a particular cross even
> though they were not introduction material.  If they are from two good
> parents, they contain the genetic background of both parents and have the
> potential to throw the best characteristics of either parent if they are
> crossed with each other.  Don't be afraid to repeat a cross.  A cross can
> be made a hundred times and all the seedlings will be genetically
different
> even if they resemble each other.	    
> 
> I like to make my crosses from 10 am to noon before the pollen dries.  I
> use only freshly open blooms and cross both ways, all the flowers that
are
> open.  I mark the cross with a string tag with the pollen parent only. 
If
> the cross is successful, I record the pod parent when I pick the pod.  I
> break off the standards and falls of the pollinated bloom when it starts
to
> fold to help prevent rot if the pod develops.  I also strip away all
> foliage from the stalk so surplus water will not catch in the leaves and
> rot the stalk.  I also stake the stalk to prevent wind damage. 
Established
> plants usually set seed better than first year plants.  First year plants
> will usually not grow off as vigorously if seed pods are set on them.
> 	    
> Sometimes even if you do everything right, you are still doomed for
> failure.  Several years ago, I had planned to make a particular cross for
> some time but something always prevented me from getting a good pod.  The
> cross didn't take, season too wet, pod would rot on the stalk, always
> something.  Finally one season I did manage to get a nice big pod to form
> and grow on the very top of the stalk.  Mid-June came, the baseball
season
> started and a neighbor teenager who lived up the street came down to play
> catch with our son Greg.  After a while, his mother called him home.  The
> shortest route was through the iris garden.  When Doug passed the iris
> stalk with that big pod perched on top of it, he automatically reached
> down, with no hesitation, picked it off and sent it flying through the
air,
> never realizing what he had done.  I didn't have the heart to tell him
and
> decided to give up on that particular cross.  The pod was never found. 
> Such is the life of a hybridizer!
> 
> Remove the pods when they start to split, usually in late July or early
> August.  The seeds are shelled out of the pod and let dry in an open
> container for about a week and then stored in envelopes at room
temperature
> until late October when they are planted outside in open ground about an
> inch deep.  Bricks or boards are placed over the rows and left on until
> germination starts in early spring, usually about mid-March.  When the
> seedlings are about six inches tall, they are transplanted in the garden
in
> rows.  I try to get them transplanted by June 1st before the spring rains
> stop.  It's important to keep them growing vigorously thru the summer
> because usually all those that show increase by fall will bloom the
> following spring which will usually be about 50 to 60%.  After two years,
> all seedlings are discarded except those selected, even those that did
not
> bloom because usually they are not vigorous enough to keep.	    
> 
> In seedling selection, I look for improvements over the parents,
> uniqueness, something different, color, progress towards my goal, even
> slight.  I am very selective in the seedling patch.  Those that are
> selected are lined out and grown for at least two more seasons before
final
> selection.  Seedlings change after the first year, sometimes
dramatically. 
> Some improve, others fall apart.  Some you will wonder why you saved
them. 
> The year I selected STAR WARS and ROYAL VIKING from a cross of (RUFFLED
> BALLET X NAVY STRUT), I couldn't make a decision on at least a dozen
> seedlings out of the cross.  They were all lined out, but the following
> year it was apparent which ones were the best.
> 	   
> Many of the newer varieties introduced in the 80's are of such good
> quality, that by merely crossing two named varieties together, one could
> easily come up with some excellent seedlings in the first generation. 
> However, by developing your own breeding lines, it gives you the
advantage
> of having access to a genetic pool that no one else has and increases the
> potential of creating something unique and different.
> 	   
> I encourage everyone to make just one cross and experience the joy and
> excitement of creation.
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