Re: HYB: Reciprocal Crosses

From: "Mark, Maureen" <MARKM@tc.gc.ca>

Hi Betty,

Your results are very interesting and will provide more debate on pod and
pollen inheritance.  I am definitely interested in hearing more.

Maureen Mark
m*@ottawa.com
Ottawa, Canada (zone 4)


> ----------
> From: 	StorYlade@aol.com[SMTP:StorYlade@aol.com]
> Reply To: 	iris-talk@onelist.com
> Sent: 	Wednesday, January 06, 1999 3:36 PM
> To: 	iris-talk@onelist.com
> Subject: 	[iris-talk] Re: HYB:  Reciprocal Crosses
> 
> From: StorYlade@aol.com
> 
> In a message dated 1/6/1999 12:10:50 PM Central Standard Time,
> 73372.1745@compuserve.com writes:
> 
> << 
>  This could quickly become rather complicated.  Where do you want to
> start?
>  
>  Sharon McAllister >>
> 
> 
> I will dive right in at the end. :-)  When you make reciprocal crosses, do
> you
> mix the seed or do you plant the seeds separately?  If you plant them
> separately, do you see a differences in the two crosses?  
> 
> This question has plagued me since the late 80's.  
> 
> (A little bit of history so that I won't look too stupid!)  Region 7
> hybridizers wanted awareness of hybridizing raised within the region.
> Although
> I was new at hybridizing, I was the only one crazy enough to tackle the
> job.
> I was asked to write about hybridizing for the Irisarian.  I read
> everything I
> could get my hands on.
> 
> I queried judges and hybridizers in Region 7.  (My memory may be faulty on
> %'s
> here but I'm close.)  I was told that a certain percentage (30?) of the
> seedlings would look like (similar) to the pod parent, and approximately
> 20%
> would look like the pollen parent.  The rest would be throw backs to
> ancestors
> of the two.  
> 
> Not content to let it rest at that, I wrote to some well-known hybridizers
> outside our region.  Reciprocal crosses was only one of many questions I
> asked.  (For those who helped--Thanks again.)  I was surprised when I was
> told
> that there were no differences in the two groups of seed.  One well-known
> hybridizers, who I have utmost respect for, replied that he just mixed the
> seeds together and planted them as one cross.  He said there was no
> difference.  
> 
> 								Personal
> Observations
> 
> I made my first crosses in 86.  I had decided to focus on rebloomers, but
> I
> only had one real rebloomer in my collection that year, Autumn Encore, and
> it
> offered only 1 bloom, which I crossed with borrowed pollen from Jimmy
> Burch's
> Roman Lover.  Left with a tremendous urge to pollinate irises, compulsion
> took
> over, and I made crosses on everything in bloom--17 took! 
> 
> For those who wondered out loud why I would make such a dumb cross as
> Peach
> Spot and Highland Chief, you now have your answer!  Peach Spot is a West
> Coast
> rebloomer and Highland Chief is still a favorite brown/red plicata.  I
> also
> made the reciprocal cross.  I eagerly lined out my seedlings, and
> anxiously
> awaited their bloom in 88.  My first babies to bloom--what a thrill!  The
> blooms from this cross were a delight to see.  And very different.  Each
> from
> the other and between crosses. 
> 
> Where I had used Highland Chief as the pod parent, I got plicatas with
> solid
> orange selfs (9 buds) thrown in.  There were several very pretty irises in
> this group.  Where I used Peach Spot as the pod parent, I got pale
> washed-out
> amoenas and some off-colored whites.  On these, 5 was the highest bud
> count. 
> 
> More recently, I made reciprocal crosses on seedlings of mine which I
> hoped
> would combine rebloom, blue bearded white/pale blue, and improved form.
> Both
> seedlings had Immortality as the pod parent.  These 95 crosses were lined
> out
> end to end for observation, and then forgotten.  When I went to retrieve
> them
> for this move into town, I found one cross had grown well (in the weeds)
> and
> there were several strong seedlings.  I brought 6 with me.  The other
> cross
> had either died or was close to giving up the ghost.  This was unfortunate
> because the pod parent from this cross was the one with great height and
> branching.  None were thriving enough to be included in the move.  They
> were
> obviously different from the time they sprouted.  
> 
> For someone that intended giving up iris just a few months ago, I do go
> on!   
> 
> Betty 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, or to change your subscription
> to digest, go to the ONElist web site, at http://www.onelist.com and
> select the User Center link from the menu bar on the left.
> 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, or to change your subscription
to digest, go to the ONElist web site, at http://www.onelist.com and
select the User Center link from the menu bar on the left.
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index