RE: re:re: HYB: genetics questions....
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: RE: re:re: HYB: genetics questions....
  • From: &* <f*@q.com>
  • Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2010 10:56:58 -0700
I am certainly not a geneticist like Chuck Chapman, and I have had only ten
years of hybridizing experience.  I have picked up a few things from this
list, but most of what I know is from observation.  One of the things that I
have observed in my garden is that there is a correlation between number of
buds and flower size.  Stalks with very large blossoms tend to have a
smaller number of buds.  Those with several triple socketed terminals tend
to have smaller flowers.  This is true both of commercial irises and my own
seedlings.  It is as though the stalks can produce only a certain amount of
blossom material.  There are exceptions, but this seems to be a general
rule.

Francelle Edwards  Glendale, AZ  Zone 9


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-iris@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf Of mahlberg
s
Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 2:52 PM
To: iris@hort.net
Subject: [iris] re:re: HYB: genetics questions....

Thanks for the info.

I generally, as a rule, get rid of the 'inferior plants'.
Being only a handful of years into hybridizing, I haven't experienced too
many
generations of seedlings yet either.
 However, last year I kept one of the 'runty' f1 and backcrossed it to
grandparent stock just to see what kind of seedlings I'll get.
I'm expecting to get more small, ''run of the mill'' purples like the f1.
Time
will tell a season or two down the line :)
But to relieve curiosity and satisfy my hopes of finding or not refinding
grandparents genetic material, I made the backcross to one of the
grandparents
stock, both directions,  and have a few survivng seedlings from last year.
And
to oversimplify genetics, gave the f2 a 'double dose?' of grandparents
genes.
Don't know if the pods set this year on grandma plant or not, as I made the
cross only a couple of days ago.
I've noticed, as well, that over the years backcrossing was done more many
generations ago, but not so much more recently. But there's also a lot more
to
choose from now as opposed to 60 or 70 years ago. I don't recall right off
without looking it up, but maybe it was in one of  the Sass lines that were
backcrossed a lot...
Of course, this isn't my main focus on hybridizing, simply a curiosity
regarding a bit about genetics and inheritance in irises. I'm likely to
discover the pointless time waste of backcrossing inferior plants. But
there's
a little room in the garden for another baby...

thanks for all the input and advice.

more seedlings to flower coming this year in a few more days!
If it stops raining I can pollinate some, otherwise I may have to call in
sick.

How do you tell your boss, "Ummm, It's sunny and dry for a change,  I'm
pollinating flowers today, I won't be in, sorry."
;)

steve m. zone 4b

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