re: HYB: genetics questions....
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: re: HYB: genetics questions....
  • From: i*@aim.com
  • Date: Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:23:14 -0400
 I have noted same thing. I refer to it as "flower Mass Effect" Mass used in
physics sense. That is, each cultivar has only so much energy to put into
flower parts. So bigger flowers= less number of flowers. Smaller flowers= more
flowers. Ends up being about the same amount of floral "mass" , or weight,
basically

Chuck Chapman








-----Original Message-----
From: Francelle <fjmjedwards@q.com>
To: iris@hort.net
Sent: Mon, Jun 7, 2010 1:56 pm
Subject: RE: [iris] re:re: HYB: genetics questions....


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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