HYB: Barry Blyth on sharing seedlings


Hi, gang,

Mr. B apparently looks in on iris-talk now and then.  In response to an e-mail query of mine about his iris I'M YOUR LADY (do any of you have experience with IYL?), he went on to comment about the quote from Tall Talk I'd posted on iris-talk.  I told him I'd relay his comments, which I do, below, in his exact words.  At least I hope I will.  After receiving his e-mail, I went to iris-talk and posted it all, only to be bumped off when I hit Send.  Too long, apparently.  So I'll try again from my Outlook Express.

He referred  to concerns of talkers about "...iris breeders passing on unnamed seedlings to the world, that they will be inferior varieties and others may use them.

"Imagine this:  Last season I flowered 12,000 seedlings of advanced breeding and possibly 50% of them were better than most named varieties on the market today.  So I have to choose some to retain and work with.  I chose 300.  There were another 300 plus that I could also have chosen and used and named some of them.  They were just as good, but because choices have to be made, many that others would have kept and named were thrown out.

"So, imagine this.  You came into my breeding rows and loved a couple of seedlings.  You just had to have them and I thought they were OK but not what I am working for.  Just because you liked them, does not necessarily mean that I want to keep them or use them.  So what do I do.  Some breeders would jealously keep them and plough them in or compost them.  For myself, I would rather give them to someone who may like to use them because they see some potential they are working towards, and it saves them 5 years of work.

"I find that this encourages beginners and gets into the iris world, lovely varieties that would never otherwise make it.  Never in 10 lifetimes could I follow all the great things that show up in the seedling patch.

"This is why Keith Keppel and I often use each other's seedlings and there are things that are never introduced, it is just sharing and moving down the breeding line.

"There are plenty of terrible iris introduced by breeders that are from old varieties that were OK 30 years ago and from iris that maybe should not have been named.  This will continue to happen.  Just because it is named, does not mean it is good.  Many breeders view their creations through rose coloured glasses (including me).

"Wait until you have so many interesting seedlings to cross and you do not even have enough hours in the day to make the crosses, let alone grow the seedlings.  Would you not let someone else use something of yours that you can't use and get them further ahead in their program and enthusiasm.  I am sure you would."

Once again, I am struck by what wonderful, generous people iris breeders are.  Especially my favorite hyb'er, whose recent intros I am ordering at a pace to bankrupt me completely.  When I see something that looks as though it would further my hyb goals, 9 times out of 19 it's a Blyth.  I should be so lucky as to ever have so many excellent seedlings; so far, I haven't germinated a single cross.

Hope this clarifies things.

Patricia Brooks

Hope that clears up the subject.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


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