TB: HYB Orchid colors, out-crossing, etc.

Hello, everyone.
 
As I get Iris Talk in the Digest  form, I can't reply to individual
messages though I would often like to, so I'm usually a lurker.
 
Neil's latest message has really intrigued me, as his goals and methods
seem to be similar to mine.  My main work is with pinks and orchids.
I'm looking for a perfect seedling with the form of Happenstance and the
vigor of Pink Champagne in a deep, bright pink or orchid or bi-tone of
those.  I don't cross cultivars from the same hybridizer because I think
he's already done that.  I want things that are unique.  My color
definition is lavender, very light blue with an almost unnoticeable pink
influence, lilac, more pink than lavender.  Those two are pastels.
Orchid is a deep, bright blue-pink blend.
 
One of my favorite seedlings is such a true orchid that it appears blue
in the shade, bright pink in the sun.  Now if I can just get it to grow
without rotting and blooming out.  I have made several crosses with it
that I will have to wait another year to see.  Using it as the pollen
parent, I got good germination and vigorous looking seedlings from
Ruffled Goddess, Appleblossom Days, Mesmerizer and Magical Encounter.  I
also crossed it with Silverado, planted about thirty seeds and got zero
germination.  Silverado has never done well for me, and managed to rot
itself away last year.  I will try to cross it with Fogbound this
spring.  Here's hoping that they will bloom at the proper time.
 
As a side line, I am also trying to hybridize a good black for this hot
country, because my random cross of Purple Pirouette with Romantic
Evening gave me some interesting fade-proof blacks.  I am going to try
to cross RE with other good performing darks, to see what I get.
 
Right now I have bloom stalks forming in several second year seedling
clumps, and also in Altered State, Baditude, Holy Cow and Cast of
Characters.  I'm not happy to see Cast of Characters bloom so soon
because none of the ones I want to cross it with are at all ready yet.
I'll try to save its pollen if it has any.  Temperatures here are
already in the 90's.
 
Francelle Edwards  Glendale, AZ  Zone 9

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