Re: Tetraploid MTBs

:A while back there was a reference to the breeding of tet. MTB iris. I can't
:locate the specific item right now.

It was me, John. I did it.

:I see this topic popping up with more
:frequency of late and notice that some tet MTBs are being registered.

It's been going on for quite a while now. Ben Hager started introducing
tet. MTBs in the '70s, if I remember correctly. The Craigs have introduced
many, and Fisher has produced some too. They still do not dominate the
class, but they are not uncommon any more. Some have won the
Williamson-White Award.
:
:My question is this: what is the aim of this breeding?

I'm writing a *long* essay that will help answer this question. I'll be
posting it on the web within a day or two. The short answer is to increase
the variety of pattern, form, and color possible in the MTB class, and to
create MTBs that can be outcrossed to irises in other classes and yield
fertile offspring.

:I am aprehensive
:because when I first became acquainted with the MTBs I became a champion of
:them. Their appeal to me I think results directly from their diploid makeup.
:The graceful flower parts which flutter in a breeze and which are placed on
:thin sinuous stalks are a wonderful picture in the garden or in a vase.

Your concerns are widely shared. The reason Hager worked for so many
seedling generations on this project before introducing anything is that he
wanted to be absolutely certain he could meet the specifications of the
class, not only numerical but esthetic as well. I. aphylla, the species
used to produce the tetraploid MTBs, is not coarse or indelicate. It is a
bit droopy-looking, though, so it doesn't really have the charm of I.
variegata, which is behind so many of the diploid MTBs.
:
:I would anticipate that the answer may be  that the breeders are seeking
:color breakthroughs and that would not be a bad thing, but if it carries
:with it, the rigid flower parts and thicker stalks, not to mention increased
:flower size, I would prefer to live with the color palette which we have and
:keep the form.

Do you grow a number of MTBs? If so, you probably have tetraploids lurking
in your garden even as we speak.  ;)  New Idea, New Wave, Puppy Love, Ozark
Evening, Abridged Version...in fact all the tangerine pink ones!

In general, the flowers on the recent tetraploids are not large or stiff,
nor are the stalks thick. However, they still have a way to go in some
respects. Some of the diploids have very flaring blooms held on
widely-branched stalks, that makes them look like butterflies in flight.
The tetraploids tend to be more compact looking, in my experience.
:
:In a world in which bigger is almost always considered to be better, I fear
:for the future of one of my favorite irises.

I, for one, am interested in tetraploid medians because I want *smaller*
irises, not bigger ones. But I do share your fear that our breeding and
awards practices tend to reward impact at the expense of delicacy. This is
a perennial problem in the BB class. I think it has also become a problem
in all the other median classes, though it is less often commented on.

If it's any comfort, all the tetraploid median breeders I know anything
about would *never* confuse "bigger" with "better". They're on our side!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tom Tadfor Little                   telp@Rt66.com
Iris-L list owner * USDA zone 5/6 * AIS region 23
Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA)
Telperion Productions  http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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