Re: HYB.Breeding for Older Form and the Market

Donald said:

<< What I'd like to see from the list  is more definition of the parameters of
" we should embrace a wider variety  of forms...".  What constitutes the
preferences of growers, not necessarily  a hybridizer but not excluding them
either.  Is something being ignored,  overlooked or left out that would add to
the future heritage of irises yet to come?  >>

I prefer a more formal, vertical silhouette to the bloom of the tall bearded
irises than we have been seeing of late. I don't generally care for
horizontal, or overly broad falls in the larger irises, or truncated or
conical standards, but I don't mind perkiness on smaller things. I think we
have reached the point of diminishing returns on lace, ruffling, and extra
petaloid parts, and some of the irises with extra heavy substance are
beginning to have all the charm of cabbages. What I would like to see is an
increased appreciation of the potential of various formal configurations so
that it would not be necessary to characterize some attractive alternatives as
antiquated. There are an enormous number of irises out there and not all  this
vigorous hybridizing activity going on is resulting in excellence. We do well
to remember that what is fashionable and recent is not inevitably superior
aesthetically or from a cultural standpoint. It is just as shortsighted to
celebrate something soley because it is new as it is to revere it just because
it is old. 

If we expand Donald's question to include other aspects of the bloom, I would
add that many of the intriguing textural qualities that distinguished the
older irises have not received the attention they might recently. We see
complex color patterns and intricate overlays of one color on another, and
some sheen and sparkle, and some interesting and attractive watered effects,
but we are not seeing much of the iridescence that was such a feature of the
older irises, or the pearl, and the velvet is not what it used to be. This is
a crying shame.

Anner Whitehead, Richmond,Va 
Henry Hall henryanner@aol.com
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index