CULT, HYB:Regional (Was 450 rotters)

In a message dated 5/16/2001 9:14:41 AM Central Daylight Time, 
wshear@email.hsc.edu writes:

<< Breeding for rot resistance has not been a priority with hybridizers 
 because they are focused on the plants themselves, their blooms, 
 quality of stalk and foliage, and perhaps even season of bloom.  To 
 insist that absolute rot resistance under all conditions be added to 
 these qualities is to look for pie in the sky.  Everything in life is 
 a compromise--we want to grow beautiful irises, and sometimes the 
 cost is extra vigilance in culture. >>

All of this being exceedingly TRUE, this has been recognized and discussed 
periodically for many years. It was so when I became involved with the 
society in the early eighties.  At that time it was thought foolhardy, in 
some circles, for hybridizers to use anything less than twenty years old in 
their programs, if they wanted disease resistance.  Some hybridizers, Roger 
Nelson comes to mind, have all but abandoned previous hybridizing programs in 
search of less disease prone stock to include in their lines.  

Of course, I only speak for those I personally spoke with, read after, and 
followed as a new pollen dauber.  

Looking back, there were only a few irises touted as superior, and some of 
those didn't do well in MY area.  Maybe we are expecting too much from a 
single cultivar?  A universal rhizome may not exist.  Maybe we should 
hybridize irises that do well within our own given regions/zones?  Just a 
thought.

Betty / Bowling Green KY USA Zone 6
Only those who dare to dream can make a dream come true.

 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index