Re: CULT:HYB:More on those 450 rotters

--- In iris-talk@y..., "Iris Moose" <irismoose@d...> wrote:
> I posted a week ago the 450 known rotters that were mentioned in the
January
> 2001 Iris Society Bulletin.  That message is copied at the bottom of
this
> letter if you missed it the first time.
>
> There was quite a range of responses.
>
> When someone posted publicly via this email forum their response was
calm
> and basically saying that different growing conditions and climates
produce
> different effects --  basically no problem.
>
> When I was posted privately via email it was thanks for bringing
this up,
> there is a problem, no one wants to recognize it and therefore it
will only
> get worse.
>
> When I spoke with people in real life "face-to-face" then it was
revealed
> the situation is dire, rot is rampant, hybridizers and sellers don't
care,
> it's all about money and getting the prettiest plants to the market
before
> they are even evaluated for garden worthiness, and the iris in
general are
> in decline.
>
> As this is my last message for at least the next two weeks, I hope
we can
> discuss this more and talk about ways to toughen the iris and make
it more
> adaptable to various growing conditions.  Simply recognizing that we can
> improve the habit of the plant and increase rot resistance is a positive
> topic for this forum which we can talk about positively for all our
benefit.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Iris Moose
> Wake Forest, NC
> http://daylily.net/irismoose/
>
>
>

There are ways to test iris for growability/rot in your home garden. I
use several methods, some planned and some serindipity. The seedlings
are the last of my plants to be moved in the fall. Thus they are
subject to more stress the the rest of the plants I have. If they have
not yet been selected for introduction, they are given no winter
protection. This results in a lot of loss but the strongest survive.
These are more resistant to rot etc. Also reselects get to stay in
clumps longer then most plants thus get tested for how they handle
crowded conditions. If they don't do well in these conditions, get
rot, are  very suseptable to borer, leaf spot etc, they get dug and
discarded ( unless an excetional trait of some kind, then a few pieces
kept for breeding). When moved in september/October, any plant with
few increases is discarded without any other considerations. The
winter conditions here are rough on plants. Snow cover is eratic, so
much exposure to cold. Springs are usually cold, wet and drawn out.
This usually leads to a lot of rot. The seedlings usually don't get
treated for rot, only the strong survive. When the seedlings get
coddled, ie divided every year, well fertilized, winter protected etc,
then the only selection criteria is their beauty, branching etc. All
good criteria, but not criteria for adverse conditions. I don't
introduce very many TB's even though I hybridize as many, if not more
then I do with the SDB. The SDB's are naturally hardier so many more
nice flowers survive the above tests, thus I introduce more. Gradually
I'm building up strong breeding stock, and usung only the strongest
growers/survivers of named varieties as breeding stock.
In addition I've been introducing "Carpet" iris in MDB and SDB. These
are selected for exceptionally strong growing and blooming
characteristics. They produce well in clumps and can be neglected and
still perform well in clumps. Butterscotch Carpet has naturalized in
the abandoned iris field  where I had rented land several years ago,
while almost everthing else has died out. Heather Carpet is always the
niceist looking plant in spring, very green and can always be picked
out by its healthy looking foliage in the spring.

As to Dykes medal winners. I know of several judges who vote only for
what they see at the convention and don't grow a lot of newer iris ( I
don't have any more room and I like all the ones I have) and dont
visit local gardens.

There are things that can be done, even if we can never guarantee good
performance in all growing areas. It takes some couage to let a pretty
(face)plant suffer and die because it can't handle it when the going
gets tough.

Chuck Chapman. Guelph, Ontario Zone 4/5


 

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