Re: Re: CULT:HYB:More on those 450 rotters

As a purchaser of irises, I appreciate the efforts being made to improve
growability
and rot resistance in irises.

I have a heavy clay type of soil, not really ideal for irises and any
irises that grow
well for me I really like.  We have had a couple of weeks now of a lot
of rain
and rot is showing up in some irises.

I would like to mention that I have seven SDB irises in a row in the
same bed  -out of those seven - four are your introductions - Sky
Dancer, Ruby Eruption, Autumn
Embers, and Cream Pixie, all these irises are healthy.  Of the remaining
three who
were introduced by other hybridizers, two are showing strong signs of
rot (the
other Chubby Cheeks is also doing well).

P.S.  I guess Sky Dancer is your daughter Sylvia's.

Sandra Barss
Southeast Manitoba
Zone 3

irischapman@netscape.net wrote:

>
> 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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