RE: HYB: Big stalk, no increase

Mary Lou,  I make a habit of ignoring seedlings that bloom this way.  Even
if they do put up an increase or two in late summer, as an occasional few
will do, the genetic line has a tendency to over-bloom the increase, or
bloom out entirely.  Let me give an example.

And example of this was in Tell Muhlestein's seedling 47-72 which bloomed
without increase, but was so extraordiarily good that Tell bred from it and
on it heavily.  The seedling was from Gold Ruffles X 45-64-1A: (Alice
Harding x Dr. Loomis' "Type Dore").  From Pink Formal pollen, this seedling
produced PINK FULFILLMENT, which was notoriously difficult to keep going in
gardens, as it was skimply on increase, or if generous, the increase mostly
bloomed right along with the central fan.

PINK ENCHANTMENT resulted from the pollen of a sib to Pink Fulfillment,
#49-11, on Raspberry Ice Cream, and JUNE MEREDITH, registered in 1953, was
from Party Dress X Pink Fulfillment.  A numbered seedling, #51-11-E, a
sibling of June Meredith, went into circulation and was so widely used as a
parent Tell registered it in 1958 as JUNE'S SISTER.

A lot of AM and HM awarded irises are in this line or descended from it,
but.....

This line of pinks was plagued with the problem you describe.  Had Tell
passed over this fabulous seedling (fabulous in part perhaps because too
much energy went into the stalk and bloom, and too little into making
increase), his pink line may have had a sliver less pizzazz but a lot more
growability.

Even diluted two more generations with crosses out to easy-to-grow lines,
the problem still kept appearing.

I crossed a seedling of Melvina Suiter's from Peggy X Pink Enchantment with
Orville Fay's Fleeta, resulting in two introductions, SANCTUS in 1969 and
the BB JOYFUL NOISE in 1971.  Both were difficult to maintain, as both had
inherited the 47-72 tendency to overbloom and under-increase.

There are a myriad of descendents of 47-72.  How many of them have
disappeared because they had this tendency I don't know.  Not all have.

The point of all this is--let the no-increase seedling go.  Chances are, the
trait will be stubbornly persistent in the progeny for generations.

Neil Mogensen  z y  Reg 4  western NC mountains

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