Re: Beginner questions

Bill,

1.  Absolutely, you can get more than one pod in a socket.  In my
experience it doesn't even usually affect the size of the pod.  In my garden I
often have Coddling moth larvae bore into my pods; naturally they favor the
nexus of two pods for an entry points.
    I let my cross maps (big binder
showing intended crosses) dictate which crosses I attempt which usually
results in an attempt on every bloom.  I let the iris sort out which pods form
where.
    No, I have not seen a terminal pod leech the pod formation energy,
nor have I seen a lower pod do so.  Actually, I have a hypothesis that some of
the energy for seed formation comes from the ovary itself.  I postulate that
the seeds leech energy from the pith of the pod.  Of course, that's just an
untested hypothesis.  I don't even know how I would test that theory.

2.  I
think the general rule is that the lip is most receptive when the bloom is
freshest.  However, I have had a few crosses produce a pod despite the very
clear notations in my notebook that the pollen was soggy and the lip was
completely dry.   Sometimes the irises haven't gotten around to reading World
of Iris.  In my garden Everything Plus pollen must be retrieved before the
bloom opens...  My rule is if you can get pollen on the lip it's got a chance.
Christian
ky

 



________________________________
From: Bill Chaney
<billchaney@ymail.com>
To: iris@hort.net
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2009 12:30:49 AM
Subject: [iris] Beginner questions

Well, there was snow on the ground this
morning, but I have iris blooming in
the greenhouse.  I have been pollinating
a few blooms for almost a month now,
and have several seed pods coming along. 
My questions:

1) how many seed pods
can you produce on one stalk?  Do you
ever get (or even attempt) more than one
seed pod per socket?  Is there any
apical dominance effect (a seed pod at the
top inhibiting lower seed pod
development)?

2) how soon and how long after
opening is the stigmatic lip
receptive?  I know this will depend on
conditions, but is there a general
rule?

Thanks
Bill
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