what to do with seed pods! (was Re: Lurking for awhile)
- To: i*@Rt66.com
- Subject: what to do with seed pods! (was Re: Lurking for awhile)
- From: t*@Lanl.GOV (Tom Tadfor Little)
- Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 09:33:27 -0600
Doug asks
:
:I have one question that I know someone listening will be able to
:answer. I discovered 3 pods on 3 separate iris. I believe these
:to be seed pods, but I was under the understanding that iris sent
:ofshoots from the mother rhizome as a means of propagation. What
:are these pods? What should I do with them?
Iris do indeed propagate by rhizome offshoots. However, they occasionally
set seed too. Hybridizers make planned crosses and plant the resulting
seeds to create new (hopefully better) varieties.
The seedpods you have resulted from chance pollination, probably
by insects. If you have patience, you can plant the seeds and see
a whole crop of new irises, all different, in a few years time. It's
not likely that any will be superior to varieties already in commerce,
but it can be fun to see what they all look like.
If you want to plant the seeds, wait till the pods dry and start to
split. Save the seeds and let them dry. Plant them in the fall, about
1/2 inch deep. Water occasionally if the winter is warm and dry. Next
spring, probably a little before bloom time, the seedlings will start
to sprout. After they have about three strong leaves, you can transplant
them to wherever you want them to grow. Most will not bloom until a
couple years pass.
===============================================================
Tom Tadfor Little tlittle@lanl.gov -or- telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor Los Alamos National Laboratory
---------------------------------------------------------------
Telperion Productions http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
===============================================================
