Re: HIST: AUTUMN KING

Sharon McAllister wrote:
> 
> Some months ago, someone asked about the pedigree of AUTUMN KING.  I ran across
> in it in an old AIS Bulletin (#152) while researching another line, so I hope
> this falls in the category of  "better late than never":
> 
> AUTUMN KING = (Sass dark blue seedling x Midwest) X Amas
> 
> Hans Sass, pioneer hybridizer of northern fall-bloomers, wrote:
> 
> " . . . in breeding for fall-blooming iris we mark the pumila hybrids that bloom
> in the fall and cross these with Autumn King or any other iris that has
> fall-blooming charactestics.  A certain per cent of the seedlings of these
> crosses will be fall-bloomers. In crossing pumilas with Tall Beardeds, the
> seedlings will be nearly all Intermediates.  In crossing two Tall Bearded irises
> we have a chance of getting at least a few fall-blooming irises.  Quite a per
> cent of Autumn King seedlings have fall-blooming chacteristics even if they do
> not bloom in the fall.  So you see a seedling of Autumn King may not bloom in
> the fall but from that seedling we are apt to raise fall-blooming iris."
> 
> He went on to speculate that the fall-blooming tendencies of some TBs may have
> come from AMAS.  (Perhaps some of our rebloomer experts will wish to expand on
> that, but I believe that AMAS has been a prime suspect as source of reblooming
> genes in "southern" stock).  The ubitquitous ELEANOR ROOSEVELT came from a cross
> between one of his selected pumila hybrids and AMAS.
> 

Sharon,

I find the above quote very interesting.  I hope Clarance Mahan is
reading this as the Sass breeding seems contradictory to his Heterosis
theory.

Rick Tasco
Superstiton Iris Gardens
Central California
Zone 8
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index