RE: Re: HYB: breeding strategies
iris@hort.net
  • Subject: RE: Re: HYB: breeding strategies
  • From: &* E* <f*@q.com>
  • Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011 19:33:44 -0700
I have been following this thread with great interest.  For a rebloom
parent, I can't praise too much the qualities of Lauer's Pink Champaign.  It
doesn't rebloom in my garden, but a high percentage of its seedlings do.  It
is the most disease free iris I have ever grown.  It loves to grow and bloom
and it passes on those traits to its seedlings.  Since the perfect iris
hasn't yet been found, its fault is the acceptable but not outstanding form
of its bright pink blossoms.  Fortunately, its seedlings are often more
beautiful, especially when crossed with Ghio's georgous but tempermental
pinks.  It is also only pollen fertile, but its pollen is very fertile.  I
am incorporating it into all my reblooming lines.
Francelle Edwards

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-iris@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf Of Chuck
Chapman
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2011 7:38 AM
To: iris@hort.net
Subject: Re: [iris] Re: HYB: breeding strategies

As you are looking to fix the good traits that are key component of line.
then crossing AB back to A will heplp in fixing summer rebloom in that line.

Go for it.

Chuck Chapman






-----Original Message-----
From: Linda Mann &lt;lmann@lock-net.com&gt;
To: iris &lt;iris@hort.net&gt;
Sent: Wed, Nov 2, 2011 10:02 am
Subject: [iris] Re: HYB: breeding strategies




I can get really snarled up if I focus too much on the details, so Tom's
general comments are really good ones to keep in mind.

So here goes with the snarled up-ness...

starting here - "my" foundation cultivars all have their 'faults', at least
for getting where I want to go.

IMM has soft substance, blooms narrow for modern taste, nearly always too
short, usually makes way too much foliage for the number of stalks it puts
up.  And worse yet, seedlings can often be very retro - short, small narrow
blooms w no substance.  Most are narrower than IMM.  Highly variable seed
production & germination, no pollen here.  But she is the very best for
health & vigor here (in spite of her sometimes quirky
behavior) & routinely passes that along to her kids.  And blooms during hot
weather here (with water, fertilizer, heavy manure mulch).  White allows
some color to show in seedlings, but hides a lot.

MATRIX - somewhat soft substance, fairly good width, but 'banjo' shaped
falls (narrow at hafts), not as strong a grower or reliable off season
bloomer as IMM; tendency for very weak growing (i.e., don't survive) kids.
Usually fertile both ways, sometimes excellent width in kids, good seed
production, variable germination.  Color comes thru in kids.

VIOLET MIRACLE - good grower, but somewhat erratic rebloom, fairly fertile
both ways, kids are all over the place.  Lots of weak/dead kids.
  Fertile pods are loaded with seeds.  Purple hides everything but
variegata/neglecta/amoena.

RENOWN - prone to illness (disease, freeze damage), heavy spring bloom,
hardly any off season bloom, short.  Big relatively wide blooms, has a hard
time setting/maturing pods here, but is fertile both ways.  Usually pretty
good set of seeds as pollen parent, not so much as pod.  Erratic seedling
survival, wide big blooms.

HARVEST OF MEMORIES - excellent healthy grower, heavy rebloom, but only
cycle here.  Has produced summers for others.  Very pod and pollen fertile,
good germination, survival all over the place.  Tends to produce retro form
even more than IMM.

&gt; Keep in mind that this is a long term goal. So don't select seedlings
for &gt; further breeding based on having best traits in each seedling. As
you have &gt; noted, you can trap yourself into keeping bad traits.

So I'm starting with three rebloom lines - IMM, HOM & VM, with MATRIX and
RENOWN part of the VM line.  These already combine rebloom and growth.  So
call that line AC (using the order you use in your post, Chuck).  A for (All
seasons rebloom), B for Beauty, C for growth (Culture easy).  ;-) So far,
I've been making a &lt;lot&gt; of crosses of line AC with B, the beauty
crosses.  And making crosses of those seedlings back to B, losing A, but
combining BC.  [I've not been using any A's that aren't also C's.  I have
starting trying to get more A's that aren't C's, but then there is the
problem of getting fertility from them here!]

&gt; One for rebloom, one for beauty and one for &gt; plant growth. Lines A,
B & C. That is choose seedlings based on a primary &gt; goal, keeping other
traits secondary in choice.

Not sure how to incorporate what you are saying here, but maybe that's what
I've been doing with the test crosses amongst the A's?  I was just trying to
see how rebloom in my growing conditions might be inherited amongst the A's.
But maybe you are saying it might work better to keep working back and forth
within this group?  So little diversity of color/pattern & all are fairly
old form.

 From what Tom posted, I was thinking it might be more effective to back
cross the AB's to the A parent.  What do you think?

&gt; Then after two or three more generations of? line breeding, cross your
two &gt; remaining lines. Use thes plants to go forward.

Linda Mann east TN USA zone 7

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