Re: CULT: and HYB: TB's in general....

John, 
I did it again. I let my fingers do the walking without considering all angles of the posted question... Now I have to think!  :( hmmm.....
I meant, specifically, that if two people grew the same variety in two different locations and one ended up with a smaller plant (fan, flower stalk, or rhizome) or plant with smaller flowers it might be considered inferior becuase of it's overall plant or flower size. Not to say that "bigger is better", but if there is an "optimal flower size" one could potentially obtain, or something of that nature,  with any given iris variety and one person grew a smaller flowered plant, it might be considered inferior by comparison to the other. That doesn't make it inferior, though, only in size. What I'd  mislead myself to believe along the "inferior plant lines" is that if two people are offering you one variety of iris and one has a larger rhizome that had a larger flower, the smaller rhizome with the smaller flower would be an inferior plant. I took that out of context without considering the fact that it still has the same genetic makeup, it's just a smaller version. I also took that to mean that an ''inferior rhizome'' would only reproduce smaller rhizomes with smaller flowers. Did I get that wrong? Or does a larger rhizome produce larger rhizomes with bigger flowers as opposed to a smaller rhizome?
*digging out of hole or digging deeper one?*
I have to remember to specify when posting. You guys and gals don't miss anything... ;) (not complaining, though)
steve mahlberg -z4b- duluth, mn - 
 
 
 
 John I Jones <jijones@usjoneses.com> wrote:

Steve Mahlberg wrote:
> 
> I would appreciate some more insight for anyone who has the time to
> respond.
> I am curious about rhizomes and plant size. Now, I've heard that a
> smaller plant is likely an inferior plant (more or less).

Someone else may disagree with me, but I would question that statement.

First you have to define what inferior (or superior) is. One of my
favorite irises is Drady. An older iris of unknown parentage. The falls
are doggy eared, but the white standards have a thin wire rim in black.

Whe you say plant do you mean the fan and flower stalk or the rhizome?

> But what
> I'm wondering is, is it possible that a smaller plant could possibly
> be a superior plant that has been grown in less than perfect
> conditions and still be worthy of using as a future breeder?

Yes

> Also, I've been advised that certain gardens have larger flowering
> plants than others. Is that because of the conditions from state to
> state or is it that one garden actually strives toward and works with
> better plants? 

Can be both, or neither. Some cvs are just bigger or smaller than others

> I'm considering investing a small amount of money and
> a lot of time to the iris and would really like to get a start with
> excellent quality iris.
> I'm basing "better iris" on the fact of who has been around and "big
> names" in the iris world.

There are lots of things that make irises good. None carry all the
characteristics. One thing to consider is the AM awards from the AIS.
They are generally irises that show good characteristics growing in
multiple gardens. (The system of awards is not perfect so lets not get
started about that again, but it is a good starting place).

Most hybridizers say "Pick a goal and work toward it, but don't be
afraid to change or modify your goals" or something similar.

Have you checked the archives at Mallorn?


John                     | "There be dragons here"
                         |  Annotation used by ancient cartographers
                         |  to indicate the edge of the known world.

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