Re: Re: AIS: HYB: Guest Iris Data, and Risk

I've already put in my two cents worth about the condition in which rhizomes are received back from conventions, ranging from just fine to pretty bad. Since then, I've heard off list from another irisarian who prefers to remain anonymous, but whose experience has been worse, all around, than mine. I do hope that, given the experiences we have shared with each other, any Board members listening in will transmit these concerns to the Board, so that future guest iris hosts can be advised as to what is expected of them, at a minimum.

That said, I send my seedlings to various conventions primarily in order to give them exposure to the attendees. In the process, of course, I will learn something about how they have grown in that area of the country, in one of three ways:

1. If I'm able to attend the event, I can see for myself.

2. If I can't attend, maybe I'll get reports -- either from growers or from attendees.

3. When I get the rhizomes back, it sometimes tells me a lot about a given seedling. If, for instance, all the rhizomes come back big and healthy, it speaks well of the seedling's viability in that climate. If some are big and strong and others are puny, it tells me that the growing conditions were different in the various host gardens, and that the iris will do well in that climate. If all are puny, and/or very few are returned, it indicates that the seedling didn't thrive in that area.

If I get interim reports about how the seedlings are doing, that's great. I remember that the St. Louis convention alerted us to rhizomes that had been lost in various gardens and asked us for replacements. I also got feedback on how the seedlings were doing from, I believe, a Kansas society, which I very much appreciated. (I've checked my records as to which one that was, but to no avail. I'd like to be able to give credit where it's due.)

The amount of increase that I request be returned varies according to the seedling. I usually instruct the convention hosts that one seedling should remain with each of the host gardens and the rest be returned to me. That provides me with increased stock of any that I may want to introduce, as well as the ability to do the evaluations described above. If, however, I have sufficient stock of a variety I have sent, I instruct that it be donated to the host society to do with as they please.

All in all, my experience with sending seedlings/introductions to conventions has been positive. -- Griff


----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Mann" <lmann@lock-net.com>
To: "iris- talk" <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2006 4:57 PM
Subject: [iris] Re: AIS: HYB: Guest Iris Data, and Risk


No, not too worried about pig trampling, at least not at a convention.
you tell me what risks you will take, and how you will weigh these against the limited but known fruits of your own direct experience.
When I send a rhizome off to convention, I willingly accept the risk that the package may fall into the ocean, pigs may trample plants in the ground, labels may be switched, even (horrors!) that I may dig and send the wrong plant (i.e., one intended for compost that grew into the "keeper" clump without my realizing it).

What I hope to gain is hearing that some of my tough kids that do pretty well here are spectacular in a well cared for convention garden in somewhat less stressful climate (or different types of stressful climates). If they do better or worse away from home than they do here, that does affect what choices I make when pollen daubing.

Although there is no <formal> reporting of performance at conventions, there are a <lot> of observers touring convention gardens, photos are shared (see the many posted on the photos forum), articles are written, the favorite in and out of region performances are voted on, friends tell each other stuff. In some ways, this kind of subjective reporting is more useful than raw data, because it usually includes some comparisons of performance.

My suggestion for a reporting form is the same as always, much less than most folks want - lived vs died. Beyond that, I'd like to know stalk to fan ratio, how much increase, stalk height (to compare to registered height). And how different an individual garden is from the general climate/growing conditions of the area. Thinking of highly variable terrain & effects on air circulation, rainfall, soil types etc.

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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