SA article

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I thought this might be of some use.  This in article by George that he wrote last year for a regional bulletin.

LIVING IN THE SPACE AGE

By George Sutton

 

 

            Time does not stand still, nor does change.  Change is not always for the better:  just look at our world around us.  Sometimes I would rather not!  We resist change with a passion, but it still happens in all our endeavors.  If it is inevitable, relax and don't fight it. 

            As you well know, change is happening in the iris world too.  First came the large flowers with wide falls and billowing ruffles.  Small blooms of course can still be good as well.  There is room for both, when proportions are appropriate.  Next came the rebloomers, and once again resistance came to the surface: "I can't design my fall garden around iris which I'm sure won't rebloom in my climate."  The comment about the older rebloomers was "I didn't want to see them once, never mind two times or more!"  Then came the fancy hafts and veination: "We spent years trying to get rid of the haft marks.  Now some novice is exploiting them!"  Oh yes, we mustn't forget the increasingly popular BC's (broken colors), which I think of as variegated, not broken color.  Though they have shown up periodically for a long time, starting with HONORABILE (Lemon 1840), little research has been published.  It is thought that an unstable color gene is the culprit for this pattern.  Then again, let's not forget the Flats.  Though not new, since JAPANESQUE FARR was introduced in 1922, they have had the same treatment.  In The World of Iris it states: "They are, if not proper iris, at least spectacular flowers."  Likewise, lacing too was considered a novelty, to quote The World of Iris again: "mutation causing projections along petal margins." 

            All this leads us to Space Age iris.  Space Agers have had their share of detractors.  They have been called monstrosities, freaks of nature, grotesque, mutant and all kinds of names.  Yet the same detractors accept the Japanese iris when adorned with appendages.  The infamous double standard!  

            It is interesting to listen to the Internet iris chat, and there is a lot of it!  Recently there was a conversation in which a person asked "Why are they called Space Agers, and is this an appropriate name?"  We rather like the name, as it represents a new frontier to be explored, as was the space program of the 1950's.  Man's extended travel into space is no longer surprising, rather frightening perhaps.  It should not be surprising then that this relatively new iris breeding is producing new and exciting embellishments, at least for those with open minds. 

Another recent comment on the Internet was "Isn't it time to present a medal for Space Age Iris...Maybe the Austin Medal?"  In fact, Lloyd Austin's first introduced SA iris UNICORN (1954) was not the first iris with appendages.  They had been showing up in the Sydney B. Mitchell garden and also in the Henry Sass garden as early as the 1930's.   Thus the Sass line could be argued as the origin of the genes for appendages.  The first introduced SA iris that this writer knows is ADVANCED GUARD (Mitchell '45), which is a cross of MIDWEST X SAN FRANCISCO (or sib).  It's amazing what new roads the plicatas have opened!  However, most of the modern SA iris are descended from seedlings raised by Lloyd Austin.  The origins for this line came from two seedlings from Sydney B. Mitchell, one of which was ADVANCED GUARD.  How apropos!

How did these controversial projections come about?  The genetics of the projection, horns, spoons, etc. are unclear, as are the different manifestations of the projections, such as horns, flounces or any multiple projections.  It has been suggested that these different manifestations could be a dosage effect.  Thus the horned varieties would have at most two copies of the allele (Mendel's law: one pair of contrasted characters which become segregated in the formation of the reproductive cells.).  When intercrossed, these could segregate out some plants with one or no copies of the horned allele, but also some plants with three and four copies of the allele.  These plants with three or four copies would then be the spooned and flounced seedlings.  This dosage hypothesis predicts that intercrossing two flounced varieties would give almost all flounced seedlings.

Though not a scientist and certainly not a geneticist, this writer has observed hundreds of crosses of SA to SA seedlings.  The results contradict the above suggestions.  In our experience, SA to SA rarely gives more than 30% SA seedlings, and most of these, approximately 90%, are unstable mutants.  Ten percent are good to excellent Space Agers.  To this writer it seems that an unstable gene has caused many of the early Space Agers and SA x SA seedlings to be unreliable in their performance.  The gene is now somewhat less unstable.  SKY HOOKS (Osborne '80) has been the leader in stabilizing the SA gene.  Many hybridizers have used Sky Hooks, most notably Ben Hager and Monty Byers.  Many of today's Space Agers have consistent appendages.  In addition, hidden deep within the genetic system of Space Agers lies the remontant gene.

In any event, the Space Agers have arrived on the scene, and they're here to stay. 

Startling advances have come about in the past ten years.  Even more startling advances are showing up in seedling patches with more modern formed flowers with consistent appendages.  The remontant genes are really showing up in our SA seedlings.  One for next year, L-102, hopefully to be called GRAND CIRCLE, has snow white standards, off white falls, and a 1-1/4" hyacinth blue rim, plus white horns.  It has not stopped blooming since April, though it only blooms with the horns in April.

This brings up in interesting hypothesis.  We have become convinced that extremes of either heat or cold affect the appendages.  We have long noticed that ROCK STAR (Byers '91), both a Space Ager and a rebloomer, blooms with horns in the spring, but without horns later during our heat which can reach well over 100 degrees.  In 1998, at the AIS Convention in Denver, elevation 5200 feet, we noticed for the first time that our guest SA irises were sometimes missing their appendages.  Then in 1999 in Brno, Czech Republic, in Milan Blazek's Botanical Garden we noticed a magnificent clump of UNICORN with multiple spikes, with not a single horn in evidence.  It also seems that the appendages are not necessarily absent in more extreme weather, especially in the more consistent clones, but rather changed.  For instance, the lovely plicata rimmed flounces on MOMENTOUS OCCASION (Sutton '00) become smaller feathery spoons, although still with the plicata rim, in areas with colder weather than ours.  We are now looking for more instances of temperature related change in the appendages, with some anecdotal evidence from various persons in contact via the Internet. 

Following is a list of a few irises that consistently produce appendages in their seedlings.  This is not a complete list by any means.  The irises listed are all TBs unless otherwise noted.

AARON'S ROD (Sutton '98), a violet blue self with consistent short horns.

ABBEY CHANT (Sutton '98 IB RE), a lovely reverse yellow amoena with yellow edges and violet blue beards and horns.

AIR UP THERE (Burseen '96), a pleasant garden iris with cream standards rimmed yellow, falls of cream edged lemon, and not so subtle cream flounces.

AIRFORCE ONE (Sutton '02), a large wide neglecta with dark wisteria flounces.  This is imposing and is also a warm weather rebloomer.

ALABASTER UNICORN (Sutton '96), a well formed white with horns.

ALIEN MIST (Cy Bartlett '98), a pale blue self with blue black beards and long blue horns

APOLLO ONE (Sutton '97 RE), a spiraea red on white plicata with red horns, smaller size flower, and some rebloom reported in Oregon.  This is a great parent.

 BUGLEBOY BLUES (Sutton '96), much like its parent HONKY TONK BLUES, with sky blue flounces.  Good spikes for shows.

BUGLES AND HORNS (Sutton '97), a large graceful white self often with white horns and flounces.

CIN CIN (Innerst '98 BB), a nice medium blue with contrasting dark blue beards and horns.

CONJURATION (Byers '89), one of my favorites.  This is a white suffusing to violet edges, with white horns.  This makes good spikes, with smaller flowers.

DEJA BLUE (Sutton '01 RE), a super branched mid blue self with bald dark lilac horns.

EAGLE CONTROL (Sutton '99), a reverse blue amoena with a fuzzy bluish appendage.  A great grower in all climates.

GLACIER POINT (Tasco '98), a lovely pastel blue to white self with consistent violet horns.

LOOKOUT POINT (P. Black '96)  Standards are buff pink with violet falls and fuzzy violet horns.

No list is complete without MESMERIZER (Byers '91 RE), a lovely ruffled white with frilly flounces.  It is not as wide as the newer ones, but it is very balanced.

MIDNIGHT THUNDER (Michael Sutton '02 RE), a pretty, dark violet washed black with fuzzy midnight blue horns; very consistent.

MOMENTOUS OCCASION (Sutton '00), extremely consistent blue and white plicata with great form and branching.  This iris is a break through for consistency, a trait which seems to be inherited in its seedlings.

MOONRAKER (Sutton '98).  Golden standards contrast nicely with the white falls edged gold and white horns. It has a heavy texture that withstands severe weather.

TROPICAL DELIGHT (Michael Sutton '02 RE), a pretty garden subject with its amber yellow standards contrasting nicely with phlox purple falls, tangerine beards and phlox purple spoons.

VIPER (Sutton '99 IB RE), an oriental pink and white with orange beards and pansy purple horns; very attactive.

WING COMMANDER (Sutton '98), a lovely neglecta with reverse blue flounces, not as heavily ruffled as some.

Finally, BARBARA'S LACE (Sutton '03), a modern formed heavily laced LACED COTTON in pink tones with wide carrot beards ending in bald pink horns.  Absolutely gorgeous!

 There is an interesting article on Space Agers by Lloyd Austin in the April 1961 issue of the American Iris Society Bulletin.  Although there were only a few hybridizers working with Space Agers at that time, the article is well worth reading.  We certainly have experienced great change in the world of Spage Age iris since that time, most notably in the last fifteen years or so.  On can only wonder at what surprises lie in store for us in the next few years in this fascinating branch of our favorite flower, the iris.