Re: Re: Re: Sun and talkin' with pics(was Opal Brown intros)

In a message dated 2/29/2004 1:09:06 PM Central Standard Time, neilm@charter.net writes:


I wasn't so well prepared, nor were some of the iris bred in the shade.  If they couldn't take the intense sun, they didn't look too good there.  Her own looked wonderful.


I have for some time contemplated the following hypothesis.
Tall bearded iris performances as a group, beyond nutrients, temperatures and moisture, bears a high positive correlation to the light levels they experience. Light level is affected by both latitude and altitude.

This may well be a primary factor that accounts for the stellar performance of some cultivars in one region and dismal performance in others.

As a visual representation of this hypothesis (not from compiled statistics) the following graph represents what I would expect if they were compiled.



Where Z represents the altitude at which the iris introduction was selected, X represents the longitude, and Y represents the latitude.

The twin peaks might represent Portland, OR to the upper left and Nashville, TN to the lower right.

The relative size of the peaks might be viewed as the performance results of moving the center of AIS to a west coast influenced judge's group from a more central region of the country with all members of a large plant society allowed to provide evaluation input. While the colors represent cultivar performance levels.

Sadly, actual reliable compilation of such data from existing information is virtually impossible to accomplish in a statistically reliable way relative to performance. Most data that is available (symposium results) is statistically biased representing only the views of an insignificant number of those actually growing and observing cultivar performance. Further, that small number may base their evaluations on an infinitesimally small interval of time (likely during bloom in another area of the country different from their own garden conditions). Secondly only a small percentage of the actual iris introductions are included on such lists. The net result is just light reading for serious iris people and further retardation of irises in the eyes of the general public as great performing garden additions.

I envision a day when meaningful data will be collected in a useful way, a graph with perhaps many peaks, composed of significant numbers of cultivars, evaluated by masses of people, in diverse areas of the country. And, most of all I dream of a return of the irises good reputation as a near bullet proof garden plant.

Never short of hypothesis, opinion, or dreams,
Bill Burleson





 
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