"What Happens If You Cross These Two Irises?"

By J. Griffin Crump


At our recent Chesapeake and Potomac Iris Society picnic, we were treated to an excellent presentation by one of our youth members, Colin Campbell, on the basics of hybridizing.  As part of the program, he illustrated various types of irises, from the long-standing descriptions --selfs, neglectas, amoenas-- to later emerging differentiations such as glaciatas, luminatas, etc. Inevitably, the question arose, "what happens if you cross such and such with so and so?  What might you get?"  There was a good deal of discussion about what might be expected of crosses between certain color combinations and/or between different patterns. Colin put a couple of  hypothetical crosses up on the screen and invited us to speculate as to the outcomes.  Unsurprisingly, there were various opinions.

So I thought I'd post here a few of my own introductions together with their parents, and you can judge whether the progeny is what you would have expected.  Try to just look at the two parents and speculate about the outcome before scrolling down to the next photo.


Here are 'Blackbeard', a border bearded,  and 'Betty Dunn', a tall bearded:

And their progeny, 'Blackbeard's Daughter', a tall bearded:

'Blackbeard's Daughter'

Interestingly,  'Blackbeard's Daughter' came out a tall bearded, whereas 'Blackbeard', the pod parent, was a border bearded.  I would have predicted a border bearded offspring.

Next, we look at a result of a cross between TB seedlings 02P2 and 01S2:

02P2

01S2

                                                                         
And their TB offspring, 'Prince Igor':

'Prince Igor'

Not too surprising, eh?  The pod parent is a strong red self, and the pollen parent also has rich mahogany red falls.  Its amoena factor is probably recessive.

We turn now to Seedling 02F6 X 'Starring':

 02F6   

'Starring'

                                                                                          

And the result:

'La Cumparsita'

Very much like its pod parent, but with a fuller shape.  It picks up Starring's red-orange beard.

The result of the next cross, 'Lili Marlene' X 'Cherry Glen', surprised me greatly.

'Cherry Glen'

'Lili Marlene'

 Here 'tis, and a rebloomer, to boot, though neither of the parents is:

'Autumn Nectar'

Sometimes, I get a seedling that I like but don't know what to do with.  That was the case with 20Q5, which I held onto for several years before acquiring Sterling Innerst's 'Lynsy Alexandra', which is very similar in bloom form and overall flower structure.

'Lynsy Alexandra'

20Q5

Both of these are what the late Dick Sparling used to call "small talls" with slender, nicely curved stems.  So, I was very happy when 'Lynsy Alexandra' X 20Q5 yielded a similarly shaped, but taller seedling which I will introduce in 2015 as 'Entrancing'.

'Entrancing'

'Entrancing' clump

A cross of Standard Dwarf Bearded 'Lumalite' by Tall Bearded rebloomer 'Blazing Sunrise' produced an outcome that surprised me.

Lumalite

'Blazing Sunrise'

Namely, 'Spring Again', an Intermediate rebloomer.

'Spring Again'

What surprised me was the complete dominance of the pollen parent's pattern.  Without the sun's backlighting, this flower has nice, solid apricot falls and pale apricot standards.  It's a reliable rebloomer.

Continuing to play with SDB 'Lumalite', I crossed it with TB 'Summer Olympics', i.e., 'Summer Olympics' X 'Lumalite':

'Summer Olympics'

'Lumalite'

And got IB 'Coral Chimes':

Who knew?

Pressing on, I made the cross IB 'Coral Chimes' X SDB 'Lumalite',

'Coral Chimes'

'Lumalite'

 and got SDB 'Bradán Eolais' (Irish: The Salmon of Knowledge):

Enough for now, and I trust you have noted that although you may set hybridizing goals, you never know for sure what may result.

Iris Hybridizer, Spare That Sprout!

By Griff Crump

Beginning hybridizers are often advised not to make decisions about new seedlings in their first year of bloom.   This is good advice for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that a hasty decision could result in sending to the compost pile what might have been an award-winning variety.

Actual practice among hybridizers varies, with some advising that a seedling should be evaluated for at least 3 years and, at the other extreme, some yanking and discarding first-year plants that don't please them.  Hybridizers whose growing space is limited may be forgiven if they fall into the latter category.

Even though my own garden is spatially challenged, I have always tried to follow the "at least 3 years" practice -- at first, simply because I respected the advice of more seasoned hybridizers that the first year of a seedling's bloom doesn't necessarily represent what the flower may do in its second or third year.  Over the course of years, however, experience has taught me that irises not only mature, but do so at different rates.  And maturation isn't the only thing that can change a plant's appearance.  Replanting and moving from partial sun to full sun, for instance, can make quite a difference in stature, and a difference in soil can affect color.

In a recent post on Iris Lovers, I mentioned that I came close to discarding IB 'Coral Chimes' when I first saw it, because it seemed to be the ugly duckling in a bevy of mostly cheery yellow-and-white siblings.  Its single bloom seemed muddy in color.  Nevertheless, I spared it, and still couldn't decide in the second year.  By the third year, however, it had matured into a glorious clump of coral-hued blossoms that reminded me of a fresh-faced choir.  I didn't waste film on it the first 2 years, but here's how it looked in the third.

'Coral Chimes'

I also save ungerminated lots of seeds from what I consider important crosses.  I mention that because the next example of maturation has a really unusual history.  In November, 2000, I planted 45 seeds of Brazilian Holiday X 98G1:(Lady Friend x Chinese Treasure) in three pots.  None germinated, but I saved the pots, letting them ride out the weather unprotected for the next 5 years (I'm stubborn).  In 2005, a single seed sprouted.  I planted it out as 05I1, although there was no "2".  It didn't bloom until 2007, and then was only border bearded in height.  Still, it was an amoena with dark velvet falls, and I was pleased.

05I1

The little thing was planted in a bed which was shaded at midday by a dogwood tree.  After its second year of bloom, in 2008, I replanted it in a full-sun location.  Voila!  In 2009, it bloomed at full TB height, well-branched, AND with a golden glow at its throat.  It won "best seedling" at the Fredericksburg Area Iris Society show in 2011 and was introduced as 'Lezghinka' in 2012.

'Lezghinka'

Finally, another benefit of holding onto seedlings for a while is that you may benefit from others' perspectives.  Seedling 064C10  had, from my point of view, a rich heritage ((Marguerita x Mamauguin) x Best Bet) X Ranks of Blue.  Nonetheless, it sat in my garden and was moved around as a re-select for some time until it produced a huge clump and attracted the attention of other irisarian visitors.  Acting on their advice, I introduced it in 2012 as 'Night Bird'.

'Night Bird'

 So, examine your seedlings with a critical eye, but don't be too quick to toss them.