The Classic MDBs

 by  Tom Waters

The world of dwarf and median irises was revolutionized in the 1950s when Paul Cook and Geddes Douglas crossed the dwarf species Iris pumila with tall bearded irises (TBs) to create what became known as standard dwarf bearded irises (SDBs). The new SDBs were not only lovely, varied, and useful garden plants in their own right; but they were fertile parents, leading to all sorts of new avenues for hybridizers.

Hybridizers soon tried crossing the SDBs back to both of the parent types, TBs and I. pumila. Crossing SDBs with TBs produced a whole new style of intermediate bearded irises (IBs), whereas crossing SDBs with I. pumila produced a new style of miniature dwarf bearded irises (MDBs).

'Bee Wings'
photo: El Hutchison

By ancestry, these new MDBs were 1/4 TB and 3/4 I. pumila. From I. pumila, they inherit daintiness, earliness of bloom, and floriferousness. The TB ancestry lends them a greater variety of color and pattern, and a bit more width and polish in flower form. Dwarf breeders and growers were delighted with these creations; and they became quickly popular, all but replacing the earlier dwarfs from I. lutescens breeding in just a decade or so.

'Alpine Lake'
photo: Tom Waters

The first MDB from SDB x I. pumila breeding to win the Caparne-Welch award was Alta Brown's 'Bee Wings' (Brown, 1959), which won the award in 1963.  By 1990, six others from this type of cross won the award. Especially notable among them were 'Zipper' (Sindt, 1978), a deep yellow with a stunning blue-violet beard, and 'Alpine Lake' (Willott, 1980), a soft near-white with a diffuse blue spot. I refer to these as "classic" MDBs, because they set the standard for the class during this time of great progress and interest.

'Zipper'
photo: Jeanette Graham

Another popular type of MDB was produced by crossing SDBs with each other and selecting irises that were small enough to fall under the height limit of the MDB class (currently 8 inches). These had the advantage of showing all the color patterns of TBs, including plicata and tangerine pink. Although both types were popular, hybridizers breeding specifically for MDBs preferred the SDB x I. pumila cross, which produced a much greater proportion of early-blooming, MDB-sized seedlings.

After 1990, the SDB x I. pumila cross gradually fell out of fashion, with most of the new MDBs coming from SDB x SDB breeding. The reason for this is two-fold. First, the SDBs had been steadily progressing in color, pattern, and form; and the classic MDBs from SDB x I. pumila could not really keep up. Second, fewer breeders were breeding specifically for MDBs and growing I. pumila for that purpose. Most breeders were instead working with their established SDB lines, which sometimes produce MDB-sized plants "by accident," as it were. So the SDB x SDB cross would do double duty, producing both SDBs and MDBs.

'Wee Dragons'
photo: Jeanette Graham

Classic MDBs are still being produced, however. My favorite recent one is Lynda Miller's 'Wee Dragons' (Miller, 2017). The recent Caparne-Welch winner 'Kayla's Song' (D. Spoon, 2008) is of complicated ancestry, but its overall appearance makes it likely that it too is 3/4 I. pumila and belongs in this category.

Although it is clear that the MDBs from SDB x SDB breeding will continue to dominate the class with their modern form and exciting color patterns, the classics should not be completely forgotten. The advantages of early bloom and guaranteed dainty size in all gardens should not be set aside too quickly. And since this type of cross is not often made these days, we don't have a very full picture of its potential when modern SDBs are involved.

'Kayla's Song'
photo: Ginny Spoon

Although my own hybridizing interests are focused elsewhere, I make some SDB x I. pumila crosses each year and donate the seeds to the Dwarf Iris Society seed sale, in the hopes of encouraging interest in the classic MDB cross.

If you grow MDBs, keep your eye out for classic MDBs that have I. pumila or one of its cultivars as a parent. They will delight you with their early bloom and daintier looks. 

2018's Top Blog Posts

2018 In Review

The last year was an important one for The World of Irises. In late October, our number of views passed one million, a significant milestone. During the year, we have had posts of all types of irises. It is useful to look back and note the most viewed The World of Irises posts. Here are the top ten for 2018.

If you missed any of these blog posts, just click on the title and it will load the article for you.

The most viewed post of the years was "Talking Irises" - THE 2018 TALL BEARDED IRIS BLOOM SEASON: A SPECTACULAR SHOW! By Susanne Holland Spicker. This was a guest post and we miss Susanne’s colorful articles as she had been on a sabbatical from writing.

Image by Susanne Holland Spicker

The second most viewed post was “The American Iris Society Announces the 2018 Dykes Medal Winner.”

In third place was “The Diversity of Color in Louisiana Irises - 'Unusual' Colors" by Ron Killingsworth

That post was followed by “Photo Essay: A Visit to Schreiner's Iris Gardens” By Mike Unser.

Next was Tom Waters’s important post about the complicated issues of fertilizing:  “Fertilizing Irises.” This post lead to many serious discussions and some of us have changed our gardening habits based on its information.

Tom Walter’s post about fertilizing was followed in views by Keith Keppel’s “New Color Combinations in Plicatas, part 2."

Bryce Williamson’s post about the new and yet unnamed iris species was next: "New Iris Species Azure Blue."

Next in line was Ginny Spoon's post about East Coast reblooming irises: "Reblooming Iris: A Love Affair." 

That was followed by Chad Harris’s article “Iris Ensata,Iris Laevigata, and Pseudota in Containers.”

And rounding out the top ten viewed posts of 2018 was Keith Keppel’s part 1 of “New Color Combinations In Plicatas.”

Borderline Cases

by Tom Waters

There are three classes of median irises that span the interval between the standard dwarf bearded (SDB) and tall bearded (TB) classes. The intermediate bearded (IB) are mostly the result of crossing TBs with SDBs, leading to plants intermediate between the two, both in height and in bloom season. The miniature tall bearded (MTB) come from varied backgrounds, but must meet exacting standards of delicacy in height, flower size, and stalk proportions. The final class, the border bearded (BB) are derived almost exclusively from the TBs, but with height less than the 70 cm (27.5 inches) that is the boundary between the BB and TB classes.

The BB class is unusual in that it has no real “center of gravity” of its own; rather it represents the smaller “tail end” of the TB class. Many BBs are registered at a height of 27 inches, just barely below the upper limit of the class, and are hard to distinguish in practice from TBs at the lower end of the TB height range. One might ask if there is really a need to place such irises in a separate class.

Proponents of BBs have long had a vision of the class that sets it apart from the TB class. An ideal BB is not just a TB that is an inch or two shorter; rather, an ideal BB is a reduced TB in all its dimensions and proportions, including foliage, branching, flower size and form. While it is not intended that they be as delicate as MTBs, they ought to be “halfway there”, as it were – they should be esthetically medians, instantly distinguishable as diminutive and elegant irises in their own right. Part of their value comes from being useful in garden design in situations where TBs would be out of scale or overwhelming. They should be more about charm than grandeur.

'Brown Lasso' (Buckles by Niswonger, 1975),
BB (22 inches), American Dykes Medal, 1981

Some of the best median hybridizers have pursued this ideal with great care, selecting plants for introduction that are modestly proportioned, perky, and might more easily be mistaken for IBs or MTBs than for TBs. Early BBs like ‘Frenchi’ (B. Jones, 1959) and ‘Tulare’ (M. Hamblen, 1961) were exemplars of this ideal in their time, as was ‘Brown Lasso’ (Buckles by Niswonger, 1975) which was the only BB to win the American Dykes Medal. ‘Cranapple’ (Aitken, 1995) is a worthy example of more recent vintage.

 This is difficult work, and not always appreciated; many people buy BBs just as they do TBs, by looking at the catalog “glamor photos” of single blooms and choosing exciting colors and patterns, with little attention to plant proportions or esthetics. A large, blousy iris with the latest TB color pattern that does not meet the BB ideal may sell more than a carefully selected, lightly ruffled, charming BB in an unexceptional yellow, violet, or white.

One might argue that this doesn’t matter in the big picture of things. People like what they like, and if they enjoy an iris, who cares about its failure to meet some elitist ideal?  On a case-by-case basis, I think that is a valid perspective. Where it becomes problematic is when the notion of the class becomes so blurred that it ceases to convey anything clear to gardeners, and those seeking smaller, well-proportioned medians can’t trust the BB designation as meaningful.

'Oops' (Jim and Vicki Craig, 2003),
a BB from tetraploid MTB breeding

We all have a role to play in maintaining the distinctiveness of the BB class. Hybridizers can work more with lines that are intentionally devised to produce BBs, rather than taking most of their BB introductions from crosses intended to produce TBs. Tetraploid MTBs and smaller bearded species can be used to “tame” the TB genes and keep plants in scale.

Judges must strive to be more scrupulous in maintaining the standards of the BB class. Alas, color novelty and hybridizer reputation often bias judges away from a more sober consideration of shape and proportion.

Finally, buyers can reward hybridizers who keep the BB ideal in mind. Best of all is to buy BBs you have seen growing in a garden, and which you know to be consistently diminutive and in proportion. If you do buy “sight unseen” (as I often do), give preference to BBs registered in the 20-24 inch range, rather than 26 or 27 inches, as so many are. I also check pedigrees, looking for a preponderance of BBs, MTBs, or SPX irises in the background of a new BB. Finally, even a single-bloom photo can convey information about the scale of the plant, if you know what to look for. A bloom that is perky, flared, and not too ruffled is more likely to be in scale than one that is more flamboyant but not so flaring.

I have chosen not to use this blog post to give examples of modern BBs that I think are particularly fine or particularly poor examples of the class ideals; that is for each person to decide for themselves.

The BB class need not be just a spillover for short TB seedlings; it has much to offer the discerning gardener. Wonderful irises come in all sizes!

If you found this post interesting, please check back in January, when noted hybridizer Kevin Vaughn offers his reflections on the history of the BB class and promising avenues for its future development.

An Arilbred Iris Sampler

Tom Waters

'Oyez' (White, 1938)

I was recently contacted by an iris lover who had read my blog post on the classification of arilbred irises and wanted to sample each of the categories. She asked if I had any recommendations. I gave a few off the top of my head, and she suggested that this might make a good blog topic. I agree! So here is my arilbred sampler, for those who want to try the full range of different types of arilbreds.

I've restricted the irises mentioned here to those that are readily available. The commercial gardens that have the best selection of arilbreds are Superstition Iris Gardens, Mid-America Garden, and Blue J Iris. In addition, the Aril Society International has an annual plant sale with many more arilbreds than these commercial growers offer. The offerings vary each year depending on what members contribute, but many varieties are offered nearly every year. If an iris was available from one of the three large commercial growers in their most recent catalog, or in the ASI plant sales for the last two years, I deemed it readily available. Some other commercial growers list a small number of arilbreds, and if arilbreds are grown in your area, the local iris society plant sales can also be a good source of plants.

I want to be clear that this listing is indeed intended as a "sampler". The idea is to cover as many different kinds as possible, to showcase the diversity of arilbreds. It is not an attempt to identify the "best arilbreds" by some objective criteria, nor even a list of "Tom's favorites". The idea is that if you are new to arilbreds, and plant a varied assortment, you can discover your own preferences and what grows well for you.

The ASI recognizes nine different categories of arilbred, based on the type and amount of aril content the iris has. There are two types of pure arils: oncocyclus and Regelia. An arilbred can have either or both of these types of aril in its background. Hence we have oncobreds (OB), Regeliabreds (RB), and oncogeliabreds (OGB, mixed onco and Regelia content). Furthermore, arilbreds can be half aril, more than half aril, or less than half aril. Those with more than half aril content are indicated with a "+" sign; those with less than half aril with a "-" sign. No sign is used for those that are half aril. Thus RB+ means an arilbred whose type of aril content is Regelia only, and whose amount of aril content is more than half.

It turns out that these nine categories actually allow for more distinctions than a practical gardener need attend to. There are very few OB arilbreds, and they are indistinguishable from most OGB types. The reason is that most of today's arilbreds are descended from pioneering work by C. G. White in the 1940s, and White did not keep track of parentages during this time. So his arilbreds, although drawing heavily on oncocyclus arils and selected to resemble oncocyclus as much as possible, are classified as OGB because of the possibility of some Regelia ancestry. So I don't separate OBs from OGBs here.

I do, however, separate out the arilbred medians and arilbred dwarfs from the tall arilbreds. These smaller arilbreds, typically with dwarf or median bearded irises in their parentage, fill a very different role in the garden and provide much of the diversity to be encountered in the arilbred tribe.

So much for the preliminaries. Onward to the plants!

OGB and OB (Onco-type halfbreds)

These are what most of us think of when we think of arilbreds. Most are tall types, with TB and oncocyclus ancestry dominating. Blooms are typically large and globular, often with strong aril markings, such as signal spots or veining.

'Refiner's Fire' (McGrath, 2007)

Large bold signals are actually a rather recent development in this group, with 'Energizer' (Shockey, 1996) being a striking breakthrough in its time. More recently, 'Noble Warrior' (Tasco, 2006) combines a dramatic signal with a bit of veining. 'Refiner's Fire' (McGrath, 2007) gives a striking dark signal on a deeply colored red-toned flower.

'Sand Dancer' (Tasco, 2010) gives us a whole different look, with falls covered in peppery stippling. Yet another completely different look is to be found in 'Navajo Velvet' (McAllister, 2009), with falls of lustrous, satiny mahogany red.

The historic arilbred 'Oyez' (White, 1938) has seduced many iris growers into the arilbred world with its dramatic precise veining. Strangely, it has been difficult to reproduce this striking pattern in modern arilbreds. ('Oyez' is a sterile diploid.) An early success was 'Jonnye's Magic' (Rich, 1992). For a true modern advancement in veined arilbreds, seek out 'Alakazam' (Tasco, 2013).

'Aladdin's Gem' (Thoolen, 2002)

There are few arilbred medians and arilbred dwarfs in this category. Very notable is 'Aladdin's Gem' (Thoolen, 2002), a fertile aril-pumila hybrid about the size of a small SDB (standard dwarf bearded)!

OGB- and OB- (Onco-type quarterbreds)

Originally, these categories were dominated by tall arilbreds that came from crossing halfbreds with TBs. At a time when halbreds were uncommon and difficult to grow, the quarterbreds were the most accessible arilbreds for most gardeners. The historic iris 'Elmohr' (Loomis-Long, 1942) was a fine example of the type, the only arilbred to win the Dykes Medal. It does not show the strong aril patterning we now expect in arilbreds, without signal or veining to speak of. To understand its allure, we must think back to a time when TBs were troubled with narrow petals and often droopy form. 'Elmohr' stood out with dramatically large blooms, wide falls, and a bit of globular onco form to bring it all together.

Some other tall quarterbreds for the sampler are 'Dune' (Hager, 1981) and the very recent 'Heart of Hearts' (Black, 2015). At their best, this type of iris can bring some of the modern TB form and bud count into irises that still evoke their aril ancestry.

'Desert Snow' (Black, 2013)

Since the 1970s, however, arilbred medians have increasingly dominated these categories. Crossing an
OGB halfbred with an SDB produces an OGB- arilbred median. In the garden, these occupy a niche similar to the IBs (intermediate beardeds), but with some aril traits to give them that special something extra. The charm and adaptability of this type of arilbred has given them a great appeal among arilbred growers and median fanciers alike. 'Brash and Bold' (Black, 2009) and 'Desert Snow' (Black, 2013) are fine examplars of what this category has to offer.

A somewhat different approach is found in 'Persian Sapphire' (Baumunk, 2005), a child of 'Aladdin's Gem' that has more Iris pumila in its makeup than TB.

There are some arilbred dwarfs in this category that are worthy of attention. 'Loudmouth' (Rich, 1970) is a perennial favorite, SDB-sized with raucous signal and veining and globular form. 'Tiny Pirate' (Rich, 1990) is the most diminutive arilbred I have grown; it would be small even among MDBs (miniature dwarf beardeds), but struts onco form, a signal, and a whisper of veining.

RB (Regelia-type halfbreds)

Enthusiasm for large, globular oncocylcus irises with their dramatic signals and stippling was a driving force in early arilbred breeding. The Regelias took a back seat in the minds of many growers and breeders; sometimes they were thought of as providing nothing but some ruggedness and climate adaptability. But some have always appreciated the Regelias for their svelte elegance, sometimes striking veining, satiny texture, or blended colors.

An early Regeliabred that helped draw attention to the potential of this type of iris was 'Genetic Artist' (H. Danielson, 1972). This shows a classic color pattern derived from the Regelia Iris stolonifera: a yellowish rim around a blue or violet center. 'Afrosiab' (Volfovich-Moler, 2001) shows a touch of ruffling from its TB parent, 'Mary Frances' (Gaulter, 1973). The French hybridizer Lawrence Ransom worked extensively with Regeliabreds, with his 'Eastern Blush' (Ransom, 2002) being much used in his breeding program.

RB- (Regelia-type quarterbreds)

Ransom's work takes center stage in this category. Among the tall RB- are the horned 'Sandthorn' (Ransom, 2011), and his "Pashtun" series, for example 'Pashtun Princess' (Ransom, 2011).

Ransom also produced a delightfully varied series of RB- arilbred medians, the "Vera girls", from crossing the Regelia 'Vera' (Van Tubergen, not registered) with SDBs.of which 'Vera-Marina'  (Ransom, 1998) is one example.

OGB+ (Onco-type "three-quarter"-breds)

This group has become sadly scarce in commerce, with seldom any new ones registered and introduced. This is perhaps because few arilbred hybridizers today grow the oncocyclus species and hybrids needed to produce this type of arilbred, which usually comes from crossing an OGB arilbred with a pure oncocyclus. The few that are readily available are not always representative of the best this type of breeding has to offer. 'Tul Kerem' (H. Danielson, 1974) is interesting but I find its combination of oncocylcus and Regelia traits ends up not doing justice to either. 'Masada's Glory' (Whitely, 2002) is a better exemplar of what this category has to offer. Although they do not meet my availability criteria, keep a look out from 'Jeweled Veil' (Rich, 1978) or 'Dotted Sunsuit' (Mathes, 2001). These show the oncocyclus features of their ancestry to best advantage.

RB+ (Regelia-type "three-quarter"-breds)

'Turkish Topaz' (Austin, 1962)

A couple oddities round out the sampler. 'Turkish Topaz' (Austin, 1962) was registered as a pure Regelia hybrid, but its parentage is somewhat ambiguous and it looks and grows like an RB+. The flowers are yellow with much brown streaking and blotching. 'White Arts' (L. Danielson, 1986) has only Iris hoogiana in its Regelia ancestry. This species shows nothing that we might recognize as distinctively aril in its coloration. If you walked by 'White Arts' in a garden, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a white IB or perhaps an antique diploid TB.

If you want to sample the world of arilbreds, be sure to try several different types. The variety available in plant size, color pattern, and form is truly remarkable!

Our debt to Iris aphylla

Tom Waters

I. aphylla

The European bearded iris species Iris aphylla has contributed to the development of modern bearded irises in a number of different ways. It still remains of considerable interest to hybridizers, particularly those working with the median classes.

The species is native to much of eastern Europe, with a range extending farther north than other bearded species. This makes it thoroughly winter hardy. It goes completely dormant in winter, losing all its leaves right to the ground. (The Latin word aphylla means "leafless".) The flowers are violet, although some recessive white and other off-color forms exist. The flowers themselves are not particularly glamorous, being often narrow and of poor substance. One of its most distinctive characteristics is prolific basal branching, with long branches starting low on the stalk, not infrequently at the point the stalk emerges from the rhizome. It varies in height, with forms as small as 30 cm and as tall as 60 cm or more. Both wild-collected forms and garden cultivars of the species have been registered and circulated.

I. aphylla 'Slick' (Lynn Markham, 2003)

Happily, I. aphylla has a similar chromosome complement to that of our modern tetraploid tall bearded (TB) and border bearded (BB) irises. This means it can be crossed with them to produce fertile seedlings that can be continuously worked with and improved for as many generations as one likes.

Early breeders showed little interest in medians, and simply worked I. aphylla into TB lines. It was found to contribute two interesting traits: an intensification of violet flower color, and blue or violet beards! Many early approaches to black in TB irises, such as 'Sable' (Cook, 1938) and probably 'Black Forest' (Schreiner, 1948), derive from I. aphylla. It is also behind many whitish or light blue TBs with blue or violet beards. In these irises, the dominant white found in TBs interacts with the intensification of violet pigment from I. aphylla.

When enthusiasm for median irises blossomed in the 1950s, with the formation of the Median Iris Society and the establishment of the four classes of median irises, creative breeders began to consider the potential of I. aphylla to add variety to these classes.

'Tic Tac Toe' (Johnson, 2010)
tetraploid MTB descended from I. aphylla

The most ambitious of such undertakings was Ben Hager's project to create tetraploid miniature tall bearded (MTB) irises. This class had been created with diploids in mind. Most TB irises from the 1800s and early 1900s were diploid, with a daintiness that was lost when tetraploids came to dominate. Early MTB breeders had taken these daintier TBs and bred them for even smaller size and greater delicacy. The MTBs were promoted as subjects for flower arranging. Tetraploid TBs, however, showed more different colors (such as tangerine pink), wider form, and better substance. Could these traits from the modern TBs be transferred to irises dainty enough to qualify for the strict requirements of the MTB class? Hager set about proving that they could. He crossed I. aphylla with small TBs and BBs, and then kept breeding toward the MTB requirements. After many generations of work, he established a line of tetraploid MTBs. Although these did not look exactly like the diploid MTBs (I. aphylla yields straight, upright stalks with vertical branching, whereas diploid MTBs often have a more zig-zag branching style), they had an appeal all their own. The first pink MTBs were Hager's tetraploids from I. aphylla.

'Saucy' (Craig, 1998)
tetraploid IB descended from I. aphylla

Hager's work was carried on by Jim and Vicki Craig, who combined Hager's irises with their own crosses involving different forms of I. aphylla. They introduced not only tetraploid MTBs, but BBs and IBs from the same breeding lines. This enhanced the variety of all three classes. They even produced a couple that were small enough to qualify as standard dwarf bearded (SDB)!

Others have worked with I. aphylla over the years, and continue to do so. Some hybrids that a relatively close to the species itself have been registered in the SPEC-X category. Paul Black's "small-flowered TBs" owe a debt to I. aphylla.

This species has contributed a great deal to the variety we find in both TBs and medians today. Do you grow any irises with I. aphylla ancestry? I'd wager you do!

'Night Mood' (Lynn Markham, 2003)
SPEC-X from 'Blackbeard' X I. aphylla 'Dark Violet'

Dwarfs for Every Garden

by Tom Waters

The dwarf bearded irises (those classified as miniature dwarf bearded, or MDB) are a charming addition to any garden. With blooms held eight inches (20 cm) or less from the ground, they are the daintiest of all the bearded irises. They are also the earliest to bloom. In my garden, the first ones open a full two months before tall bearded season.

Almost all MDBs grown today fall into one of three categories. All three groups owe their existence to the eastern European species Iris pumila, which came to be used by American hybridizers in the 1940s.

'Liitle Drummer Boy'

The first category is Iris pumila itself. This tiny species is seldom more than 4 or 5 inches (10-12 cm) in height, with just one bloom per stem. (Actually, the stem is often almost nonexistent, most of the height being in the perianth tube formed by the flower parts themselves.) It comes in a range of colors from white and yellow to blue, violet, and purple, usually with a darker colored spot on the falls. There are a number of cultivars produced by hybridizers or selected from wild forms for their garden value. Some of my favorites are 'Little Drummer Boy' (Willott, 1997), 'Hobbit' (Miller, 2004), and 'Royal Wonder' (Coleman, 2013).

'Hobbit'

'Royal Wonder'

The next two categories came about as a consequence of the creation of the first standard dwarf bearded (SDB) irises in the 1950s. As I discussed in an earlier blog post, the SDBs were the result of crossing Iris pumila with tall bearded irises (TBs). The SDBs averaged about 12 inches (30 cm) in height and would typically have 2 or 3 buds. They are regarded as medians, not as true dwarfs, because of their larger size and occasional branch, something not seen in traditional dwarf irises.

'Alpine Lake'

Shortly after the SDBs appeared, hybridizers crossed them back to Iris pumila to produce irises of truly dwarf stature, but with a little something extra from their TB ancestry: plicata pattern, for example, or wider petals and more flaring form. These were the most common type of MDB in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. 'Knick-Knack' (Greenlee, 1961), 'Zipper' (Sindt, 1979), and 'Alpine Lake' (Willott, 1981) are good examples of this type.

The third category came about from SDB breeding in an even more direct way. Sometimes crossing two SDBs produces an iris smaller than average. These small ones, if they are 8 inches or less in height, belong in the MDB class, since the definition for that class is based on height, not ancestry. Because so much work has been done to improve the SDB class over many decades, these are often the most "developed" dwarfs in terms of form and variety of color and pattern. Popular examples of this type are 'Dollop of Cream' (Black, 2006), 'Icon' (Keppel, 2008), and 'Beetlejuice' (Black, 2013).

'Dollop of Cream'

'Icon'

Generally speaking, the greater the amount of Iris pumila in a dwarf's makeup, the smaller, earlier, and more adapted to cold winters it will be. Those with less Iris pumila will have larger flowers with greater width and ruffling, a greater range of color patterns, and perform better in warm-winter areas.

There are no official designations for these categories, although hybridizers sometimes identify them by the number of chromosomes: Iris pumila has 32, the SDBs and their small MDB progeny have 40, and the SDB x pumila hybrids have 36.

How can you tell which of these categories and MDB belongs to? Alas, the only way to be sure is to look at the parentage on the Iris Encyclopedia or other resource. In most cases, this will lead you back either to SDBs or to Iris pumila, or else the parentage will be an SDB x pumila cross. If this sort of research interests you, my list of pure Iris pumila cultivars may help make sense of things.

I love dwarfs in all their variety, and happily live in a locale where all kinds grow well. Do you grow dwarfs in your own garden? Which kinds are your favorite?

Growing Irises from Seed

by Tom Waters

We usually propagate irises by division: digging up a large clump, breaking apart the individual rhizomes, and replanting. This method is easy, and because most irises increase rapidly, within a few years you will have plenty of them. This post is about a different way of propagating irises: planting seeds. This is a process that has some challenges, but also has some wonderful rewards. If you've never thought about growing irises from seeds, or have wondered about it but are unsure how to start, read on!

Why?

If you are hybridizing, you will necessarily be growing irises from seed. Hybridizing refers to cross-pollinating irises to produce new varieties. When you cross two different irises, the result is a pod of seeds. Each of the seedlings will grow into a new individual, not exactly like any other iris. Propagating by division only creates exact copies of the original plant, whereas progagation from seed creates only brand new plants, different from either parent. Even if you are not intending to embark on serious hybridizing program to create new varieties to sell commercially, making crosses and raising seedlings can be fun and interesting.

Woohoo! Iris seeds just arrived from Czechia

But hybridizing is not the only reason you might want to raise irises from seed. Some types of irises may just not be obtainable from commercial growers as plants, but you may be able to acquire seeds from a collector or from a seed exchange. This is especially true of iris species, the wild irises from different parts of the world. It can be very difficult to import live plants from other countries, but importing seeds is usually much easier. I've gotten seeds of iris species from collectors in the Czech Republic and from seed exchanges run by the Species Iris Group of North America (SIGNA), the British Iris Society (BIS), the Scottish Rock Garden Club (SRGC), and the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS). Although the seedlings from a given offering of species seeds will all be different, in subtle or obvious ways, they will all still be plants of that named species, unless the person providing the seed misidentified the plant, or unless it was accidentally cross-pollinated by a different species growing nearby.

Growing irises from seeds also has some other advantages: you get a wide variety of different plants, so you can choose the ones that do best in your climate or whose appearance you prefer. Growing from seed is also a way to eliminate virus infection, should that be a problem.

Finally, growing irises (or any plant) from seeds is a very satisfying experience. It connects you with the whole process of growth, from its very beginning. There's nothing quite like seeing the first bloom of a plant you've grown from seed yourself.

How?

The process of growing irises from seeds is not (usually) very difficult, but it does require patience and attention to factors that you might not have considered if your only experience of raising plants from seeds is growing vegetables or annuals. There have been many articles written on special ways to grow iris seeds; you can find a number of them on the web. In this post, I am not going to suggest one particular method as superior, but just give you an overview of the basics, so that you can get started and learn what works for you.

There are two requirements for germinating iris seeds:

1. They must experience several months of cold temperatures, followed by a warming period.

2. They must have adequate moisture.

Seeds planted into pots sunk in the ground
 (gravel on top protects from washout
and animal interferenece)

The simplest way to meet these two requirements is to plant the seeds outdoors in the autumn or early winter, and let nature take its course--assisting with supplemental water if natural precipitation is insufficient. Seeds can be planted straight in the soil, or in pots sunk into the ground or just left on a porch or in a cold frame. A planting depth of 1 cm or 1/2 inch is suitable for most seeds. Germination usually occurs around the time of iris bloom in the spring.

Some growers prefer to give the seeds their cold treatment ("stratification") indoors, by putting the seeds in baggies with slightly moist vermiculite, perlite, or other sterile medium and refrigerating them for 60 days or more. The advantage of indoor stratification is greater control over the conditions, and the possibility of getting germination a few months earlier. The disadvantage is that you need to be prepared to grow on the seedlings indoors under grow lights for some time, until they are ready to be hardened off and planted outdoors.

Newly sprouted seedlings!

I prefer the outdoor method, as it is less bother and easier to manage with large numbers of seedlings. If I had an extra refrigerator to use for seeds, I might prefer indoor germination.

Whatever method is used to germinate the seeds, they should be transplanted to a semi-permanent seedling bed outdoors when they have at least three leaves. Some may bloom a year later. The year after that, most should bloom and you can decide which ones to keep and which to discard.

The reason the period of cold temperature is needed is that irises, like many perennials from temperate climates, cannot easily survive a winter while still small seedlings. When germination occurs in the spring, rather than in the fall, the young plants have the best possible chance of survival. In contrast, most annuals are fast-growing, opportunistic plants that can grow, flower, and produce seed whenever there is a few months of warm weather.

Dormancy

Even if the requirements above are met, not all the seeds will sprout the first year. With garden variety bearded irises, the percentage will usually be more than 50%, and can approach 100%. Most of the remainder will sprout the following year. At the other extreme, aril irises may sprout a few at a time over a period of 10 years or more. Why is this? It is nature's "insurance policy" against calamities and harsh conditions of various sorts. If all seeds sprouted at the same time, a drought, flood, fire, or other disaster could destroy the whole population. By having the seeds sprout over the course of several years, it is virtually guaranteed that some will survive.

For the gardener, however, such protracted dormancy is a frustration. Few of us want to wait a decade for the seeds we plant to sprout! In irises, dormancy has at least two causes: the hardness of the seed coat, which makes it mechanically difficult for the seedling to emerge, and chemical germination inhibitors inside the seed itself. In nature, the action of water and the cycles of freezing and thawing serve to gradually weaken the seed coat and to leach away the chemical inhibitors.

Some growers have success by planting seed fresh, before it has a chance to dry out. For some types, at least, this can bypass dormancy and result in immediate germination. Of course, one then needs a way to care for the seedlings over winter.

A variety of techniques are used to overcome dormancy artificially. One can attempt to leach out the germination inhibitors by prolonged soaking or use of running water. One can overcome the hard seedcoat by abrasion or chipping (cutting away the seedcoat to expose the embryo). This "forced germination" procedure is often recommended for difficult oncocyclus seeds. The ultimate procedure is to excise the embryo under sterile conditions, and germinate it on a nutrient agar medium. This "embryo culture" can be used to germinate seeds that will not germinate any other way, but it is very demanding work and the young seedlings are very vulnerable.

Whether you choose to use any of these techniques for overcoming dormancy will depend on whether the basic method is giving adequate germination for the types of seeds you grow. I think the best advice is to try natural germination first, and then move on to progressively more invasive and difficult techniques if you need to.

The Payoff

I encourage everyone to trying growing irises from seeds at least once, whether it's making a cross or two in your own garden or ordering a packet of seeds from a seed exchange. It's an adventure, and the first bloom of an iris you've raised from seed yourself makes it all worth the wait!

Here are three seedlings from the same cross, arilbred 'Aztec Prince' (Tasco, 2009) X Iris pumila:

Winter Iris Gardening

by Tom Waters

This being the day after Christmas, it seemed appropriate to write something "seasonal" for this blog post. So what does winter mean for the iris grower?

A word to the wise: Iris growers live in many, many different climates. What is true in one climate may be false in another. Be suspicious of any gardening advice on such topics as winter care that is written as though it applies everywhere. In this post, I'll mention a few things that one might want to consider, but I do not offer any absolute advice. For that, you need to speak with other gardeners in your own area or just do some trial-and-error work on your own.

All irises grow in temperate climates. They are adapted to the changing seasons. Most kinds have periods of rapid growth in spring and autumn, but slow down or go dormant in summer and winter. In fact, irises need a distinct winter with cold temperatures in order to bloom; they will not do well in tropical climates.

Selecting irises for your winter conditions. All garden irises are ultimately derived from wild iris species from different parts of the northern hemisphere. The climate where those species live can tell you something about how those irises will do in various climates. Louisiana irises, for example, are native to the southeastern US, where winters are mild and summers are warm and wet.

Among the bearded irises, winter hardiness varies a great deal. The original diploid tall bearded irises come from the species Iris pallida and Iris variegata, native to central Europe, often at rather high altitudes. They have little difficulty surviving cold winters. These diploid types are today mostly found among the miniature tall bearded (MTB) irises. Modern tetraploid tall bearded irises also have species from the eastern Mediterranean in their ancestry, meaning that some of them fare poorly in colder climates. Depending on the particular mix of genes, modern TBs can be utterly hardy or quite tender, or anything in between. So how is one to know? Checking with other growers in your own area is always good advice, but one can also take a clue from the region where the iris was originally hybridized. Irises bred in Canada or in the US midwest are almost certain to be suited to cold winters, while those from the Pacific coast are not necessarily so. Border bearded irises (BBs) have the same ancestry as TBs, and so the same considerations apply.

Among the dwarf and median classes, miniature dwarfs (MDBs), standard dwarfs (SDBs), and intermediates (IBs) virtually all have Iris pumila in their ancestry. This tiny species is a native of central and eastern Europe, growing at higher elevations and in more continental climates than most of the TB species. It is very hardy, perhaps to a fault, because it has a reputation for failing to grow and bloom well in climates with mild winters. Consequently, growers in places like southern California and Arizona sometimes find that these types (the MDBs especially) do not do well for them.

Arilbreds vary in their degree of winter hardiness. The aril species grow in southwestern and central Asia. Although some of these are adapted to the very warm climate of the deserts of Israel, Jordan, and Syria, most arils are in fact mountain plants used to extreme winter cold and extreme summer heat. So why do northern growers find many arilbreds too tender for their climates? The fault is probably in their TB ancestry. The center of early arilbred breeding was Southern California, and the TBs used in arilbred breeding were those that did well in that mild-winter climate.

Having made these generalizations, I encourage iris growers to experiment with types that "conventional wisdom" might recommend against. Every garden has microclimates, and every category of irises has cultivars that are surprisingly adaptable.

Winter care: mulching. Irises are not very different in their needs from other perennials you may grow, so in climates where winter mulch is beneficial, it can be applied to iris plantings as well. The main purpose of a winter mulch is not to keep the plants warm, but to moderate the cycles of alternate freezing and thawing that can push plants out of the ground expose them to risk of winter rot. Snow makes an excellent insulator. If your climate is such that you can count on a fairly thick cover of snow all winter long, you have the ideal natural winter mulch!

I am not so fortunate here in northern New Mexico. We get temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit every winter, most often without any snow cover at all. I do not apply a heavy much, but I do allow garden debris to stay in place over winter, giving the crowns of the plants some buffer against the wind and cold. I also put down a layer of cotton bur compost in the late autumn. Winter weather gradually degrades it and incorporates it into the soil, but in the meanwhile it seems to offer a little protection.

Beware that mulches can harbor overwintering insect pests and can collect water. In climates where these are issues of concern, it is best to forgo mulch.

Winter care: water. In climates where the ground freezes, watering in winter is nor desirable, and often not even possible, so winter offers relief from this particular garden duty. Many gardening books seem to assume this is true everywhere. However, if you live in a dry climate with spells of warm weather during the winter, you should pay attention and provide a little supplemental water as needed to keep the garden from becoming totally desiccated. Not much is needed: remember that the plants are dormant or semi-dormant, and that evaporation is less because of the cool temperatures.

Seeds! For those of us who like to grow irises from seeds, winter is an important time. Like most temperate perennials, irises have seeds that resist germination during the winter, to sprout when spring arrives. The cold and wet of winter are actually part of the preparation they need to germinate. The simplest way to grow irises from seeds is to plant them outdoors in the autumn, where they can overwinter and come up the following spring. Nature is unpredictable, of course, so many people prefer to use an indoor refrigeration process to replicate winter conditions. I'm not really set up for that kind of project, so I plant mine outdoors and let nature do her work.

Seeds from my own crosses get planted around the time of the first frost in autumn. Those I get from seed exchanges or other providers usually come later, in December or January. The longer they have to experience the winter wet and cold, the better. Since winter and spring weather here is erratic, germination is unpredictable. I generally leave the seeds in place for several years.

I hope I've touched on at least a few topics of interest. What are your own experiences of irises and winter?

Arilbred Irises: A Little History

Tom Waters

'Brash and Bold' (Black, 2009),
William Mohr medal 2106
(arilbred median)

The story of arilbreds begins in the late 19th century, when the exotic aril iris species of the Middle East found their way into the gardens of European plant enthusiasts. Sir Michael Foster, England's foremost iris expert at the time, tried his hand at crossing the arils with the more familiar tall bearded (TB) irises. His motives were mainly exploratory; at the time, no one knew if the arils and bearded irises were compatible, or whether desirable garden plants might result from crossing them.

Although these early arilbreds were interesting plants, showing features of both parents, they were also quite sterile. Arils and TBs were just too distantly related to produce fertile offspring when crossed. One might expect hybridizers to simply give up on the idea, but many kept trying. The allure of the arils, with their huge globular blooms, often strikingly marked with velvety signals, veins, and stippling, was not something to be lightly set aside. Also, the arils themselves were difficult to grow in England and much of the US, demanding very dry conditions when dormant in summer and winter. So the great hope was that crossing arils with TBs could produce an aril-like bloom on a plant that could grow in any garden where TBs grow.

The famous iris breeder William Mohr, working in California, produced an arilbred iris that seemed close to fulfilling this dream. Named for him posthumously in 1925 by his friend and fellow iris expert Sidney Mitchell, the iris 'William Mohr' was an instant sensation. Its large blooms and wide falls, inherited from its aril parent Iris gatesii, proved irresistible in an era when most TBs had relatively small, narrow flowers.

'Elmohr'

Like the other arilbreds of similar pedigree, 'William Mohr' was essentially sterile. But it was so popular that hybridizers all over the country kept making crosses with it, ever hopeful. And occasionally 'William Mohr' would reward such persistence by producing a seed or two. We now understand that these seeds were the result of unreduced gametes, where an ovule is produced by bypassing the normal cell division. Usually it was TB pollen used in making these crosses, so the resulting seedlings were 1/4 aril. 'Mohrson' and 'Grace Mohr' were the first introduced, in 1935, launching a tradition of working "Mohr" into the name of these arilbreds. One of these, 'Elmohr' (P. A. Loomis, 1942) became the first and only arilbred to win the Dykes Medal. In this way, William Mohr became associated with the "quarterbreds" (arilbreds of 1/4 aril ancestry), even though he himself never produced any irises of this type.

Although less widely appreciated than the famous 'William Mohr', there was actually one truly fertile arilbred in cultivation at this time, 'Ib-Mac' produced by the Dutch firm of Van Tubergen and introduced in 1910. Unreduced gametes were once again involved, as its aril parent Iris iberica produced an ovule will two sets of aril chromosomes instead of the usual one. 'Ib-Mac' thus ended up as a balanced tetraploid, with two sets of aril chromosomes and two sets of bearded chromosomes, a configuration that is usually fertile.

Crossing 'William Mohr' with 'Ib-Mac' produced the fertile arilbred 'Capitola' (Frank Reinelt, 1940). Many hybridizers now began using 'Capitola' pollen on TBs, a much surer way to produce quarterbreds than hoping for the occasional seed from 'William Mohr'. These quarterbreds were also colloquially referred to as "Mohrs".

The frustration for hybridizers of this era was that although one could produce quarterbreds by crossing 'William Mohr', 'Ib-Mac', or 'Capitola' with TBs, there was no easy way to get more arils into the mix. The quarterbreds only showed moderate aril characteristics, and did not go very far in capturing the appeal of the aril species themselves.

'Oyez'

The great breakthrough in arilbred breeding came from the work of Clarence G. White in the 1940s. Based in southern California, he was able to grow many pure arils and use them extensively in his hybridizing. His early hybrids, such as the perennially popular 'Oyez' (White, 1938), were infertile diploids, but eventually fertile arilbreds began to appear among his seedlings. The first to be introduced was 'Joppa Parrot' (White, 1948). In the decade that followed, a steady stream of fertile arilbreds in a remarkable range of colors and patterns issued from White's garden. We do not know exactly how this happened, because by this time White had given up on keeping records of his crosses, claiming it took too much time away from making the actual crosses. Most likely it was the sheer volume of his breeding program that made these breakthroughs possible. With an enormous number of seedlings, even unlikely events such as unreduced gametes are bound to happen from time to time. The fertile C. G. White arilbreds were later shown to be balanced tetraploids (like 'Ib-Mac' and 'Capitola') with two sets of aril chromosomes and two sets of TB chromosomes.

The 1950s saw the founding of the Aril Society International (ASI). Despite the name, its membership was largely concentrated in southern California, with a few in New Mexico and elsewhere. The ASI in its early years provided a much-needed framework for defining the arilbred class and encouraging the breeding of arilbreds with clear, strong aril flower characteristics. To be classified as an arilbred, an iris could have no less than 1/4 aril ancestry. Hybridizers had often crossed the early quarterbreds back to TBs, sometimes for several generations, promoting the progeny as "arilbreds", although their aril genes had in most cases dropped by the wayside, leaving plants that were for all intents and purposes just TBs. The ASI cooperated with the American Iris Society to establish the C. G. White award for best arilbred in 1961. In 1969, the William Mohr award was added for arilbreds of less than 1/2 aril ancestry, restricting the C. G. White award to those that are 1/2 or more aril. This further encouraged hybridizers to focus on arilbreds with strong aril characteristics. Both these awards attained medal status in 1993.

With the "fertile family" of C. G. White arilbreds firmly established, arilbred breeding at last came into its own. As breeders continued to work with these fertile arilbreds, they improved both in gardenability and in the form, color, and pattern of the flowers themselves. The original C. G. White hybrids typically had only a small diffuse signal patch, and veining that was indistinct and blended. Through the extended effort of dedicated arilbred hybridizers, we now have arilbreds with huge, dramatic signals, striking crisp veining, and an extraordinary range of bright clear colors.

'Anacrusis'

Most fertile arilbreds today derive almost entirely from the original C. G. White introductions. A few notable additions to the family appeared subsequently: 'Welcome Reward' (Sundt, 1971), Henry Danielson's fertile regeliabreds such as 'Genetic Artist' (Danielson, 1972), and Harald Mathes's fertile arilbred medians beginning with 'Anacrusis' (Mathes, 1992). Fertile arilbred seedlings produced by Samuel Norris from his tetraploid arils crossed with TBs also appear in the pedigrees of some modern arilbreds.

The fertile "C. G. White type" arilbreds have also opened up other new areas of arilbred breeding. Crossed with TBs, they have given us quarterbreds that are much more aril-like than the old "Mohrs", and crossed with the standard dwarf bearded (SDB) irises, they have produced the charming arilbred medians, which are at least as popular as the taller quarterbreds today.

The history of arilbred breeding has progressed from an early period of difficulty and frustration, through the breakthrough of C. G. White's "fertile family" to a modern era of continual improvement and expanding diversity. What will the future bring?

Honey, I Shrunk the Irises!

by Tom Waters

MTB irises 'Redrock Princess' and 'Dividing Line'

Miniature Tall Bearded?

An oxymoron is a phrase whose parts seem to contradict each other, like jumbo shrimp. In the iris world, we have the rather perplexing term miniature tall bearded. How can an iris be both tall and miniature? Of course the word "miniature" here must be taken in a relative sense: these are irises much smaller than the standard tall bearded irises which they otherwise resemble.

Bearded irises are categorized into six classes, based mostly on height. Strangely, however, there are three classes that all occupy the height range between standard dwarfs and tall beardeds: intermediate bearded (IB), border bearded (BB) and miniature tall bearded (MTB). When I first became interested in irises in southern New Mexico in the 1970s, I found this rather confusing, moreso because at the time I had not grown any of these various types of medians. I asked a local club member about MTBs, and she said "I don't think anyone here grows those."

Happily, this group of irises has grown steadily in popularity since then. They are now widely grown, and one 'Dividing Line' (Bunnell, 2005), has even won the Dykes Medal. But what are they exactly?

The Story of MTBs

The answer takes us back to the 1920s and 1930s, when the popular tall bearded irises were changing rapidly through the work of the hybridizers of the day. In particular, more and more tetraploids were being introduced and supplanting the older diploids in popularity. A tetraploid is a plant with four sets of chromosomes, whereas diploids have only two. Tetraploids are often larger and huskier than their diploid counterparts. This was certainly the case with the TB irises, and the iris world was all enthused over the new large blooms and tall stalks.

'Hot News'

But there were a few people here and there who were less enthusiastic about the new "bigger is better" trend. Ethel Peckham, Thura Hires, and Mary Williamson were amongst the first to go against the trend and seek out the smallest TBs, rather than the largest. Mary Williamson's father, E. B. Williamson, was a noted iris breeder at the time, and the three ladies kept a close eye on his seedling beds looking for the daintiest, tiniest irises, which the hybridizer himself referred to as "runts". Pekham dubbed them "table irises" to call attention to their suitability for flower arrangements. These original selections were all diploids.

Interest in the table irises declined as time passed, however, probably because they were not recognized as an official category, so had no awards or other encouragement. They might have been altogether forgotten were it not for the work of Alice White in the 1950s, who tirelessly promoted the table irises. The timing was right, as this was an era when there was a surge of interest in dwarf and median irises. New types were being developed, and it became apparent that a new system of categories was needed to accommodate the many different sorts of irises smaller than the TBs. So in 1957, the miniature tall bearded class was created. This name was chosen over "table irises" to emphasize that they can be appreciated as garden plants in their own right, not just for flower arrangements.

The requirements of the MTB class are stricter and more exacting than any other. Not only must they fall in the proper height range (41 to 70 cm, although the center portion of that range is preferred), but they must also meet limits for flower size and even stem diameter. In many ways, the standards of the class are a reaction against the prevailing trends in TB breeding. Instead of taller and taller stalks with larger and larger blooms, MTBs must be truly miniature and dainty in all respects.

Meet the Diploids...

Iris variegata

As noted above, the original MTBs were all diploids. That is no longer the case, but diploids remain the most prominent type. Although a variety of different bearded species are in the background of the diploid MTBs, the dominant influence is from Iris variegata, a dainty median-sized species from eastern Europe, usually yellow with red or brown veins covering the falls. Its wiry stems curve gracefully, resulting in a slightly zig-zag branching pattern. The blooms have a nice flaring form.

There are many modern diploid MTBs in which the variegata coloring and form are much in evidence, but the range of color and pattern goes beyond that into white, blue, violet, plicata, orchid, and blends. Some recent favorites of mine include 'Redrock Princess' (Witt, 2006), 'Peebee and Jay' (Schmieder, 2006), and 'Hot News' (S. Markham, 2009). 

diploid MTB 'Rayos Adentro' (Morgan, 2007)

...and the Tetraploids

Iris aphylla

Although the tetraploid TBs are larger than the diploid TBs, there are tetraploid bearded species in all different sizes. Early on, some creative hybridizers such as Ben Hager realized that it might be possible to breed tetraploids that would meet the strict size requirements of the MTB class. Hager used Iris aphylla, a copiously branched small bearded species to create tetraploid MTBs, introducing many in the 1970s and later.

Why undertake such a project? One reason is that there are colors and patterns in the tetraploid bearded irises that simply do not exist in the diploids. Tangerine pink is the best-known example. If you want a true pink (or orange, or red-bearded white) MTB, it will have to be tetraploid.

Iris aphylla has lots of branches and lots of buds, which is a good thing, but it brings some problems, too. The stems tend

'Tic Tac Toe'

to be stiff, with branches from the base of the stalk that stay parallel to the main stem. This can lead to a crowded, coarse appearance far from the MTB ideal of grace typified by diploids from Iris variegata. Still, with diligence and patience, the difficulties were gradually overcome, and today we have quite dainty and graceful tetraploid MTBs to complement their diploid counterparts.

Some favorites of mine include 'Say Red' (Craig, 2008), which has three buds in each of its many sockets, and seems to just keep on blooming forever, 'Tic Tac Toe' (Johnson, 2010), a lovely pink and pastel violet bicolor, and my new favorite 'Silver Ice' (Black, 2013) an almost-white plicata with beautifully formed ruffled blooms.

'Say Red'

Although some were initially skeptical regarding tetraploid MTBs, there is no doubt now that they are here to stay, giving us even more choices and possibilities within this class of delicacy, daintiness, and refinement.

Have you tried MTBs in your own garden? Do you prefer diploids or tetraploids, or do you enjoy some of each?