Reticulate Iris 2010

[Lesley Cox]

I believe Alan McMurtrie sends out his seed from August/September. From the very little correspondence I've had with him, I understand that he doesn't sell any of the seed which involves I. danfordiae but grows on all that, himself, or maybe he sells some to professionals such as Janis. What is distributed to the public (you and me) is open or bee pollinated seed and so much less likely to have any yellow, or greeny or brown shades in the seedlings. From the pictures shown here, those with small or no standards are all seedlings with some proportion of I. danfordiae in their breeding.

I just found this thread today. For some reason my notification process has failed. Now to explore the other iris threads for 2010.

[Hristo]

Hi Lesley,
Yes, the best way if you want ot 'repeat' Alans results will be to buy his recorded pod parent bee pollinated material, grow them to flowering size and cross onto fertile danfordiae. We now have several hundred seedlings from McMurtrie seed which represent the work he had undertaken upto the mid 1990's I think,we are now buying and bulking up ferile danfordiae ready to make these crosses in the hope of achieving some of those distinctive colours.
All good clean fun!!!

[Janis Ruksans]

Hi Lesley,
Yes, the best way if you want ot 'repeat' Alans results will be to buy his recorded pod parent bee pollinated material, grow them to flowering size and cross onto fertile danfordiae. We now have several hundred seedlings from McMurtrie seed which represent the work he had undertaken upto the mid 1990's I think,we are now buying and bulking up ferile danfordiae ready to make these crosses in the hope of achieving some of those distinctive colours.
All good clean fun!!!

Many of Alan's named reticulatas are fertile, so I suppose that returning to danfordiae as one of parent would be step back. If I would be interested in breeding of new types - I would be trying to intercross his newest seedlings, but I'm too old and have too much to do with my priority plants.
Janis

[Hristo]

True Janis, though there are financial implications for some of us when an unusual colour form costs 25 euros per bulb.
Taking that 'step back' allows for some quantity to play with. Current indications here are that there is
every chance of shaving a year or two off the germination to first flower period. Maybe 3 to 4 years instead of
the 5 years experienced by Alan. Current experience here also suggests that direct sowing of reticulata seed into the
open garden generates a much higher germination rate than pot sowing.
Would be great to here from anyone with experience of growing reticulatas from seed in Southern Europe.

[Janis Ruksans]

True Janis, though there are financial implications for some of us when an unusual colour form costs 25 euros per bulb.
Taking that 'step back' allows for some quantity to play with. Current indications here are that there is
every chance of shaving a year or two off the germination to first flower period. Maybe 3 to 4 years instead of
the 5 years experienced by Alan. Current experience here also suggests that direct sowing of reticulata seed into the
open garden generates a much higher germination rate than pot sowing.
Would be great to here from anyone with experience of growing reticulatas from seed in Southern Europe.

Partly you are right Christo, but human life is too short. Long time ago, when I started to work with daffodil breeding (it was during soviet regime) I found possibilities to buy newest daffodil varieties for 100 and even (once) 200,- pounds each. But they were last word in breeding, and later some of my crosses were on top, too. Just recently one bulb of one of my daffodil varieties in USA was sold for 200 USD. I'm not more growing daffodils for several years, but it is nice to read about this. If then I would be working with old material available in USSR - it would never happen. You well know that price mostly depends from number of bulbs available and plant qualities. Offering nice variety where stock still is very limited at low price it would be sold out in first days.
Janis

[Lesley Cox]

Crossing with or onto fertile danfordiae is problematic here as it isn't in the country, or I very much doubt it,. On the other hand, it could be imported as seed, if available.

Just occasionally, I wish I were 20 years old again. Not only would there be time to do things on a long-term basis but just about everything was allowed into NZ way back then.

The little seed I've had from McMurtrie (via a Cornish supplier back in 2002,) took just 3 years to flower from sowing.

[Hristo]

Janis,
I agree, I actually think 25 euros is a fair price when the work and rarity is considered, I just can't afford it!
Maybe in a few years time I wil be able to afford to buy some of the newer cultivars and introduce them into a breeding
programme.

Lesley, great to hear that you have had seed to flower in three years, growth in this years seedlings is very strong so
maybe.......

[Lesley Cox]

The ones which are going to flower come though with the bud first and just a suggestion of leaf but this elongates as the flower develops. Here are two. The ones that come through as leaf first, don't flower until following year.

[Hristo]

Two lovely forms, what sort of % germination rate did you achieve?

[PeterT]

congratulations Lesley

[Lesley Cox]

In the case of the pale blue, just 3 of 24 seeds and the second two flowered the following year, a light blue, not so close to white as this one. In the other case, the one with rain on, 15 of 25 germinated, just 3 the first year then a few more over the next two years. Eight flowered this last spring, much the same but a couple bluer and a couple closer to purple. All lovely though and very fragrant. Two made seed pods on their first flowering. Those are sown but not yet up.

[Janis Ruksans]

In the case of the pale blue, just 3 of 24 seeds and the second two flowered the following year, a light blue, not so close to white as this one. In the other case, the one with rain on, 15 of 25 germinated, just 3 the first year then a few more over the next two years. Eight flowered this last spring, much the same but a couple bluer and a couple closer to purple. All lovely though and very fragrant. Two made seed pods on their first flowering. Those are sown but not yet up.

Both are very nice, but they are of pure "reticulata" type without "blood" of danfordiae

[Hristo]

Lesley,are you planning to make the cross with danfordiae?

[Lesley Cox]

Yes Janis, I realized this. It was some seed available a few years ago from a man in Cornwall, UK (Tim Loe). Alan himself seems not to wish to distribute seed with danfordiae blood.

Chris I would dearly love to make that cross but the very few danfordiae we have here are the non fertile commercial clone imported from Holland and I don't believe the wild, fertile plant is here at all. If we could get seed of it, we would be permitted to import it but who lists it?

[ashley]

Jim & Jenny Archibald offer it Lesley.