Iris Genetics and Hybridizing with Dr. Kenneth Kidd -- Part 2 -- Breeding Iris, How It's Done
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Breeding Iris - Iris Genetics and Hybridizing with Dr. Kenneth Kidd -- Part 2 -- How It's Done - How to Breed Iris
Dr. Kenneth Kidd, Professor of Genetics at Yale University: The structure of the iris flower is more complex than in some flowers but it doesn't approach that of the orchid. There are a total of six petals; three up standards, three down falls. The inside of the flower has what are called three style arms. On the fall petals -- at least in the garden varieties --there is what's called a beard. Here you can see it's a much darker color but it's still in that lycopene/carotene family of pigments. Reproduction of the flower involves a bee following this in and here, underneath is the anther with pollen on it. As the bee gets nectar, that pollen is rubbed on its back. The next flower it goes to, it fertilizes. This little lip is the stigma that pollen is placed on. So when the bee with pollen on its back goes into the next flower, it rubs that pollen on this stigma. The pollen germinates, sends down and fertilizes down here in the ovary that becomes a seedpod.
One of the reasons there are so many different iris varieties, colors and patterns is that literally hundreds of backyard gardeners and enthusiasts will breed irises just as I showed, plant the seeds, and if they get a new and different flower with somewhat different characteristics they can introduce it commercially and sell it. There's a way of registering names internationally so two different varieties don't get the same name but it gives rise to huge numbers of variant flowers, patterns, width structure, just a plethora of interesting garden plants.
Why am i interested in irises? Pure happenstance. I started raising some actually when i was in the seventh and eighth grade and neighbors gave me some plants with different colored flowers. I was fascinated, and i wondered what would happen if I crossed a yellow iris with a blue iris would I get a green iris? And so I started going to the library and found out that how to study those was called genetics, and that's what led me into genetics. So I became a geneticist and continued to study irises largely as a hobby. There is a tradition, EB Sturdivant at Caltech was an iris breeder, his expertise was Drosophila genetics. One of the pioneers of modern genetics Fitz Randolph, a corn breeder at Cornell, was also interested in Iris genetics and wrote chapters and books involving Iris genetics. So there's a tradition of academics being interested in this. In part it appeals to aesthetics at two levels: fascinating flowers, but also complex genetics, that's an intellectual challenge
I have a few varieties with blue beards. :) Iris 'business parts' are easy to find and work with. My first hybrids are growing now, and I should see the first blooms and the results of that first cross next year (2020!) From studying the "pedigrees" of the residents in my garden, it seems that the "pollen donor" has a stronger influence on the colors of the next generation, though I'm still pretty new to all of this. Maybe as I make more crosses and get more results, I'll be more knowledgeable and can say with more certainty based on my observations.
How did your crosses do?
@@w_m_jewelrydesigns I got 2 seedlings. The first one had a debut bloom last spring and it's lovely and very sweetly fragrant, and a good grower. Lots of increases this year! I'm very pleased with it. It seems as though my new iris more closely follows the pod lineage. I can absolutely see many traits of the ancestral cultivars of the pod parent, and one of the closest in appearance is 'Mother Earth'. I can also see some of the influence of the Dykes Medal winner, 'Rippling Waters'. If you look those up in the Iris Wiki (American Iris Society), you can see pictures of those two ancestors. The pod parent was 'Chasing Rainbows' and the pollen parent is 'Surf Lady'. I will probably register her-- she has a name. You can see it here: live.staticflickr.com/65535/51973937705_4e19621b83_b.jpg
live.staticflickr.com/65535/51972433112_393af321fa_b.jpg
The sibling to this one had a very rough start and did not bloom last season when this one did because she had been broken in storms, trampled by careless maintenance workers, knocked over in the nursery pot and dug up by squirrels, subjected to a historic freeze... but she seems to be rebounding vigorously with many increases, and seems to be on track to bloom this season. Siblings can look very different from one another, so I am not going to make any certain claims just yet. But this sibling seems to have the growth vigor of 'Surf Lady', the pollen donor. SL is a good grower for me and this sibling seems to be the same way despite all of the mishaps. If nothing else, it's tough as nails! We shall see!
The sibling bloomed for the first time last spring. She's a lovely luminata in orchid with a dove shaped luminata patch on the falls. Golden yellow beards and wine colored veining on the haft and shoulders. Not a particularly heavy bloomer though. My second attempt was really nice. Got a very tall gingered orange self with a wash of intense hot pink on the style arms and up the standards. Interesting because when the buds first open the flowers are almost salmon color but then the shimmering diamond dust appears and the color ages to the beautiful ginger orange a few hours later. Super tall with great candelabra branches. Got 9 to 10 blooms per stalk. It's a crazy heavy bloomer. It has an adorable little sibling that's actually a border bearded. Mustard yellow standards with sparkling white falls rimmed in bright lemon yellow with yellow underside. Golden haft and shoulders. Bright yellow beards. Graceful form and foliage. It's such a bright little cutie and very orderly in its growth. It would be a wonderful iris for container planting. 5 more are awaiting bloom. Currently have a newly pollinated pair setting seed now. I am trying a self of my first iris. I self pollinated it and am seeing some development just 3 days later. I already know that this Iris is pollen fertile and pod fertile. I wanted to see if it was self-fertile. Apparently so. I will see the results in about 3 years.
Oh and by the way, the luminata definitely shows much resemblance to its pollen parent but with more pink undertones which most likely came from the Pod parent. The pollen parent does not have any known pink ancestors but the Pod parent certainly does. The first one to bloom is actually a blend, not really described in specific terms such as luminata or plicata. However it seemed to pick up much of its pattern from a great-grandparent generation on the Pod side. One of those great-grandparents is Rippling Waters. I see a very strong influence from Rippling Waters in the way the colors are distributed, and many of the same colors that you find a Rippling Waters appear in mine with the addition of some pink. I definitely see the influence of the Pod parent in that particular Iris but I do see some traits that were passed on by the pollen donor. Yet that Iris also has a lovely fragrance that's not present in either parent. In fact, one parent smells kind of like cat pee.😂 hopefully I don't breed that back in
Well done! Finding clear information about the stigma of an iris is hard to find.
Glad to hear it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Очень увлекательно!🥰👍🏻 Переопыляю ирисы уже третий год.
Do you know the name of the purple pilcata in this video?
Excellent! My 11 year old son is going to hybridize his first iris.
Hope it comes out good, I've also hybridized my first iris and I'm hoping it works out
Thank you for so clearly illustrating the hybridization process! The close up video is very helpful. I enjoy your enthusiasm and lecture style :-)
Thank You. Would you say when hybridizing the father parent carries most of the characteristics of the iris more so than the mother iris. It is hard to determine how an iris seedling will turn out.
Do you have a name of a book that you liked to recognize the kind of iris that I have?? I in the beginning I had a pod but didn't know what to do with it. But now that you show me how to, I will try to pollinate my irises. Do you open the pod or if you plant it directly in the soil??
Thank you Dr. Kidd for a wonderful 2 part video. I enjoyed it very much. Happy Gardening!
Have you ever bread the beardless irises?
Very informative video. Thanks.
I just started growing these. Thank You for this video.
You're welcome Avis, thanks for watching, and good luck with your garden!