ok In MA we just planted them in new soil in the small flats which we received annuals. Coved with about an inch of soil. Drew a small line the length of the flats & put them in soil. Dug a small trench, put flats there & covered with screening to keep out seed eating birds etc.
this was in mid-Oct. In the spring they would start to germinate. Kept the flats for a year because of late comers.

LynNY said: @tveguy3
It worked! I have 32 Sergey x Aristocracy seeds! again for the help.

Lyn ~ 32!!! I'm sure we're looking forward to seeing the results!

I always look at the parents of irises, and from time to time I think, "Wow, I bet this was not what they were expecting to get."

One of the few registered children of Sergey is an example of that, Big Flirt


It is a cross of Sergey with Que Sera Sera



One one of the things I've noticed in checking out the parents is that crosses of yellow iris sometimes results in something purple. I wonder why that is.

lauriemorningglory said:

• Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Sergey')
• Uploaded by Valery33

• Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Aristocracy')
• Uploaded by MaryDurtschi

Yes, if you know anything about genes for pigments, you wouldn't think of a dark pigment like purple as being a recessive gene. Makes one think a bee got in there and muddled the results.

Usually darker pigments are dominant over lighter ones. Dominent genes never skip a generation. Recessive genes can skip, sometimes many generations..

[quote="DaisyDo"] […] Makes one think a bee got in there and muddled the results.]

I personally don't put much stock in the bee muddling theory. In ten years of hybridizing I have yet to have a single seed pod develop that actually contained seeds that I didn't personally cross. Yes, I've had random empty pods form that I can't explain, but never one with seeds.

If you think about the mechanics of how irises are pollinated the odds against accidental pollination are staggering!

I have no idea what can be extrapolated to iris from mammals - but in horses there is a gene - the gene for gray color (what most people call white) which is dominant. It's not a color gene per se - it's a modifier. All gray horses are born one of the basic red based or black based coat colors, and then the gray gene takes over and changes the coat color over time. (Actual white horses are recessive and also have blue eyes and pink underlying skin and are born white - a sort "glaciata" in that all dark pigment is absent from the skin and hair.)

Here is another iris that resulted from parents (siblings) you might not expect:

Ocean Liner


It's parents:
Ghostwriter


Haunted Heart


It makes me wonder if inbred crosses default to blue/purple, which is the ancestral color of this iris

DaisyDo said: Yes, if you know anything about genes for pigments, you wouldn't think of a dark pigment like purple as being a recessive gene. Makes one think a bee got in there and muddled the results.

Usually darker pigments are dominant over lighter ones. Dominent genes never skip a generation. Recessive genes can skip, sometimes many generations..

Sergey itself seems like another not what I'd expect iris. What I noticed on my plant is that each bloom stalk had a slightly different distribution of blue and yellow. One flower even had a wedge of dark purple on one fall. I tried to pollinate that one specifically but it was not one of the crosses that took.



the parents


and

Ghost Writer & Haunted Heart are siblings so crossed together will show many surprises.

Lyn: Sergey is so beautiful. Can't wait to see your babies.

Also about bee pods. I get a few each year on things I know I didn't cross. I do have lots of bees though. I save the seeds and plant them as if I crossed them because I think it is fun to try to figure out what they are. And I have had at least one bloom that I am thrilled about!

I get bee pods almost every year, so it is not exactly unheard of. This year I have one on Thornbird that is almost ready to harvest. It often has ehm ...interesting children.

I had a bunch of bee pods this year. So far, they've all proved to be empty. I noticed that the empty pods had a different shape, less rounded and slightly curved.

I had big round plump ones, not curved, and even those were empty. Next year I will hand pollinate instead of trying to rely on insect pollination.