caitlinsgarden said:What kind of chemicals does Burseen use? Does he use something to play around with the genetics or just to control weeds?
This isn't Burseen's doing. I get chimeras from weather stress. And the weather really gave the iris a run for their money this winter and spring. We had a mild winter, but more rain than usual. Then we ran into a period where we had 70+ degree weather (way above normal), followed by freezing temps, followed by very warm, followed by an ice storm, and on and on. Extreme jumps in temps. I think space age iris are more susceptible to these extremes since they have such elaborate appendages forming. And it happened not just on Burseen's, but other space age iris too. In general, the fancier an iris gets with bells and whistles the more things can go wrong during bloom formation. I know that not every bud will be a perfect bloom with flounces, sometimes there will only be horns, or beards.
As for Awesome Alex - that iris has been growing far from Burseen's care for awhile now. I have had it two years, and was given it by another member who grew it. It also produced many many nice normal blooms.
