Updated 03/02/07

1977 Crosses

I mark this as the year I turned from fun-with-pollen-daubing to serious hybridizing. Still working primarily with TBs, I  planted seeds from only 25 arilbred crosses in 1977. Twenty-three of them produced nothing of note, but the other two led to my first two introductions.

77-22: Esther, the Queen X Sheik. I made this cross and its reciprocal at Gene Hunt's suggestion, in quest of breeders for pink. I chose EQ for its excellent growth habits and demonstrated ability to produce pinks when crossed to pink TBs, and Sheik because it carries the t-factor it inherited from Welcome Reward. Gene followed the Wilkes' tradition of designating crosses by pedigree abbreviations, only assigning a seedling number to selections, and I did the same. My first selection from this cross was therefore number 77-22-1, which I later introduced as Expert Advice. I also selected a sibling with somewhat similar pattern and form, which I'd used extensively in hybridizing although its growth habits were not quite as strong. It proved such a valuable parent that I eventually introduced 77-22-2 as Hidden Talents. Eight others selected for my "watch list" produced nothing of note and were therefore discarded along with their progeny.

77-25: Patricia Craig X Capitola. This was one of the last crosses I made in my efforts to understand the Mohr-type quarterbreds. It produced a much higher percentage of good seedlings than any previous such cross I'd made, so I kept nine for further evaluation. I introduced only 77-25-9, as Opals for Ethel.

1978-80 Crosses

1980 marked the end of my experimental period. I discarded most of these seedlings from 1978, 1979 and 1980 (many unbloomed) to make room for Gene Hunt's selected seedlings after his death. I did keep a few aril seedlings for breeding. My cross of # 79-2: I. calcaria X I. yebrudii var. edgecombii, produced offspring such as Delicate Embroidery and Engraved Invitation.