of Irises have grown for some time close together in one small area. 
There are few such natural hybrid areas in south Louisiana. So 
collecting in the wild as a means of getting new floricultural varie- 
ties will require a lot of time and travel. Buying them from nur- 
series may be costly. 
When you make crosses and produce seedlings of your own, 
the pleasure in gardening increases. Waiting for your own seed- 
lings to bloom is like waiting to open a Christmas package. If 
the bloom and plant are “super” and make good, then the thrill 
approaches that of parental pride. 
The technique of hybridizing is very simple. A little practice 
and experience will get you on the way to Iris breeding. (Study 
the flower parts on Plate I). Just before the fully-grown flower 
bud on the mother stalk opens, it should be carefully forced open. 
This may be done by firmly holding the base of the flower with the 
left hand, lightly pinching the tip of the bud with the right hand 
and twisting it open. Immediately you should remove the male 
parts, or stamens, so as to avoid accidental contamination. A pair 
of eyebrow tweezers is an ideal instrument for this. At this stage 
the stigma (female part) is highly receptive. It is a simple trick 
then to expose the stigmatic surface by raising the claw and thor- 
oughly dusting the exposed surface with mature pollen, removed 
from the desired male plant. To do this you simply rub a well- 
opened stamen on the stigma and the flower is pollinated. This 
completes the operation except that the flower may be bagged to 
prevent later contamination by insects or other natural agents. 
Some hybridizers just break off the sepal instead of bagging the 
crossed bloom. 
The next step is to tag, label, and date the cross, example: 
Fulva x Foliosa—3/24/49. Female or mother plant is always listed 
first. In case of self pollinating a bloom, use this symbol (&); example: 
Bayou Sunset (%)—3/24/49. 
Tying the stalks to small stakes may keep them from bending 
to the ground. This will prevent seed pod rot and make them less 
accessible to rats. Iris seeds are relished by rats. 
Plant breeding, of course, presents a problem of inheritance. 
In all of the wild Irises there are the important heredity factors 
of color, size, form, and substance of flower, disease resistance and 
other plant characteristics. However, you do not have to be a pro- 
fessional geneticist to develop outstanding new Irises. When you do 
develop a good hybrid, it can be rapidly propagated vegetatively. 
If it is a healthy, vigorous grower and well-adapted individual of 
good flower qualities, you have it. 
11 
