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The Fertile Families of Bearded and Aril IrisesGreetings! Welcome to Telperion Oasis, Tom Waters's web site devoted to the theory and practice of hybridizing bearded and arillate irises. Since the middle of the 20th century, iris enthusiasts have been aware of the importance of chromosome configurations in iris breeding. Some configurations have limited fertility, while others constitute "fertile families" that can be developed and refined by multigenerational breeding programs.
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This site focuses on the six tetraploid fertile families of bearded and arillate irises:
(For an explanation of the four-letter notation, see Chromosomes: Concepts and Terminology.) Within each of the groups, the irises are generally fertile with each other, allowing one to breed for generations to select for new and desirable traits. Each one of these families is hence a reservoir of genetic potential for the irises of the future. With many wild irises threatened in their natural habitat or difficult to maintain in gardens, it is important that each of these families include a robust range of genetic material from as many species as possible. Although most hybridizers will continue to work with the newest garden varieties in the hopes of creating improved varieties that will win the appreciation of gardeners and judges, it is also important to ensure the long-term diversity of each family by including some of the plants that are more difficult to obtain or work with. I hope you enjoy the site and the photos of my rather modest iris collection. To see photos of the irises in bloom, please check my Bloom Season 2011, Bloom Season 2012, and Bloom Season 2013 pages! |
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September 2010
updated May 2013
Unless otherwise noted, all text and illustrations copyright Tom Waters and all photographs copyright Karen or Tom Waters. Please do not reproduce without permission.Background image on this page: "Irises" by Stanislaw Wyspianski (1898).
