Sporadically following the seedling thread, I see lots of talk about branching, and striving for better branching.

I know what makes for good branching in daylilies, but I haven't a clue wrt irises. In general I would gather more branches = more buds, which is good (as is the case in daylilies), but that's not the entire story. Certainly you wouldn't want the open flowers interfering with each other, and certainly you wouldn't want all the branches bunched up at the top of the stalk (referred to as "top branching" in the daylily world).

So, please educate me. Or if there is a link that can easily and pictorially explain it to the ignorant, that would be much appreciated.

Not an expert, but you want the branches to grow away from the main stalk well enough so that the blooms are not clumped together too close. The number of branches of course will affect the number of buds. It's best of 2 or 3 blooms are open at a time. This stalk of Color Capers is a good example, it has 3 branches each with a double socket, and a terminal bud that has a triple socket giving it 9 buds.

Marilyn good form in the branching, so that the blooms aren't all smooshed together, is known as candelabra branching. And you can see why from Tom's photo. It allows each bloom to attain its beautiful form if it's capable of it. Bloom sequence in the buds also helps that. For example, in Tom's photo, if you look at that top bloom, you'll see a bud coming up under it, starting to crowd it a bit. But if the timing is good, that top bloom will be spent and deadheaded by the time the bud underneath opens.

This picture that Serjio just uploaded would not do well in an iris show. Notice all the buds open at once and are crowded near the main stem. It will bloom out quickly. I have no idea if that is typical of that plant, or if it's an anomaly.

Sometimes a mishmash like that can occur in the first year of bloom in a plant that has not yet settled in. I had that occur with Sea Power in its first bloom in my garden. However, last year when it bloomed again, the blooms were well spaced. I am glad I gave it time to sort itself out. It's my rule now to give every plant three years to show what it can do.

A crowded mish-mash like that can be truly ugly. You can't even distingish where one bloom ends and another begins. The bloom form gets totally lost in the mess. So, good candelabra branching is very important for irises.

Thanks for the replies.

So, Tom, I can see the 3 branches below that top cluster of terminal buds. That's "3-way branching"? X-branching = X branches below the terminal cluster of buds?

Just how far out should those branches extend? I'm sure there's such a thing as too far/too long, as well as too close/too short. Certainly you don't want too short - the blooms would be right up against the stalk and not open well. But too long? Does that ever occur?

Daisy, the first bloom season for me on EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, the blooms were all smooshed together. Between that and the flaring falls (which I had never seen before), I almost tossed it. Now the branching is somewhat better, so it stays... for now.

So, Tom, I can see the 3 branches below that top cluster of terminal buds. That's "3-way branching"? X-branching = X branches below the terminal cluster of buds?

Yes, that's right. I had a seedling with 4 branches and 11 buds, but that was just on one of the stalks, and it only happened one year so far.

Marilyn I haven't seen one that the branching was too lang, but I suppose it could happen. I agree that it's always good to give them a few years to settle in and show what they can do. So many things can affect them but if every year they show a weakness, then you can pretty much determine that it's going to continue. Bloom count the first year a seedling blooms, at least in our short growing season, will often be low. I made the mistake of culling some first year blooms years ago, then learned that I should give the nice blooms a second year before I cull them for bloom count. Sometimes that will improve.

I forgot to mention stalk strength in my first comments. You want a stalk that is strong enough to hold the blooms upright under normal conditions. You also don't want an iris with ratty looking foliage. If every iris in the garden has bad foliage, then it's probably not the plants fault, but if all the rest are nice, and this one looks bad, then it's probably a plant issue.

Thanks, Tom.

Yes, I forgot about strong stalks. I'd think you also don't want stalks that "blast" (break in two, for no apparent reason). I've had a few daylily seedlings that annoyingly did that. I think I might have seen it a time or two on irises.

I'm not sure how you'd define "ratty looking" foliage on an iris. With daylilies, faults would be upright non-arching foliage, or too broad/coarse foliage. Foliage color can vary from different shades of green to lovely blue-green. I'm not sure how to figure corresponding faults with the irises, other than the foliage being disease prone.

Once in a while you'll get a seedling that when you look at the foliage is just is not right, like misshapen or off colored, generally ugly when compared to others.

So, it's a subjective thing, then.

Well, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Good thread topic! Interesting & informative responses, especially with the pics.