“Nhill breeder Rob Harding gave my sister some overstock and she left them in her car boot for about two weeks before giving them to our mum,” she said.
“She planted them and when they flowered I said how nice they were.
“I then bought some from some people in Horsham before going to Rob in Nhill.”
Although Ms Hutson does not describe herself as green-thumbed, she has successfully established the rhizomes and is now branching out into hybridising.
“Rob has taught me how to breed them, by taking the pollen from one and putting it on another,” she said.
Ms Hutson said she would like to create a new hybrid, but that it could take years to achieve the desired flower shape and colour.
“I have a really nice bright orange one, and there are some I like in Rob’s surplus stock he has given me, but with a minimum of three years from seedling to flowering in the first stage, it will take time,” she said.
“There are a couple I like that I’ve done, but they’re not quite good enough, so I’ve crossed them again.”
Ms Hutson grows tall and medium irises, with her stock coming from across Australia.
She also assists Mr Harding in registering his stock online, which must be done with new breeds before they can be sold commercially.
“He’s 75 and has about 40 years of breeding there that should be out in everyone’s gardens – we registered about a dozen last year and we’ve got more to do this year,” Ms Hutson said.
Ms Hutson tends to her garden after work and on weekends and works ‘close to fulltime’ as a horse barefoot trimmer, as much as post-spinal surgery recovery will allow.
She said irises were suited to most Australian climates and gardening abilities.
“You can grow them quite well here, quite easily. They’re not suited to the tropics, but they need the frost – the colder and frostier it is, the better, that’s what stimulates them to flower,” she said.
“They also like full sun and watering a couple of times a week, depending on the rain, so they are perfect for our climate.”
Ms Hutson sells her stock at markets and via her Facebook page, Tullyvea Iris Farm.
The entire October 30, 2024 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
The entire October, 30, 2024 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!