Pelargonium by Irina Yashina: hybridization, selection and character
By profession a translator, Irina Yashina is a Pelargonium hybridizer who came to geraniums "completely by chance"—though, in our journey, nothing truly happens by chance!
It all started with a few PAC Elsner varieties, which sparked Irina’s interest in the complexity and nuances offered by this genus of plants. Her main collection included zonal, stellar, ivy-leaved (peltatum), angel, and some scented types... until she, too, fell under the spell of Zonartics—the marvelous creations of the mind and hands of Cliff Blackman!
Try, learn, create!
In 2016, she began her work of controlled pollination, obtaining seeds and subsequently new seedlings such as: Primo Ballo (open pollination), Fata Suanna, Mele sulla Neve, Rahat Loukoum, Ludwig, and Madreperla.
Her first prefix was IY (Irina Yashina), but she later changed it following her parents' interest in the hybridization process. Thus, her prefix became what we know today: IRIOL – IRI (na), O (
Despite the great results achieved with Zonartics, the stellar category remains her favorite. Her collection is primarily composed of her own varieties and seedlings. Space is the natural limiting factor that prevents Irina from increasing her collection size.
The central part of her work is the cultivation and testing of seedlings. Out of hundreds of plants, many will be discarded because they fail to meet her standards: perhaps the flower is spectacular, but the bush is ugly or forms poorly. Or perhaps the seedling is too similar to existing varieties.
As with other hybrids, it’s difficult even with stellars to obtain a truly different flower from existing ones. Out of dozens of seedlings, only a few capture attention. She likes semi-double and double flowers on dwarf and standard bushes; on plants that are well-branched and have a clean, tidy habit."
For her, stellar pelargoniums possess a completely different energy which led them to be more appreciated.
