Plant breeding and hybridising
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Yeld was an amateur breeder and hybridiser of the garden plants Hemerocallis (daylily) and Bearded Iris. He was one of the early pioneer breeders of Hemerocallis when there was very little material available.[1] He was the first to introduce a hybrid, 'Apricot', which won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Certificate of Merit in 1892 and is still available today.[1] The 'Apricot' cultivar was bred from Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus L. (syn. flava) [2] and H. middendorffii.[3]
Subsequently, he obtained further species including low-growing ones such as H. minor. The lemon yellow hybrid 'Francis' was created from one of these smaller species winning the RHS Award of Merit in 1895[4].
During his lifetime he created and named over 30 hybrids including 'Gold Dust' which is still widely available.[5]
Yeld also produced some well-known irises. In 1923 he became the first President of the Iris Society,[6] now the British Iris Society, founded in 1922.[7] He was a friend of another iris breeder, Sir Michael Foster, naming one of his plants 'Sir Michael'. This iris, and another called 'Lord of June', were famous for some time.[8]
- ^ a b Americal Hemerocallis Society. "200 9 Garden Judges Workshop 1" (PDF). Americal Hemerocallis Society. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. "Kew Databases". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
- ^ "Hemerocallis 'Apricot'". Plant Finder. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ Eddison, Sydney (1992). A passion for day lilies. HarperCollins. p. 20. ISBN 0060164034.
- ^ Hemerocallis Europa. "George YELD - Registered Daylilies". Hemerocallis Europa. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ themikesmom. "PlantFiles: Tall Bearded Iris Iris 'Prospero'". Dave's Garden. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ The Briitish Iris Society. "Home page". The British Iris Society. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ Jim the Obscure. "A History of British Gardening, Miles Hadfield (1903–1982)". Retrieved 17 March 2014.