Wetland Iris Trials Results
The Royal Horticultural Society has published the results of the 2003-2005 Trial of Wetland Iris at Wisley in the United Kingdom. There were 65 entries which were assessed by the Joint Iris Committee over the three year period. The following entries received an Award of Garden Merit Iris ensata ‘Frilled Enchantment’ I. ensata ‘Alpine Majesty’ I. laevigata ‘Regal Surprise’ I. sibo ‘Tango Music’. I. x robusta ‘Dark Aura’ I. sibo SdgSV4 (subject to naming) I. sibo ‘Mainestream Tempest’ I. sibo ‘Mainestream Spring’. Full details of the trial results and cultivar descriptions. For details click here.

Hybridizing Waterlilies: State of the Art by Richard Sacher published by the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society.
This much-needed publication was conceived by the IWGS as a tribute to the memory of well known waterlily breeder Perry D. Slocum. The author Richard Sacher who is a prolific and award-winning hybridizer himself surveyed ten waterlily hybridizers amongst them serious hobbyists and professional growers. In this booklet he combines his own knowledge with their experiences discoveries and practical advice. As he writes in his introduction Our combined work adds up to more than one hundred years of trial and error success and failure and most importantly accumulated wisdom. I am presenting this information in straightforward language so that anyone interested in hybridizing waterlilies can use it regardless of having or not having a formal background in botany or horticulture. Details click here.

A Question Mark Over SVC Test Kits
Scientists from the Centre for Environmental Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Weymouth United Kingdom have undertaken a study of two test kits that are used to detect (SVC) Spring Viraemia of Carp. In a paper published in the journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms the scientists reported upon the accuracy of the ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) kit and the IFAT (Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test) kit. They found that the ELISA kit was non-specific and could not differenciate between the SVC virus and others that were related. The IFAT kit was too specific and only picked out one of the four SVC isolates used in the tests.

2006 International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society Symposium
19th-23rd July
Fort Lauderdale and Orlando
Florida
Organiser
IWGS 6828 26th Street West Bradenton FL 34207 USA.
Details click here.

Koi Related Training Courses
Gauteng-based Orient Koi are offering three Koi related courses during the coming year. These are First Aid for Koi Small Koi Appreciation and Large and Medium Koi Appreciation. For further details click here.

New Hybrid Waterlily
Japanese breeder Yasuhiro Satou has surprised waterlily enthusiasts around the world by creating a distinctive new waterlily cross. Crosses between members of the Anecyphya and Brachyceras groups of waterlily are very difficult to achieve. The parents of the new hybrid were Nymphaea gigantea and a white form of Nymphaea colorata click here
Photo: Yasuhiro Satou

Barley Straw Study Brings Unexpected Results
A study by scientists from Hood College the University of Maryland and the Morgan State University Estuarine Research Center has concluded that the use of barley straw in water bodies does not always inhibit growth of all algae as universally believed. Surprisingly the presence of barley straw extracts appeared to cause some species of algae to grow faster more.

Tubifex Study Indicates Dangers
A study by the Fish Biology and Fish Diseases unit at the Munich Institute of Biology in Germany have recently published the results of a study into the quality of purchased live tubifex worms used for feeding fish. Although these tiny reddish worms are most widely used for feeding tropical fish they are not uncommonly fed to goldfish and other coldwater fish. Often tubifex worms are collected from sewage-contaminated mud. The detailed study screened a wide sample of the creatures for the presence of parasites more.

Cannas Receive Awards
Following the recent Canna trials at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Gardens United Kingdom two aquatic Canna cultivars have received Awards of Garden Merit. The salmon pink flowered ‘Erebus’ and pale yellow ‘Ra’ were trialled alongside other garden cannas and responded well to conventional gardening practice exhibiting their great diversity as plants for most waterside situations as well as valuable marginal aquatics. Details click here.
Photo: Merebrook Aquatics

Awards for Siberian Iris
The results of the Iris sibirica trials of 2003-2005 have been announced by the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley UK. Eight of the 64 entries have been recommended for the Award of Garden Merit. These are ‘Hohe Warte’ ‘Wealden Butterfly’ ‘Peter Hewitt’ ‘Viel Creme’ ‘Spencer’ ‘Shakers Prayer’ ‘Simple Gifts’ Tiki Bird’. Full details from the Royal Horticultural Society click here.

Male Fish Create Synthetic Scent
Researchers from Cardiff University in Wales have identified a chemical that makes male fish smell more attractive to females. The three year project which used Sticklebacks found that certain males produced small protein fragments called peptides and used them to create a synthetic scent more. Photo:Wikipedia

Chinese Lotus
Chinese Lotus is a loose term for cultivars of Nelumbo nucifera developed in China. It is not an official classification but a loose arrangement that is convenient for the gardener. The famous Yileen Garden Nanjing is a leading producer of these and Bowl Lotus more
Photo: Yileen Garden

Goldfish and Pain
Researchers at the Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, have revealed that goldfish can remember pain for a period of up to a day. This is contrary to a popular belief that goldfish only have a memory of a few seconds. The new study, published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, says that in experiments goldfish learned to avoid parts of their tank where they received electric shocks for at least twenty-four hours.

International Water Garden and Pond Show
Donald E.Stephens Convention Center,
Rosemont,
Illinois,
USA.
Details click here.

Water Gardening eDirectory
All the water gardening web-sites that have been developed recently by International Horticultural Communications Pty Ltd have been re-designed, re-organised and updated, and now have a Water Gardening eDirectory on the International and each regional web-site. This enables businesses in the water gardening industry to list their business details in the most appropriate market place. Details click here.