Each year iris hybridizers put up the photos of their new introductions on their web pages, and each year the denizens of iris chat groups excitedly spread the news about whose intros are up. It's surprising that these websites don't crash from the rush of traffic as we all stampede to see the new introductions.
I thought I would ask some of these hybridizers which new flower was their hottest seller. I'm always curious to see what everyone else likes, and this knowledge helps to open my eyes to flowers I may have overlooked for some reason. I originally planned to begin with 2012, but I changed my mind and decided to ask about 2013. What's hot NOW?
My first call was to Fred Kerr at Rainbow Acres. Mr. Kerr is justly famous for his lovely creations, the most famous of which may be "Queen's Circle," which rates as many people's favorite iris and has been featured in these pages before. Mr. Kerr has a large number of new beauties this year, but he says that the runaway best seller has been "Mango Queen," a huge, luscious, fruity apricot and mango orange ruffled beauty. When I asked why he thought it was in the lead, he said "my guess is that it's all about the color, pattern, and ruffling. It's probably going to sell out this year."
You can see why. I have already decided where it will go in my garden, with the "Apricot Trifle" nasturtiums and the lamb's ears, with the foliage of the big blue agave behind it.
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I also have a particular fondness for Mr. Kerr's 2013 intro "Mary Contrary," a lovely new flattie, in which the standards lay down rather than arch up over the falls. Which of Fred Kerr's 2013 introductions do you prefer?
I'll be back with more 2013 hot sellers from other hybridizers in future posts. Until then, happy web surfing!
Mango Queen is gorgeous! I need to think of the perfect place for it in my garden! Thank you for a great post!
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