By Bryce Williamson
Iris stories can be made up of several related,
interlocking, overlapping stories—if the story is about a hybridizer’s
creations, there may be stories about the names, why the cross was made,
or other issues; less known is that often the hybridizer is influenced by or
helped by other people who often are nameless, though those side stories are of
interest. That is the case with Jim Gibson’s 'April Melody,' the first good pink
plicata and the foundation parent of pink/orange toned plicatas today.
And the story of Jim Gibson and 'April Melody' actually
starts in Utah with 'Tell Muhlestein' taking a plicata seedling from Loomis’ 'Seashell'
and crossing it with his 'Pink Formal'. 'Pink Formal' was from a Loomis pink
seedling and iris 'David Hall.' From that cross, he
obtained 'New Adventure' and introduced it in 1953. We now know that the Hall
pink irises had plicatas in their background and 'Seashell' certainly had them. 'New Adventure' was an interesting color break—a lavender-pink plicata with a
tangerine beard, but, as you can see from the image, it did not have good form.
'New Adventure' -- image from the Iris Encyclopedia
When Jim Gibson in Porterville, California grew 'New
Adventur'e he realized it had great potential, but it also needed a lot of work
on the form. Thus started his quest for a well formed pink plicata. As you can
see from the complicated parentage, he made many crosses and brought into the
breeding both the best pinks of the day and his own well-formed brown plicatas.
And he raised seedlings and then another generation and yet more generations.
During
one of my visits to his garden, Jim explained that he thought about giving
up—the desired result was not showing up, but he did not give up and finally a
flower appeared that met his high standards. As you can see from the parentage,
many generations of hybridizing went into the creation of 'April Melody': ((37-57: (54-55: ('Taholah' x 45-53: ('Ballerina' x (('Gibson Girl' x ('Madame
Louis Aureau' x ('Sacramento' x red brown))) x ('Gibson Girl' x ('Tiffany' x 'Siegfried'))))) x (45-53D x ('Ballerina' x 'Happy Birthday'))) x 'New Adventure') X
(37-57 x ('New Adventure' x 54-55))).
But that was not the end of the story. At that time, the
Gibson irises were being introduced by Cooley’s in Silverton, Oregon and they were
hesitant to introduce this new colored iris. Enter the stranger in the form of
Hazel Stewart of San Jose, a longtime member of the Clara B. Rees Iris Society.
'April Melody' image from HIPS archive
Region 14—Northern California and Nevada—had a spring
meeting in Porterville. In the Gibson garden, the pink plicata seedling was in bloom.
During the garden tours, Hazel stood by the planting and kept pointing out,
“This is good. This is different.” She was right, it was good and different.
When the result of the voting for best seedling from a
Region 14 hybridizer was announced, Hazel’s campaign had paid off—the pink
plicata was named best seedling. With that award, Cooley’s did introduce 'April
Melody.'
And 'April Melody' went on to be a major parent for Gibson
and other hybridizers. From 'April Melody,' Jim introduced a series of new
plicata colors -- 'Rippling Rose,' 'Summer Silk,' 'Casino Queen,' 'Mod Mode,' 'Porta
Villa,' and 'Frosty Blush' are all first generation 'April Melody' children. The
second generation produced 'Lilac Love,' 'Pink Ember,' 'Happy Halo,' 'Smoke Rings,' 'Lasting Spring,' and 'Frost Kiss.' In the third generation, along came 'Pink
Confetti' and 'Anon,' among others. Further down the line, one of the most
important and lasting of Jim Gibson’s iris is the wonderful 'Queen in Calico.'
'Porta Villa' image by Sunshine Iris, Australia
'Pink Ember' image by Glenn Corlew
'Anon' image by Country Delight Iris
'Queen in Calico' image from Iris Encyclopedia
This is just a partial list of Gibson irises stemming
from 'April Melody' and, needless to say, other hybridizers realized the
potential of the iris and used it heavily. In fact, 'April Melody' not only opened
up a whole new group of color plicatas, but also 'April Melody' appears in the
background of so many differently colored irises that it is hard to believe
including the 2017 Dykes Medal winner 'Montmartre.'
'Montmartre' image by Schreiner's Gardens
When Jim could have given up on the line, he did not; he
continued to work for the goal, finally reaching and not only achieving a
wonderful flower, but also a wonderful parent. 'April Melody'’s story also points
out the importance of other people in making sure that wonderful and different
irises are recognized. While the judges of The American Iris Society did award 'April Melody' an Honorable Mention, they failed to vote it an Award of Merit — a
huge oversight on their part. In another blog, I will show how 'April Melody' and
its children were used by other hybridizers to produce fine irises.
My thanks to Keith Keppel for reading, correcting, and suggesting ideas for this blog.
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