New Color Combinations in Plicatas 2

Editor’s Note: In recent blogs, Bryce Williamson wrote how the first good pink plicata, April Melody (Iris Stories: April Melody and Iris Stories: April Melody 2), expanded the range of colors in that group. Today’s hybridizers  have been  combining plicata patterns with other tall bearded iris patterns, taking plicata irises in new and exciting directions. Keith Keppel here shares a peek at some these developments in his Salem, Oregon, garden. Please remember, however, that these seedlings represent work in progress and most will not make the cut to naming and introduction based on plant growth or other factors.

By Keith Keppel

Any time the plicata pattern overlays a colored ground, there is a change in the ultimate color effect. Here in 12-103H, the blue plicata is superimposed on a yellow amoena. Note how the fall edging appears more purplish, and on the hafts, where the yellow is strongest and the blue heaviest, it takes on a reddish tone.

Pattern of plicata, pattern of ground, plus color of pattern, color of ground. So many possible combinations! This is what makes breeding plicatas so much fun:  a row of seedlings is a floral kaleidoscope.

Image by Brad Collins

Twenty-plus years ago we began to see an influx of "gilt edge" standards on darker colors. (Think....Slovak Prince, etc.) The edges are now also on plicatas. 11-75A is an example. Complicated pedigree, but the pollen parent is a sib to Mixed Signals, thus goes back to Reckless Abandon which is a good source for the trait.

Image by Brad Collins

 We've had interesting style arms on plics before, such as very dark blue on blue to purple plicatas, but now, some different color combinations are beginning to show up.    This is 12-99D, from a complicated pedigree including Ink Pattern and Reckless Abandon as grandparents, otherwise all numbered seedlings.   With styles like these, you almost don't mind if the standards don't stay closed!

Image by Barry Blyth

Another variation in ground color patterning -- 14-34B, from ((Drama Queen x Tuscan Summer) X Vista Point):

Image by Brad Collins

A puny first-year plant which will probably never amount to much.....but love the pattern and colors! The ground color fall spot is fun, plus the wild markings. Somehow makes me think of a witch doctor's mask.

Image by by Brad Collins

08-14A, Drama Queen X Tuscan Summer. Another with colored "blot" in the falls. Actually there is also a yellow band on the fall, combining with violet to give the oxblood red marginal band.

Image by Brad Collins

A Cosmic Voyage seedling, 14-38C.   A somewhat more subdued spot, surrounded by cream rather than white ground, and obscured as well as upstaged by the dark anthocyanin patterning. An increasing number of similar ground patterns are beginning to occur, often overlooked unless you specifically search for them. In a lightly plic-marked flower the blot would be far more obvious.

Image by Barry Blyth

Beware: a pretty flower picture does not guarantee a desirable garden plant. It's like going to an auto show: we're immediately drawn to the flashiest colored, stylishly made new models, but before putting in an order for one straight off the assembly line, we need to ask a few questions, and the same applies to irises. How many miles per gallon (how many flowers per season)? Does it perform well under varying road conditions (does it prosper in the garden when stressed during differing weather situations)? What about design flaws like impaired visibility, premature air bag deployment (poor substance, weak stems)? A glamour shot of a single flower does not tell the whole story.

This is an unmarked 12-97 series seedling involving Reckless Abandon, Sorbonne, Class Ring, and unnumbered seedlings

Image by Barry Blyth

And finally, adding a touch of pumpkin:  14-35B, from  ((Barbados x 07-204P) X Cosmic Voyage):

Image by Brad Collins