The Long History of Irises in France

By Sylvain Ruaud

Whether we like it or not, it was in France that the horticultural culture of irises began. Men have always been drawn to irises. They were amazed by the richness of this flower and the variety of their colors. It is not for nothing that they gave it the nickname "plant of the rainbow", but their wonder increased when they realized that they could indefinitely vary colors, sizes, and shapes, just by choosing the parents at the time of crossing.

This discovery was a real revolution. It is the work of a French aristocrat, Marie Guillaume de Bure. Although apparently without having a professional life, this descendant of an illustrious publishing family had enough money to live on his income and to indulge his passion for irises without fear of what the future might bring. Like everyone else at that time, he was ecstatic about the variety of iris colors obtained by the natural pollinations; and he said to himself that it was possible to select the most beautiful - or the most original - among the flowers from the intervention of pollinating bees. Thus, his selection of work started in the 1830s; and his first choice was a plicata variety, which he called iris 'Buriensis.' This iris is now extinct (unless it has naturalized, which is likely), but the work of a few researchers has shown that it must be quite similar to the variety called 'True Delight' (Sturtevant, 1924). Today nobody discusses the appearance of iris 'Buriensis', but a recent study suggests that this variety was much older than the date originally indicated. Rather than the 1830s, we should talk about the 1810s, which places the origin of iris horticulture even earlier than we thought!

'True Delight' photo by Mike Unser

Monsieur de Bure was followed very quickly by other French nurserymen, in particular Henri Antoine Jacques, gardener of King Louis-Philippe in his castle of Neuilly in the west of Paris who found a most famous iris called 'Jacquesiana', from the 1840s. It was then a family of prolific and inspired nurserymen, Jean and Jean Nicolas Lémon, who brought a large number of varieties to the market. These plants met with tremendous success and many of them still exist today, 170 years after their selection.

'Jacquesiana' photo by Mike Unser

These first famous plants were created by natural pollination and then selected by the nurserymen. As for the crosses made by human hands, we will have to wait a little longer. French supremacy in the iris world went through a major crisis caused by the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, then the revolutionary episode of the Commune de Paris (1871). During these few years of estrangement from French specialists, British horticulturalists took up the torch and rapidly advanced iris horticulture. It was not until the years 1880/1890 and the preeminence of the Verdier family that France came back to the fore.

Victor Verdier was the nephew of Antoine Jacques, the gardener of King Louis-Philippe. He and his sons picked up the family torch. Their activity was essentially that of nurserymen, marketing the varieties of their colleagues, such as the Lémon or their uncle Jacques. Nevertheless, what we know from them are some very famous varieties, such as 'Clio' (1863), or 'Nuée d'Orage' (1905). This last variety can be considered the end of an era. During the half-century following these introductions, essential events occurred in the history of irises, such as the transition to tetraploidy, to which many French hybridizers largely contributed.

'Nuée d'Orage' photo by Mike Unser

Admittedly, it was not them who were at the start of this discovery; but when these irises gained enough interest, hybridizers immediately focused on them as well. During the eclipse of the French gardeners, their English colleagues, worried that they would no longer discover new colors in their irises, called on the large blue irises taken from the Near or Middle East. Very soon, however, they found themselves at a dead end: Middle Eastern irises only produced flowers in shades of blue. Hence the idea of ​​crossing them with European irises. However, the first crosses were very disappointing. There were few successful fertilizations and seedlings proved sterile. At the time they could not explain these phenomena, and it took much perseverance by the hybridizers who continued to try their luck, before another Frenchman, Marc Simonet, appeared and solved the mystery by counting the iris chromosomes.

'Demi-Deuil' and 'Madame Chobaut' photos by Mike Unser

This period of uncertainty, which lasted for over thirty years, marked a fundamental stage in the history of irises. The efforts of French hybridizers were decisive and horticulturalists such as Ferdinand Denis and Alexandre and Lionel Millet, inspired by their British colleagues, brought large-flowered irises from Turkey and crossed them with "small"-flowered irises, producing the fertile and richly colored flowers that we know today. Ferdinand Denis had a very productive career. In tall beardeds (TBs) alone, he registered over 70 varieties. Among these, the famous 'Demi-Deuil' (1912), unusual 'Madame Chobaut' (1916), and the pale blue 'Andrée Autissier' (1921). As for the Millet firm, their work was just as productive, producing the essential 'Souvenir de Madame Gaudichau' (1914) and 'Mary Senni' (1930).

'Souvenir de Madame Gaudichau' photo by Mike Unser 

It was during this period of transition that two exceptional French hybridizers came to the fore: Philippe de Vilmorin and Ferdinand Cayeux. They have had very different careers. Philippe de Vilmorin was a flamboyant character, inspired by irises, but only hybridizing with the zealous and faithful intervention of Séraphin Mottet, his chief gardener. Mottet made the crosses, Vilmorin made the decisions. Together they created splendid flowers which marked their time, like 'Caprice' (1898), 'Oriflamme' (1904), and 'Ambassadeuer' (1920). But their reign was short-lived, pioneer Philippe de Vilmorin died prematurely.

'Caprice' and 'Ambassadeur' photos by Mike Unser

Ferdinand Cayeux, a businessman as much as a genius horticulturist, largely dominated his time. He was admired by the world of irises which had recognized in him an exceptional character. His irises have been cultivated all over the world and varieties like 'Jean Cayeux' (1931) or 'Madame Louis Aureau' (1934) are still alive today in many collections. He made the “iridosphere” take a huge leap forward. His influence lasted until World War II when it brought his work to a halt. When peace returned, the American hybridizers had reclaimed the first place in the world because they made considerable progress.

'Madame Louis Aureau' photo Mike Unser

The Cayeux family had passed the torch to Ferdinand's grandson, Jean, also an excellent hybridizer, who was talked about for 50 years by producing real monuments like 'Condottiere' (1978) or the long series "tricolor" varieties that got started by 'Bal Masqué' (1991).

'Casque D'Or' (J. Cayeux, 1957) photo by Mike Unser

At the end of the war, the French hybridizers had practically disappeared. Apart from Jean Cayeux there was no one left. It was not until the end of the 1970s that enlightened and daring amateurs came to make their contribution to the creation of new varieties. We owe this renewal to a man, Pierre Anfosso, who added his passion for irises to his vocation as a painter. It was in 1979 that he made his appearance in the “iridosphere,” with varieties that were recognized by all such as 'Echo de France,’ his homage to the work of Barry Blyth. He communicated the iris virus to all his family, and outstanding varieties are attributed to his son Pierre-Christian, his daughter Laure, his wife Monique and his daughter-in-law Vivette. Both French and American iris enthusiasts regretted that this family had discontinued their iris creation at the end of the 1990s, and were delighted to see its rebirth in 2015.

'Echo de France' photo by Mike Unser

The 1990s saw the emergence of a new hybridizer full of talent and very eclectic in his fields of activity: Lawrence Ransom. This breeder with a very sure taste produced charming flowers of great quality but which remained confidential in their distribution. Two or three other people made themselves known in the same period, but in a more artisan than professional way. At that time it was Richard Cayeux, heir to the famous family, who largely dominated the French market, showing first-rate talent and obtaining numerous and superb varieties. Today he is a globally known and recognized hybridizer. His example served for several iris fanatics to embark on hybridization and marketing of their production. In this way, the number of new French varieties quickly increased and real talents were revealed. Their work focused on all types of irises, but primarily on TBs. Each year now, we see new hybridizers advance their work, but what limits their recognition at the global level is the weakness of their marketing network.

Nowadays if the supremacy in the world of irises still rests with the American hybridizers, it has a lot to do with a host of breeders from all countries of the world. Among these, are French breeders, who have regained an honorable place.