Starting again with Pacifica Iris

by Kathleen Sayce 

When I began focusing on irises more than 20 years ago, I was eager to hybridize for deeply saturated colors and weather-resistant flowers and plants for my climate and soil, near the Pacific Ocean in southern Washington State.

Iris tenax flowering in the yard: not exotic, but thrives in our soil and weather

I ordered Pacifica iris divisions from several different growers, amended the soil in key beds, and planted these new starts. I also ordered seeds from the annual Society for Pacific Coast Native Irises (SPCNI) seed exchange. [Note: The December 22/January 23 catalog is about to go live on the SPCNI website, writing in early December 2022.] I made tags, started a hybrids notebook, and worked out a unique scheme for each cross. I started testing kitchen countertop paper chromatography solutions so I could check flower pigments in crosses. 

Then I sat back and waited to see how everything grew. Well, I actually kept weeding and planting and enjoying these new plants. No sitting back was involved.

What happened? Not what I expected. 

Iris tenax clump

First, jays, squirrels, and crows pulled tags every chance they got. I found tags scattered all over my yard, on the driveway, and even on the access lane hundreds of feet away. We had feral peacocks in the neighborhood for several years. They pulled tags, and plants too, if those plants were growing where they decided they had to have dust baths. 

Those same species all love fresh young iris seedlings, it turns out. Mesh covers help; I now put all my seed pots in mesh frames. 

Deer tugged seedlings out of the ground to check palatability. Repeatedly. This led to arguments with adorable spouse, who does not want a fenced yard. The deer were eventually followed by a local herd of elk, who eat everything remotely palatable and trample the rest. Adorable spouse still does not want a fence. 

The weather got in the way of making deliberate crosses. Strafing rain in March-April-May can do that. Even bumblebee-assisted pollinations suffer in hard rain. I tried putting covers over plants, but it is just too wet and cold most years for pollen to germinate. I might try a modified alpine house, open on the sides for good airflow, to control the moisture; though then I'd have to water. 

Heavy rain also damaged petals, especially on more recent, highly-frilled hybrids. Given that these tend to flower during mid-spring, which is often very wet, it became clear that I needed to shift to later flowering selections. I started to focus  on Iris tenax instead of hybrids in the Pacifica iris gene pool. 

Then I misplaced the notebook! It was a strong sign, I decided, that my iris activities should be limited to growing and enjoying. 

Years later, reading an introductory chapter on growing Pacific Coast irises by Adele and Lewis Lawyer, they stated that Pacifica iris do not like sandy soils. My garden has silty sand. Hmm. If I took them at their word, I would never have tried growing Pacificas! 

All I can say is I would have missed a lot of entertainment over the past several decades.