2019 AIS National Convention

By Bryce Williamson

On April 23-27, 2019, in the 99^th year of The American Iris Society, Region 14, Northern California, Nevada, and Hawaii, hosted the National Convention at San Ramon, California. In addition to meetings and trainings, the event featured three days of garden tours. This post is a sample what we saw in the gardens.

The four tour buses were split two and two and I ended up at the Horton Iris Garden Thursday morning. The weather had not cooperated with plans since it had been in the 90s, but there was still much to see. I really tried to find a weed in Mary Ann’s garden, but I did not succeed and that is no small accomplishment in a garden spread over acres of rolling landscape. It was here also that we had an early lunch after the bus start time of 7 AM. Special praise is need for the Sierra Foothills Iris Society who had provided a lavish spread of snacks for the attendees, many of us pretending to be dying of thirst and starving after the two-hour trip to the garden.

'Sweet Child of Mine'--Larry Lauer

'Dressed in Black'--Leslie Painter

'Luminager'--Stout 2016

After lunch, we drove through the state capital, Sacramento, to Elk Grove and Fran and Russ Shields’s Frannie’s Iris Garden. There seemed to have been a spirited competition between local iris societies because the Sacramento Iris Society had matched the lavish spread of snacks and cold drinks were especially welcome in the 90-degree heat. Of special interest was the Dykes Medal winner bed, gaving me the chance to renew acquaintance with famous irises some that I had not seen in 50 years.

Black Cherry Sorbet' (MTB)--Harris

'Queen's Circle'--Fred Kerr

'Blue Rhythm'--Whiting, Dykes Medal 1950

Friday attendees experienced the capricious, mercurial nature of Northern California weather when we drove to Sonoma to Rudy Ciuca and Joe Lawrence’s C&L Vineyard and arrived on a cold, foggy morning. With only 22 acres of farmland, Joe and Rudy have lots of irises and lots of grapevines. That morning several us, including yours truly, provided an hour of judges’ training in the guest iris beds. Here we also had lunch and we able to enjoy the quiet of the countryside as the fog burned off and the day warmed.

'Better Than Butter'--Black

'Wingman'--Schreiners

Meininger 1-F (easy to miss the flounces)

In the afternoon, we had free time in the historic town of Sonoma. Famous as the last California Missions, Sonoma was also the site of the declaration of the short-lived California Republic. A small town, Sonoma is famed for its fine wineries, boutique shops, and excellent restaurants.

On the final day of tours, we had yet another 7 AM start, this time to Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park, Union City. This is part of East Bay Regional Park system and they gave the gardener and park ranger Jeff Bennett permission plant a few irises on a ridge. I am not certain that they understood what they were getting; however, the park district has been amazingly supportive, providing the deer proof fencing for the plot, running a water line to the location, picking up the cost of materials, and, even, providing great signage for the convention. This planting of 800 guest irises and another 1000 named varieties is clearly a labor of love for Jeff Bennett. Local societies Clara B. Rees of San Jose, Sydney B. Mitchell of Oakland, and Mt. Diablo Iris Society all have pitched in to help. As one might expect, growing irises in virgin soil has wonderful results for the plants, though there was a little matter of an accumulation of years of weed seeds.

'Black Lipstick'--Keppel 2016

'What A Beauty' --Joe Ghio

Kelly TAFCS 12-13

The day after the tour by the iris society, the planting was opened to the public and the plan is to continue to add and improve this garden in the next years.

By lunch time, the famed fog had burnt off leaving us with a good view of San Francisco Bay to the west and we were told the famous Hayward earthquake fault was just a couple of hundred feet to the east.

After lunch we braved the weekend traffic and went over the Santa Cruz Mountains to Irene and Jim Cummins’s garden in Scotts Valley. Joe Ghio of Santa Cruz got them interested in irises and their garden is noteworthy for the integration of irises with other plant materials.

'Heat Is On'--Thomas Johnson

'Joy Returns'--Shadlow (rebloomer)

'Graffiti Art'--J. Painter 2016

Arriving back at the hotel, we had time to stop and rest before the evening awards banquet. The American honorary awards and garden awards voted by the judges were already known, so the highlight on the evening was the naming of the winners of the 5 cups from the garden visits.

The President’s Cup for best named variety from a Region 14 hybridizer was won by Rick Tasco of Superstition Iris Garden in Catheys Valley for his iris ‘Autumn Explosion’:

Image by Rick Tasco

The Franklin Cook Cup for best named variety from outside of Region 14 was won by Paul Black’s ‘Rise Like A Phoenix’:

The Ben R.  Hager Cup for best median was also won by Paul Black for IB ‘Black Comedy’. Paul Black’s irises are introduced by MidAmerica Iris Garden, Salem, Oregon:

The Lloyd Zurbrigg-Clarence Maham Seedling Cup went to Hooker Nichols’ 1978; Hooker Nichols' irises can be found at their garden website:

Image by Mikey Lango

Awarded for the first time in honor of Gerald Richardson, that award went to Irene and Jim Cummins for their use of irises in the whole garden:

Image by Mikey Lango

Let the Sun Shine In

By Bryce Williamson

As I wrote in a previous blog “I’m Singing the Blues,” some traditional iris colors have been ignored by hybridizers in recent years. Among those colors ignored are browns—oddly always popular with the carriage trade—and yellow. Ignoring the latter makes little sense. Yellow to gold is such a wonderful color in the garden and brings a shaft of sunlight into plantings even on overcast and dreary days.

Here are some yellows and golds to perk up even the dullest day.

Abbondonza--Image by Paul Black

Abbondanza (Ghio, 2003). With flowers that bloom from the early season to late, standards are mango gold, infused pink; falls mango gold, heart and shoulders pink; beards tangerine. This is a color that bring yellow and fruit tones together in a warm combination.

Amarillo Frills--Image by Paul Black

Amarillo Frills (Hager 2002). Not the newest iris on the list, but an early to midseason blooming variety that is a laced yellow self including the beards yellow.

Beauty Becomes Her--Image by Paul Black

Beauty Becomes Her (Black, 2010) Blooming in the midseason until the end of iris bloom, standards and style arms are medium dark yellow; falls pale yellow blending to medium yellow edge; beards medium yellow, light yellow at end. I have liked this when visiting gardens in Northern California and it grows and blooms well for me.

Best and Brightest--Image by Paul Black

Best and Brightest (Black, 2012). Some greenish hints in the falls of this bright yellow; anyone who is starting a hybridizing program will find this an interesting parent.

Better Than Butter (Black, 2010). Yet another of Paul Black’s irises on the list, but this time it is a variety that will expand your season, starting to bloom in the beginning of the iris season and blooming to the end.  Here the standards are white with a narrow, bright yellow edge; falls are light to medium yellow darkening towards the edge. A narrow, muted gold band circles the falls.

Dance Till Dawn--Image Paul Black

Dance Til Dawn (T. Johnson, R. 2011). Fifty years ago, one of the major tall bearded hybridizers of that time, Orville Fay, believed that tangerine-red bearded yellows and golds were just around the corner; that goal has been elusive because of genetic linkage. With golden-yellow standards and fall, blazed white, the beards are tangerine to yellow.

Fallalary (Johnson, 2010). In the tradition of Rainbow Gold, this bright, sunshine yellow has a classic, round form, light ruffling, and heavy lace around the petals’ edges, but the flowers open without problems.

Golden Gaga--Image by Paul Black

Golden Gaga (L. Painter, 2012). This variety takes yellow-gold off into a different direction with blendings of caramel in the standards and falls, darker caramel towards the edges of the petals.

Golden Panther--Image by Rick Tasco

Golden Panther (Tasco, 2000). Multi-awarding winning iris. Its awards include an Award of Merit, President’s Cup in 2004 at the AIS National Convention, and the Dykes Medal in 2009. Registered as gold overlaid in bronze, I find that some years it is definitely gold and other years it is bronze. Either way, it is bright and attention getting in the garden.

Notta Lemon--Image by Paul Black

Notta Lemon (Burseen, 2010). Well, actually it is sort of a lemon, though more a lemon-yellow-gold. Starts to bloom early in the season and continues to open flowers until towards the end of the bloom season.

Pure and Simple--image by Paul Black

Pure and Simple (Maryott by Ghio, 2004). I like this quiet, soft yellow better than its more famous sister seedling That’s All Folks. The falls are cream white with a wide band of soft-yellow, the color of the standards. This one always grows well for me and was a standout in the five years of severe drought here.

Pure As Gold--image by Brock Heilman

Pure As Gold (Maryott, R. 1993). Some may ask why this 24 year old iris is on this list. First it is here because of the deep, smooth gold color; the second reason is that it can rebloom in much of the United States. Some consider this to be Bill Maryott’s best introduction.

Smart Money--Image by Paul Black

Smart Money (Ghio, 2010). When I first saw this iris while visiting gardens, I liked its yellow tones; however, when it bloomed for me the next year with light violet lines and speckles on the falls, I did not know what to think. In a day, the lines and speckles disappear. For anyone starting to hybridize, this has produced some very unusual seedling for Barry Blyth in Australia.

Sun Chic--image by Napa Iris

Sun Chic (L. Painter, R. 2010). A bitone effect in this lemon yellow with darker falls; good growth and plants that are reliable for bloom each year.

That's All Folks--image by Brock Heilman

That’s All Folks (Maryott by Ghio, 2005). Standards are brilliant gold; falls white with gold blending to wide, muted gold band; beards gold. People I know in Texas assure me that when well grown, stalks of That’s All Folks can get as tall as five feet. But I must point out everything in Texas is bigger. This bright iris stands out in the early garden from afar and demands attention.

Your My Sunshine--image from Rockytop Gardens

You’re My Sunshine (Fan, 2010). I have yet to bloom this variety, but this gold self, except for a small white flash at the end of gold beards, has come highly recommended to me for wonderful growth habits, sturdy plants, and stalks that stand up under adverse conditions. I am looking forward to its bloom in 2018.

I hope that this blog has reminded you of the value of yellow to gold irises in your garden. When it is time to add to your collection, bring some of these fine irises into your yard and you will be reward with a blaze of sunshine even on the coldest, wettest, and dreariest day by letting the sun shine in.

Our debt to Iris aphylla

Tom Waters

I. aphylla

The European bearded iris species Iris aphylla has contributed to the development of modern bearded irises in a number of different ways. It still remains of considerable interest to hybridizers, particularly those working with the median classes.

The species is native to much of eastern Europe, with a range extending farther north than other bearded species. This makes it thoroughly winter hardy. It goes completely dormant in winter, losing all its leaves right to the ground. (The Latin word aphylla means "leafless".) The flowers are violet, although some recessive white and other off-color forms exist. The flowers themselves are not particularly glamorous, being often narrow and of poor substance. One of its most distinctive characteristics is prolific basal branching, with long branches starting low on the stalk, not infrequently at the point the stalk emerges from the rhizome. It varies in height, with forms as small as 30 cm and as tall as 60 cm or more. Both wild-collected forms and garden cultivars of the species have been registered and circulated.

I. aphylla 'Slick' (Lynn Markham, 2003)

Happily, I. aphylla has a similar chromosome complement to that of our modern tetraploid tall bearded (TB) and border bearded (BB) irises. This means it can be crossed with them to produce fertile seedlings that can be continuously worked with and improved for as many generations as one likes.

Early breeders showed little interest in medians, and simply worked I. aphylla into TB lines. It was found to contribute two interesting traits: an intensification of violet flower color, and blue or violet beards! Many early approaches to black in TB irises, such as 'Sable' (Cook, 1938) and probably 'Black Forest' (Schreiner, 1948), derive from I. aphylla. It is also behind many whitish or light blue TBs with blue or violet beards. In these irises, the dominant white found in TBs interacts with the intensification of violet pigment from I. aphylla.

When enthusiasm for median irises blossomed in the 1950s, with the formation of the Median Iris Society and the establishment of the four classes of median irises, creative breeders began to consider the potential of I. aphylla to add variety to these classes.

'Tic Tac Toe' (Johnson, 2010)
tetraploid MTB descended from I. aphylla

The most ambitious of such undertakings was Ben Hager's project to create tetraploid miniature tall bearded (MTB) irises. This class had been created with diploids in mind. Most TB irises from the 1800s and early 1900s were diploid, with a daintiness that was lost when tetraploids came to dominate. Early MTB breeders had taken these daintier TBs and bred them for even smaller size and greater delicacy. The MTBs were promoted as subjects for flower arranging. Tetraploid TBs, however, showed more different colors (such as tangerine pink), wider form, and better substance. Could these traits from the modern TBs be transferred to irises dainty enough to qualify for the strict requirements of the MTB class? Hager set about proving that they could. He crossed I. aphylla with small TBs and BBs, and then kept breeding toward the MTB requirements. After many generations of work, he established a line of tetraploid MTBs. Although these did not look exactly like the diploid MTBs (I. aphylla yields straight, upright stalks with vertical branching, whereas diploid MTBs often have a more zig-zag branching style), they had an appeal all their own. The first pink MTBs were Hager's tetraploids from I. aphylla.

'Saucy' (Craig, 1998)
tetraploid IB descended from I. aphylla

Hager's work was carried on by Jim and Vicki Craig, who combined Hager's irises with their own crosses involving different forms of I. aphylla. They introduced not only tetraploid MTBs, but BBs and IBs from the same breeding lines. This enhanced the variety of all three classes. They even produced a couple that were small enough to qualify as standard dwarf bearded (SDB)!

Others have worked with I. aphylla over the years, and continue to do so. Some hybrids that a relatively close to the species itself have been registered in the SPEC-X category. Paul Black's "small-flowered TBs" owe a debt to I. aphylla.

This species has contributed a great deal to the variety we find in both TBs and medians today. Do you grow any irises with I. aphylla ancestry? I'd wager you do!

'Night Mood' (Lynn Markham, 2003)
SPEC-X from 'Blackbeard' X I. aphylla 'Dark Violet'