Barry Blyth seedling - Yellow plicata (Photos courtesy of Roland Dejoux) |
Barry Blyth seedling Barry Blyth seedling Keith Keppel seedling Barry Blyth seedling |
Keith Keppel seedling |
'LEANNA' (Meininger 1997) (Photo AIS wiki) |
Plicata irises have been around forever. Shown here, the historic plicata from 1612, 'SWERTI.' It is still grown in the garden of Gordana Stojanovic, and is the oldest documented plicata.
'SWERTI' 1612 (Photo courtesy of Gordana Stojanovic) |
Considered one of the best bearded irises of all-time, the beautiful white and blue-violet plicata 'MADAME CHEREAU' (Lemon 1844) is grown all over the world, and is still offered by commercial iris gardens, as seen in this photo from Schreiner's Iris Gardens.
'Madame Chereau' 1844 (Photo courtesy of Schreiner's Iris Gardens) The first Dykes Medalist was a plicata--'San Francisco' (Mohr 1927), as well as 7 others through the years: |
'SAN FRANCISCO' Mohr 1927 DM (Photo AIS wiki) |
'Kilt Lilt' (Gibson) DM 1976 (Photo courtesy of Dawn Mumford) |
'JESSE'S SONG' (Williamson) DM 1990 (Photo courtesy of Dawn Mumford) |
'SPLASHACATA' (Tasco) DM 2005 (Photo courtesy of Dawn Mumford) |
'STAR WOMAN' (M Smith) DM 2008 |
'DRAMA QUEEN' (Keppel) DM 2011
Jim Hedgecock, of Comanche Acres Iris Gardens, has had a keen interest in the hybridization of plicata tall bearded irises for several years. He says he "knows that many of the future color advancements [in tall bearded irises] will come from the plicata pool of genes." He goes on to say that he sees "multiple bands in different colors on both the standards and falls." To a certain extent these already exist, but he says "they just need more refining." One of the most exciting advancements, he predicts, is the background colors. "We will see orange, pink, and no telling what other colors as background colors in the near future of plicata blooms" he says. Hybridizers have "pulled out the luminata and glaciata patterns from the plicata" and he says "we can only guess what is next!" Pictured here is his 2012 introduction and a few of his innovative seedlings in his emerging line of plicata irises:
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'ORDINATION' Hedgecock 2012
This iris is destined to be the front-runner of what Jim hopes will be a line of plicata irises with multi-colored standards.
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Hedgecock seedling X-5-1 |
Hedgecock seedling R-102-X |
Hedgecock seedling Z-34 |
Hedgecock seedling X-32 |
'QUEEN IN CALICO' (Gibson 1980) |
'RANCHO ROSE' (Gibson 1975) |
"Illumination - By Keith Keppel"/Andi Rivarola, April 9, 2012,
as featured in the April 2012 issue of IRISES, the Bulletin of the American Iris Society.
"Plicata Tall Bearded Irises"/Jim Hedgecock, January 17, 2012, World of Irises.
as featured in the April 2012 issue of IRISES, the Bulletin of the American Iris Society.
"Plicata Tall Bearded Irises"/Jim Hedgecock, January 17, 2012, World of Irises.