Louisiana Iris Seeds

By Hooker T. Nichols

This article is about how a relative new Louisiana iris hybridizer handles his ripened  Louisiana iris seeds.  There are two different roads one can travel upon when it comes time to harvest  your fully mature seeds and either plant them immediately or simply place them in a dry container until planting later  on in the year.

Cynthia Maldonado with seeds. Image from The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative  

Some of the few seasoned longtime  hybridizers harvest the seeds from the stalks when the pods begin to  turn nearly white just before they turn brow.  Some will tell you to plant the seeds immediately without nicking the corner of the seed or completely removing the cork covering from the seeds.  I personally have never  had the time to plant the seeds early post bloom season because as soon as the iris quit blooming I morph into a daylily and begin hybridizing daylilies.  If planted directly  into the soil or  individual gallon black pots you will get some  germination before fall  with the majority the following spring.

Image from The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative

I simply allow my pods to completely dry (turn brown) on the stalks.  I remove the seeds from  the ripened pods and place the complete  seed  lot  in  a Styrofoam cup.   After they have air dried, I put the cups in a cabinet and leave them there until early February.  Then each seed lot is planted in a one gallon black  pot with good soil.  In less than six weeks  I begin getting germination.  When the seedlings are  3  to 4 inches tall, I  transplant each seedling into its  own individual gallon pot when  it remains until September.  They are liquid fertilized every seven days until early September.  By that time, each  seedling has formed a small clump.  I tap the plant clumps out of  the pots and line them  out.  I get about 100% bloom the following spring because of out mild  winters and long growing season which is 200+ days per year.

Drawing Plate I. Dormon Caroline  By Their Fruits.

Following removing the seedlings from the pots, I then place the pots in full sun and let them bake all summer.  In early September I start watering the pots from which the 3-4 inch seedlings were earlier transplanted.  You will get another rush of germination.  The pots are healed in for the winter and the process is repeated again.  After the second individual transplanting is complete, I then dump the pots.

Louisianas bloom the same time as  the Spuria irises.  They are a  wonderful  way to extend your iris bloom season.   Try growing some of  the new Pseudata irises  and you can extend your iris  season  several more  weeks.

 Louisianas are adaptable to almost all soil types.    Plant the rhizomes about three inches in depth, fertilize them twice  a month  with either liquid or granular  fertilizer.  In hot areas, you much mulch them and one good watering a week in  the summer will keep them from going dormant. 

 This is the way I grow Louisiana iris in Texas and success has come my way.

Diversity of Color in Louisiana Irises - White irises

by Ron Killingsworth

"The name Iris is derived from a Greek word meaning "rainbow" and is a fitting name for this beautiful family of flowers." (The Louisiana Iris - The History and Culture of Five Native American Species and their Hybrids, an official publication of the Society for Louisiana Irises.)

The pigments of the iris petals create the brilliant colors of irises.  There are many articles and books written on this subject, so feel free to "google" it and learn as much as you desire.  Our discussion today is simply about the wide range of colors to be found in this group of irises.

The color range of Louisiana irises had been greatly expanded by more than 75 years of hybridizing.

This time we will look at the wide variety of shapes and sizes in white Louisiana irises.  White irises must have good substance in order to withstand "washing out" in the hot Louisiana sun.  There are still quite a few white Louisiana irises to be found in the native habitat, especially in south Louisiana, and most likely in the species i.giganticaerulea.

In other postings we discussed other flower colors to be found in Louisiana irises.  Today we look at some of the white Louisiana irises.  Again, different people see color in different ways so you may not find all these irises to be what you consider as "white". Without further discussion, let us jump right into examining some fine examples of white Louisiana irises.

'Acadian Miss' by Charles Arny, 1980.

This is one of the first Louisiana irises to exhibit some ruffling on the edges.  The very first iris to show ruffling was 'Charlie's Michele' (Arny 1969) which was a rose colored iris.  'Charlie's Michele' was the pod parent of 'Clara Goula' (Arny 1975) and the ruffling is quite nice on 'Clara Goula'.  'Clara Goula' was the pollen parent for 'Acadian Miss' and passed some of the ruffling on toe this iris. It is distinguished for other white irises by the ruffling and the bold green style arms.

'Circe Miss' by M. D. Faith 2005

'Circe Miss' resembles 'Acadian Miss' but there is a difference in the two irises.  This one does not have as much ruffling and the signals are somewhat different.

'Clara Goula'

This is not a great picture of 'Clara Goula' and again you can see the resemblance of the progeny.

'Cotton Plantation' by Mary Dunn 1994

This is an example of a bloom that has recently opened.  Below is an example of blooms that are a few days old and you can see how the petals re-curve somewhat in the picture below.

'Cotton Plantation'

If you have even been in a cotton field just before picking time, the cotton bolls do resemble this iris.

'Danza' by J. C. Taylor 1986

This iris tends to be more "light yellow" when first opened but fades to a pleasing white that can stand up to hot weather.

'Dural White Butterfly' by J. C. Taylor 1989

This is one of the "famous" white irises and it has been used in many hybridizing attempts/successes.  It is registered as "White self", no further description.  Again you can see the characteristics of the parents back to 'Charlie's Michele'.

'Her Highness' by Levingston 1957

This is a collected i.giganticaerulea alba and is one of my favorite white irises in the old open form.  We have a huge patch of this iris and it puts on quite a show every year.  It won the Mary Swords DeBallion Award in 1959, the highest award most Louisiana irises will ever win.

'Ice Angel' by A. Faggard 1988

Registered as "white, diamond dusted icy blue" and a great description of this iris, another of my favorites.  When it first opens, the area near the style arms dust in fact have a dusted icy look.  The pinkish blush also sets it apart for other white irises.

'Ice Magic' by J. C. Taylor 1991

A lot of Taylor's white irises have 'Helen Naish' (J. C. Taylor 1979) as one of the parents (pollen parent in this case).  'Helen Naish' has 'Clara Goula' as the pod parent.

'Inez Conger' (Charles Arny, 1973)

The real Inez Conger lived in Arcadia, LA, and raised many irises back in the 1950-70 time frame.  Her son, Sidney Conger, hybridized many Louisiana irises.  This one is registered as "white self, large orange signal" as if you paid the registration fee based on the number of words in the description!

'Lime and Soda' by Peter Jackson 2010

It is registered as "stands and falls soft lemon".  Perhaps this is a picture of a bloom a few days old and has faded to a pleasing white with a yellow blush.  I bet you could trace the parentage back to one of the famous white irises.

'Longue Vue' by Dorman Haymon 1999

Dorman named this iris for Longue Vue Home and Gardens in New Orleans.  It has 'Dural White Butterfly' for the pollen parent.  This is one of the most well know white Louisiana irises.

'Longue Vue'

Another nice picture of 'Longue Vue'.

'Marie Dolores' by Dorman Haymon 1986

Another fine example of a white Louisiana iris, this one with cream colored style arms and nice signals.  The registration says it has "pronounced sweet fragrance" but I have seldom found a Louisiana iris with fragrance.  I must check it out next year if I can simply remember to do so!

'Miranda Leigh' by Rusty Ostheimer McSparrin 2001

A very nice white iris that won the Caillet Cup in 2009.  It grows pretty short for me but really puts on a show during bloom season.

'Monument' by Mary Dunn 1977

The pod parent is 'Charlie's Michele' and the pollen parent is 'Ila Nunn' (Arny 1967), a pretty light yellow, registered as white, which I assume pleasingly fades to white.

'Starlite Starbrite' by Marvin Granger 1985

No, I did not misspell the name.  Marvin hybridized quite a few of the "cartwheel" form and this is by far one of my favorites.  It will win you a nice ribbon on the show table. It has all falls and no stands.

"Sylvarena' by Jeff Weeks 2010

A very nice iris that will catch you eye during bloom season.  It has 'Exquisite Lady' (A. Owen, 1986) as the pod and pollen parents.  'Exquisite Lady' has a silver rim (halo) on the stands and falls but I see that did not get passed to the progeny.

'Texas Toast' by Joe Mertzweiller, registered by Marie Caillet in 2005 after Joe's death.  It is a tetraploid registered as "cream" but fading to white.

To learn more about Louisiana irises, visit their website here. 

To learn more about all irises, visit the American Iris Society

Iris Bloom Season in NW Louisiana - Part III

by Ron Killingsworth

As promised, here is Part III sharing photographs of irises from the Caddo Lake area in NW Louisiana.  I have included a bit of history of the region and hybridizers, and I hope you enjoy the photographs.


The hybridizer Pat O'Connor lives just outside New Orleans and loves to name his irises for local features such as bridges, cities, canals, swamps, and streets in New Orleans.   Poverty Point is a World Heritage Site with ancient mounds built by native Americans.  This beautiful iris with great coloring and signals is a fitting tribute to the site.

'Poverty Point' (Pat O'Connor, 1999)

The Rigolets is a 12.9 kilometer (8 mi) long strait in south Louisiana. "Rigolets" comes from the word rigole, French for "trench" or "gutter." The name is locally pronounced "RIG-uh-leez."

'Rigolets'  (O'Connor, 2004)

Two of my favorite Louisiana irises side by side:  'Cest Si Bon' is about as "cajun" as you can get and this Louisiana iris is really a beauty.  'Rusty O' was named by Charles Arny for Rusty Ostheimer (now McSparrin).  Rusty and her husband Bud grow many Louisiana irises down below Lafayette, LA.

'C'est Si Bon' (Taylor, 1983) on left and 'Rusty O' (Arny, 1991) on right

Harry Wolford lives in Palm Bay, FL, and used to watch the lift off of the space shuttle from his back yard.  That's Seminole country and Harry has named quite a few Louisiana irises Seminole this or that.  I love the veining in this iris.

'Seminole Autumn' (Wolford, 2004)

And here is 'Seminole Moon', with a bit of orange in the yellow.

'Seminole Moon' (Wolford, 2009)

And finally, 'Seminole Sunrise', a fine red.

'Seminole Sunrise' (Wolford, 2004)

This iris is a tetraploid Louisiana iris that is quite different from the other few tetraploids on the market.  Tetraploid irises have more diversity in their genetic make-up and thus are highly prized by hybridizers.

'Texas Toast' (Mertzweiller, 2005)

This is definitely an "oldie but goodie", just one of many that Caroline Dormon registered. If you are ever in central Louisiana, don't miss her old home which is now Briarwood Nature Preserve located near Saline.

'Violet Ray' (Dormon, 1949)

'Wheelhorse' is a well know Louisiana iris and can be found in the genealogy of many fine Louisiana irises.

'Wheelhorse' (Dormon, 1952)

And here is 'Wood Violet', aptly named.

'Wood Violet' (Dormon, 1943)

This picture of a clump of award-winning irises was taken by my Koi pond; the whooping crane statues in the background watch over the irises.

'Red Velvet Elvis' (Vaughn 1991)

And here is a massive planting of mixed Louisiana irises -- the view from my front porch.

Finally, I thought I'd share one of the tall bearded irises my wife Sue has successfully grown in our hot and wet climate:  'Violet Shimmer'.  

'Violet Shimmer" (Moores, 1995)

Well that about wraps it up, and I hope you enjoyed the show.  If you want to learn more about Louisiana irises please visit the website of the Society for Louisiana Irises, and to learn more about many other species of irises, visit the website of the American Iris Society.