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For the last three weeks, a software glitch has prevented automatic notifications of The World of Irises blog. The coding error has been found and fixed and Monday you should have received notification about Bonnie Nichols’s blog on soft rot.

You may have missed several blogs with interesting information and good images. Just click on the link and it will take you to the blogs in questions.

Mike Unser’s blogs are always full of great images and the recent blog “The Beauty of Siberian Irises” is no exception.

Anna Cadd has been hybridizing Spurias for many years and her guest blog provides historical and current information about the important parent Wadi Zem Zem.

Merry Christmas!

By Mike Unser

A small selection of irises with names appropriate for the season. Hope you enjoy them.

'Christmas Time', Schreiner's, 1965. Photo by Carlos Ayento.

'Holy Night', Ken Mohr, 1983. Photo by John Weiler.

'Santa', Shoop by Keppel, 1998. Photo by Mike Unser

'Santa's Helper', Carol Lankow by J. Terry Aitken, 1997. Photo by Mike Unser

'Christmas Carol', O'brien, 1973. Photo by Mary Hess.

'Dasher', Opal Brown, 1977. Photo by Paul Black. 

'Winterfest', Schreiner, 2005. Photo by Mike Unser

'Sleighing Song', Robinson, 1984. Photo by Paul Black.

'Gingerbread Man', Bennett Jones, 1969. Photo by Cindy Voss.

'Gingerbread Castle', Tompkins, 1967. Photo by Mike Unser

Happy Holidays! And all the best for 2018.

Favorite Macro Photos of 2016, Part 2

By Mike Unser

I love photographing irises and capturing their beauty to enjoy all year long. I also love to do close up shots of them to highlight the incredible beauty of their architecture. Here is a selection of my favorites from the 2016 season. Click on the photos to see the full size version.

noid

'Black And Gold'

noid

'Oural'

'Pinata'

'Barely There'

'Goldkist'

'Little Dream'

Favorite Macro Photos from 2016, Part 1

By Mike Unser

I love photographing irises and capturing their beauty to enjoy all year long. I also love to do close up shots of them to highlight the incredible beauty of their architecture. Here is a selection of my favorites from the 2016 season. Click on the photos to see the full size version.

'Anne Leslie'

'El Paso'

'Finest Hour'

'Millionaire'

'Mme. Louesse'

'Pink Plume'

'That's All Folks'

'Golden Flare

The Curse of 'Ola Kala'

By Mike Unser

The Dykes Memorial Medal is the highest award an iris variety can win and is highly coveted by hybridizers. It represents, we hope, the creme de la creme of the iris world. But for every winner there are those that came so close, but didn't quite make it. This is the story of two varieties thwarted from the top spot by the same iris. 

Dr. Rudolph E. Kleinsorge was a celebrated hybridizer in his day, introducing iris varieties from 1929 through 1961. He created many significant varieties that were not only good garden plants but also advances in color that changed the iris palette forever. One thing he never did achieve was a Dykes Medal, however he did come very close. He thrice missed the top spot by slim margins. And, oddly, it was the same variety that beat his two of those times.

In 1945 his lovely pink blend 'Daybreak' came in second to 'Elmohr'. In 1946 it tied for the top spot with  'Ola Kala', the renowned golden yellow masterpiece from Jacob Sass, and no award was given that year. In 1948 the Doctor's next great advance, 'Bryce Canyon', was a runner up to that year's winner - 'Ola Kala'. Talk about a curse! 'Ola Kala' was not OK for the good Doctor*.

'Ola Kala' deserves its place. It was an amazing advance for yellow irises, bringing great depth of color, lovely form, and much needed height to a class that was begging for improvement. It is sad that it eclipsed the fine advances that both 'Daybreak' and 'Bryce Canyon' also brought to the table, but such is the cast of the die. Thankfully all three of these wonderful varieties are still with us, and we can grow them and judge for ourselves which are deserving in our own eye of top honors. 

*Much thanks to Phil Edinger for the info and clever turn of phrase that inspired this post.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'HISTORIC', 'HERITAGE', AND 'LEGACY' IRISES?

by DAWN MUMFORD

Collage of historic irises from our garden 

I belong to several groups on Facebook visited by people who like to grow irises.  I have learned a lot from those groups and enjoy the lovely photographs that members post of their irises.  Questions are asked and there is usually someone out there with the correct answer.   One question that was posed and never fully answered to my satisfaction is our topic today:  

 What is the difference between 'Historic’ ‘Heritage’ and ‘Legacy’ Irises? 

The American Iris Society uses the term "Historic" to describe those irises that were introduced 30 or more years ago. Each year there are a whole lot more that fit into that category. Of the 3 terms listed in the question, The American Iris Society has only accepted and defined the term “Historic”. They have not adopted nor defined the term “Heritage"  or "Legacy" Iris. So the terms "Heritage" and "Legacy" are terms used by other iris collectors. In other words if you ask 25 gardeners what "Heritage" and "Legacy" irises are, you might get 25 different answers. I asked a few iris lovers and officials to distinguish between "Historic," "Heritage," and "Legacy" and here is what they said.  

     

Anne Milner lives in the UK. She has a wonderful web site at http://www.blissiris.co.uk/ This is what she had to say:

” I’m afraid I have never heard of ‘Legacy’ irises... though I know that officially ‘Historic’ irises are those over 30 years old – too short a time in my opinion. I’m also not clear about ‘Heritage’ irises. I grow 'Arthur Bliss’ irises which are now nearly 100 years old – definitely ‘Historic’. Very few are available commercially, though I would supply what I can to people in Europe. As you may be aware, cross-Atlantic trade is extremely difficult. "

It appears that the terms "Heritage" and "Legacy" are not in wide use in the UK, from what I have been able to gather.

'Bruno' (Bliss, 1922)

Flowers are large and well proportioned.  

 'Majestic'  (Bliss, 1923)

Enormous flowers.  Very fine form and extra substance.  

My next response came from Laetitia Munro, a committee chairman for HIPS.  HIPS stands for the Historic Iris Preservation Society, so Laetitia is an authority on correct terminology on old irises.  She reports that

"As for the terms you describe,only one term you mention, 'historic', is the one that is officially defined and accepted by HIPS, which would deal with THE official descriptions of older iris. The terms 'legacy' and 'heritage' do not have specific official meanings as far as the Historical Iris Preservation Society goes, although for sure they are meant to describe older iris.
As people have grown increasingly dissatisfied with the use of the term 'historic' for EVERY iris that is over 30 years old the terms traditional and heritage have been bandied about as ways to describe iris that look different from the very old iris, and move the dates of Historic Iris back to pre 50's, or even earlier. However this is just talk at the moment, and because a majority of the Board cannot agree, no decisions have been made. Right now, faced with more pressing issues, there is nothing that the Board of Directors is considering at the moment, and there is no sub-committee to make change recommendations. We will continue to use the term 'historic' to describe iris 30+ years old.  If you read anything on the HIPS website you will see that these other two terms are not used in an official capacity in any formal documents.

If I were to give you my unofficial interpretation,  'traditional' iris might be considered one that is of the newest wave of 'historics', such as American Beauty, Apple Blossom Pink, Twice Blessed.  Heritage iris might be of the next older group such as iris from the 50's, 40's such as Chivalry, Black and Gold, Cahokia and the like."

'American Beauty'  (Shoop, 1985)
photo courtesy of Bluejiris

'Chivalry'  (Wills, 1943) 
Photo courtesy of Bluebird Haven Iris 

"My main 'beef' about the 'historic' designation is that an historic iris from 1980 looks very much like a modern iris from the years post 2000, while those that are older than 1950 do have distinctive form indicative of the earlier times."

The next opinion is from Robert Karr from Newport Naturals Iris, who gives a little history on the issue:

"HIPS tried a few years ago to redefine what 'Historic' meant.  After a lot of discussion, we decided to just leave the definition the same:  any iris introduced into commerce thirty years ago.  We did not try to come up with new classifications such as 'Heritage' or 'Legacy'. Linda and I do not care for such terms, but prefer “Historic”.  It is my impression that the majority of the members of HIPS who took part in the discussion prefer to keep the term “Historic”, and not attempt to use any other terms. What is the difference between “Heritage”, “Historic", and “Legacy” is a subject that would conjure up hundreds of opinions.  I am not sure that it is a viable subject for discussion anymore."

Mike Unser is well respected for his knowledge of historics.  He was the webmaster for HIPS for a number of years, an accomplished photographer, and a writer for this blog. He chimed in with

"Here's my two cents on these terms and how they apply to old irises.
'Historic' is an official designation by the AIS that includes any iris over 30 years old. It is the basis for the Historic Iris Preservation Society, which was founded with the intention of stopping the loss of important old irises and keeping them going for future generations to enjoy.
'Heritage' is defined as 'something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion.' I have only seen this used in the iris context by groups or individuals as pertains to varieties of national importance. Such as Terry Johnson's blog Heritage Irises which usually focuses on the work of New Zealand breeders, such as Jean Stevens. He writes of others but I think the NZs are the focus.

'Legacy' has, as one definition, 'anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.' I would only apply this term to collection of irises that fit a theme, like Anne Bliss' collection of the Arthur Bliss varieties, or the Sarah Cook collection of the Morris varieties. Or an individuals collection of varieties their grandmother grew."  

Mike provided me with 3 beautiful photographs of 'Historics' that he feels should be more widely known and grown.

'Nomohr' (Gibson, 1955) 

(Snow Flurry X Elmohr), HM 1956.
Photo courtesy of Mike Unser.  'Flashing Gem' is on the left and Mike believes that 'Native Chief' is on the right. 

'Mary Barnett' (Cumbler, 1926)
Photo courtesy of Mike Unser

'Maroon Damask'  (Kleinsorge,1945) 
Photo courtesy of Mike Unser
The yellow behind 'Maroon Damask' is 'Goldbeater' the bright pink one is a noid that is going around as 'Ranger.'

I asked Mike where he got all his Historic irises and he said that early on he did a lot of ordering from Superstition, Argyle Acres, a little from Winterberry, and from well-known irisarian Wanda Rezac.  The vast majority came from other collectors and are pretty rare. 'Maroon Damask' came from Winterberry. The other two may become available from The Pickle Barrel House sale or the HIPS sale where he passed them on for propagation and distribution. 

Conclusion
'Historic' is the correct term with an accepted definition. Although many of us may use the terms 'Heritage' and 'Legacy' to mean older irises, there is no official meaning for the terms.

What do you think?  Do we need more descriptive words to denote age or not?  Perhaps just having the year they were introduced is enough?

I would love to hear from you. 

I have loved irises since I was a young mother.  Here I am in a photo from 1974 with my son Zane who is now 41 years old.  I don't know the name of the iris, which was passed down to me from my mother-in-law. I didn't know that I would later feel the names were so important, and today, it drives me crazy that I don't know the name of this iris! Do you have any guesses what it is?  

My heartfelt gratitude to Anne Milner, Laetitia Munro, Robert Karr and Mike Unser.  Thanks so much for your contributions. 

Come to the Iris Convention!

By Mike Starrhill

With spring fast approaching, it is time to start making plans to attend the American Iris Society's spring 2015 Convention, "Iris in Wonderland." This year it is being held in beautiful Portland, Oregon, from May 18th to the 23rd. Iris friends old and new will be meeting up to tour gardens and see the very latest and greatest creations our hybridizers have to show off, as well as attending all the events, presentations and meetings for the various specialized societies. It is a wonderful time and we invite you to join us!

I was so delighted to attend the 2006 Portland Convention, "Reigning Iris." It was my first Convention and everyone was so friendly and made me feel right at home. It was so much fun to meet iris friends that I had only known from the internet, and let me tell you, the gardens and flowers are amazing. Here are some photos I took at the gardens that will again be showcased.

Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden, in Vancouver, WA: Spread over a lovely hillside, the rows and rows of flowers beckon visitors further and further into the distance. Terry and Barbara grow a wide variety of species and there is always something surprising to stumble upon. 

Visitors enjoy the blooms at Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden,
AIS Convention 2006.

Mid-America Garden, in Brooks, OR, is the home of Paul Black and Thomas Johnson, two of America's top hybridizers. One of the highlights for me in this garden was seeing a preview of what's to come in their reselect seedling beds.

Display beds at Mid-America Garden,
AIS Convention 2006.

Schreiner's Iris Gardens in Salem, OR, is a destination for gardeners of all stripes. While irises are the main attraction, their display gardens are filled with companion plants and are always a delight. It is sure to inspire you with plenty of ideas to take home to your garden.

Display garden at Schreiner's Iris Gardens,
AIS Convention 2006.

And, again, seeing the rows and rows of reselected seedlings gives us a sneak peek into the future and the wonderful advances we'll see shaping iris fashion in years to come.

Seedling beds, Schreiner's Iris Gardens,
AIS Convention 2006.

We'll also be visiting Mt. Pleasant Iris Farm, in Washougal, WA, home of Chad Harris and Dale Grams; Miller's Manor Gardens, home of Lynn and Roger Miller; and Wildwood Gardens, home of Tracy and Will Plotner.

I. pseudacorus variegata,
photographed at Mt. Pleasant Iris Farm

After the main Convention, the Siberian & Species Convention will take place on the 24th and 25th. "Another Day in the Garden" will take visitors back to some of the previous gardens as well as the garden of Kevin Vaughn. In addition to the cornucopia of irises you'll enjoy, the sights and attractions of Portland are nearby, and you have all the stunning natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest within easy driving distance. From the mountains of the Cascades and the rainforests of the Olympics, breathtaking drives through the Columbia Gorge, and the incredible geology from the deserts to the volcanoes to our beautiful beaches, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

You can find all the details you'll need to plan your trip at the Convention's main website. See you there!

Flower arrangements at Cooley's Gardens,
AIS Convention 2006.

Mid-America Gardens, iris fields.
(click for larger view)

Mass Plantings in Public Spaces

By Mike Unser


On a recent Sunday I headed down to our local farmer's market and was absolutely thrilled to see that the City of Olympia had incorporated irises into its landscaping design at the public plaza that was constructed in conjunction with the new home for our city's Hands On Children's Museum. This great museum started in a small storefront downtown before moving to a larger space near the Capitol campus. The visitors just kept growing and they kept expanding until finally being given the funds to build a permanent home near the Olympia waterfront, just a few blocks from its first home.  It is a huge hit with kids of all ages and has won numerous awards.

Along with the museum, the city constructed a public plaza across the entire front of the property. What a work of art it is! It is filled with sculptures and nestled into the landscaping, mosaics underneath and even a flowing 'creek' that kids can play in. 

The planting focus was on water-wise plants, and along with many native species they have planted large masses of a single variety of bearded iris. This really shows the power our favorite flower can have in urban design.

 There are dozens of very large clumps spread across the entire area. The large masses and repetition make for a very striking show and the color carries well over a wide area.

 This area has been ripe for development for decades, and I hope the city will continue to incorporate irises as more projects come into their own over the years. If you get to Olympia in the springtime be sure to stop by and see the blooms.