After the Meltdown

Rebloomers tend to be among the first tall bearded irises to bloom in the spring, and they often color the garden for a week before the oncers begin blooming.  In early April, 'Tara's Choice' and several other rebloomers were looking great.  Unfortunately, I knew it was way too early for them to be safe in my Kentucky, zone 6, garden.  

'Tara's Choice' (Wilkerson 2004)

As I finished my last AIS blog entry, the garden was hit by a heavy frost extending over three consecutive nights.  Many of my seedlings were in full bloom and I'd begun making crosses for the 2012 year.  They turned out to be busy work.  The immediate concern was damage.  What was damaged and how bad was it?  

Frost damaged stalk

It was bad.  All stalks were cut down by the frosts.  Most of the bloom was gone for the season, but a small number of irises put up new stalks.  Some of the newer seedlings managed to open a bloom here and there.  Although nothing could be evaluated due to damaged blooms, it was nice to see the colors.  Who would have expected 'Born to Exceed' X 'Renown' (blue bi-tone and white) to produce a yellow seedling?  I'd hoped to expand my photo collection, but unfortunately, I was not able to take many pictures. This blog will be handicapped or limited to existing photos until I have another good bloom season.

There were no pods in the tall bearded section for 2012.  About twenty crosses had been made when the frost hit and none survived.  Another ten crosses were made post frost and none of these took. Recently germinated seedlings were frost bit but few were killed, fortunately.

Since the spring bloom was three weeks early, so it should be no surprise that rebloom also started earlier this year.  'Pinkness' (Byers 89) tried to spring bloom, was damaged. and it was the first introduced iris to put up a new stalk, followed by 'Gate of Heaven' (Zurbrigg 2004) and 'Artistic Showoff' (Wilkerson 2011.)  This is early for my garden, but there are reports of early rebloom in many parts of the US of A.

'Pinkness' (Byers 1989)

'Gate of Heaven' (Zurbrigg 2004) (Yum!)

'Artistic Showoff' (Wilkerson 2011)

Even before these three irises bloomed, two of my summer blooming seedlings gave a show.  Both 2025-02Re and 2130-01Re have bloomed in July but started rebloom in June this year. Both have been used in breeding. 

2025-02Re Wilkerson seedling (Total Recall x 1625-01Re (Star Gate x  (Violet Returns x Breakers) 

2131-01Re Wilkerson seedling (Again & Again X Echo Location) 

I also have a couple of seedlings with stalks showing color.  They won't open by June 25, but I'll give you a little peek at what I'll see in a few days!  2102-04Re has been a favored seedling since it was transplanted from the seedling pot back in the fall of 2007.  At that point, I was impressed with its great root system, and I fully expected it to rebloom.  My enthusiasm gradually diminished as I watched it set bloom stalks each spring, right after bloom season, and waited (impatiently) for signs of a fall stalk.  Each year it sat and waited for spring to send up the stalks.  In 2010 I moved a piece of it to the new beds.  The clump opened three stalks post-frost season this spring.  Last week I was thrilled when I finally spotted a rebloom stalk.  I was shocked because I'd given up.  More about this one in a later blog.  It has great breeding potential.

2102-04Re Wilkerson seedling (Star Gate x (Bridge In Time x (Feed Back x Titan's Glory) X Arctic Fox

1907-10Re Wilkerson seedling (Blatant X All Revved Up) 

1907-10Re bloomed all summer in 2011, had spring stalks, and it has another stalk ready to show color now.  This shows potential for a good 2012 rebloom season.  I hope to have a lot to report in August.  At least I can dream.

Much of the country had an early bloom season in the spring.  Did any of your irises get hit by frost?  Have any of your reblooming irises sent up new stalks already this summer?

Anticipation! Spring In Zone 6

There is stability and calm in anticipation of the expected.  Fall planted bulbs unfurl their beauty to triumphantly announce “Spring is here!” The crocus blooms are gone, the daffodils have almost finished their bright and cheery parade, and the smaller classes of irises have unfurled their petals.  Garden cleanup and bed preparation have been in full swing on any dry day or bits and pieces of dry days!   Fertilize this, clean that, but don’t forget to enjoy it all! 

The key word for this time of the year is anticipation!  Mother Nature is such a busy little bee with her paint brusha dash of red here and there to focus the eye.  She’s thrown in lots of white and yellow to lend cheer and hope to the lush green background of life. 

There are so many exciting things happening.  The eye darts from place to place.  Hurry!  Hurry!  Hurry!  Look here, look there.  Enjoy it all before it’s gone. 

Well, that is the way it’s supposed to be in my Zone 6 garden.  My season is not going as expected!  Bloom season is three weeks early.  I’ve been catapulted straight into the “hybridize and enjoy” phase. 

Among the most anticipated events of spring, for me, is the germination of last year’s seed crop.  After 2010’s disappointing germination rate, I was happy to see the good crop that sprouted from the 2011 season.  Anticipation and potential are two of my favorite words.  That is what all of these sprouts mean to me.

Seedling germinated in 2012

For this hybridizer, rebloom season begins with the start of spring bloom.  Most rebloomers bloom early, often the first week.  Some feel this early bloom season is due to the plant’s need to get a head start on fall bloom.  It could be that rebloomers are simply strong robust plants that bloom at every opportunity.  I believe that hybridizer’s selection of breeding material may be a primary factor.  We can hear the tweezers clicking before the first bloom opens!  Either way, information is accumulated all year, but the breeding takes place in the spring. 

'Again and Again' (Innerst 1999)

'Lunar Whitewash' (Innerst 2003)

'Earl of Essex' (Zurbrigg 1980)

My breeding program has been in progress since 1986.  This year and 2007 are the only years I’ve seen bloom in late March.  Many of us remember the total destruction of 2007!   Among the first to bloom this year were ‘Again & Again,’ ‘Lunar Whitewash’ and ‘Earl of Essex.’  ‘Earl of Essex’ is in the linage of my own ‘Echo Location’and 'All Revved Up'.  It was introduced in 1980 by Lloyd Zurbrigg,

'Echo Location' (Wilkerson 2007)

'All Revved Up' (Wilkerson 2006)

Spring weather has been strange the last couple of years, so it’s hard to know what is normal in the iris beds.  Many irises have been blooming out of sequence.  Some of my older seedlings are blooming early.  Among the early ones is 1510-06red.  I love the colors and it will always have a spot in my garden.  It is a sibling to ‘All Revved Up” listed above, but it doesn’t rebloom.  

1510-06red

After nearly a month without a freeze and the same amount of time with highs in the upper 70’s and 80’s, bloom season is in full swing.  Now, we are having a couple of days in a row with near freezing lows.  The frosts are enough to do damage, but we shouldn’t have a total annihilation as in 2007.  Not quite what I’d anticipated!  It looks like a good time to check out the AIS website www.irises.org and the Reblooming Iris website www.rebloomingiris.com. 

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