TALL BEARDED IRIS SUPER ACHIEVER AWARD, PART TWO

BY DAWN MUMFORD 

Eight driving miles is the difference between 40 feet of snow per year in the Cottonwood Canyons and 5 feet per year in Salt Lake City. I found the above picture on the Ski Utah web site. To go there press Here. Our iris garden is 54 miles north of Salt Lake City, where this picture was taken.  Winter has been slow to release Northern Utah from its clutches this year. While I drool over the iris pictures posted on facebook from those of you in California, North Carolina and other warmer states, we are watching our iris greens slowly wake up from the frigid temperatures of winter.  Our plants are about 10 inches tall and only in the last few days have they started sending up stems and forming buds. Nevertheless I know that they are growing and they will put on a lovely show when they bloom some time between the middle of May and Memorial Day. 
My husband and I like to recognize those irises that can always be counted on to bloom well, resist disease, provide beautiful blossoms, make big clumps or rebloom well.  We call them our Super Achievers.  We like to share this information so those of you who have similar conditions and climate zones (6b) can try planting some of these to get good results. Here as promised is part two of the Mumford Garden Super Achievers.  (To review part one click here. )

I made collages out of each iris and tried to include a distant shot, a shot from a few feet away, and a close-up or two so that you could see the full effect of the iris.  

'Aztec Treasure' (Roger and Linda Miller, 1984)

Yellows, golds, and oranges stand out in a garden: and this color always catches your eye.  'Aztec Treasure' does very well in our garden.  It makes a mass of blooms and it is very reliable. We bought this one back in the 1980's, and I hope someone out there still has this beauty for sale.  

'Showcase' (Schreiner's, 1973)

This plicata iris is a show off but not a trouble maker in our garden. You can see it from a distance. It is a historic iris, 32 years old.  It has the grace of an older iris but the gentle ruffling of a newer variety.

'Afternoon Delight' (Richard Ernst, 1983)

I've had this iris for a very long time.  I got it some time in the 1980's. It is another "historic" which perhaps needs more recognition.  This iris makes a lovely clump and is pretty  by itself.  It takes little or no care but remains healthy. 

 'Feature Attraction' ( Schreiner's, 1994)

I have too many irises to have a favorite but this would certainly be in the top 25. I love the icy lavender color, the white beard, and all the lacing. This one is robust in our garden. It provides a cool place to rest your eyes.  

 'Paris Fashion' (Keith Keppel, 2002)

This one isn't old enough in my garden for me to describe the clump. These pictures were taken its maiden year.  It gets the Super Achiever Award because I expected that I wouldn't like the muted colors, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The colors seem to give it a sophistication that I wasn't expecting. Look how lovely the spacing is (there is more than one stem in the photo).  It gets my Surprise Super Achiever award. I won't mistake this iris for any other in my garden.

 'Dusky Challenger' (Schreiner's, 1986)

This famous iris turns 30 years old this year.  That makes it "historic". Year after year it gets voted as on of the most popular irises in the American Iris Society Symposium. It has many things going for it.  It has a huge blossom.  Its shape is impeccable. The beard is lush and dark (dusky). The substance is very good. It never droops. It is healthy and makes huge clumps. Every garden should have this iris. Plant it next to an orange or yellow for a complementary color scheme. Each color will make the other color "pop". It won the Dykes Medal in 1992.

'Skywalker' (Schreiner's, 1996)

This iris was given to me by a friend.  It will always be special for that reason. It seemed to have a slow start at first, but by the second year it made up for it.  The two-toned blue is beautifully shaded.  The shape is wonderful.  Look for purple based foliage which most people find attractive.  It also has a slight fragrance.

        

'Suspicion' (Keith Keppel, 1998)

This is another muted color one that was a pleasant surprise.  I haven't found a catalog picture that really depicts the colors as pretty as they are.  If you look at the iris "WIKI"  American Iris Society's Iris Encyclopedia  you will see how different each picture is.  Perhaps the different climates and soils and conditions change the colors a bit.  I sure like what mine looks like.  Thank you, Mr. Keppel.

'Silverado' (Schreiner's, 1986)

This iris looks perfect whether it is in a clump or with a few or extremely close up. It also will turn 30 this year so it is classified as an "historic".  'Silverado' won the Dykes Medal in 1994. This iris changes colors according to the light and I suppose camera and monitor. Sometimes it looks almost pure white, sometimes it looks dusted with pale blue but most often it is shaded with a delicate lavender where the falls and standards meet. 

I feel like I need to confess how unorganized my digital iris pictures are. I have literally thousands of iris pictures but so many of them are in this computer and filed just by the date the picture was taken.  I admit frustration because I have so many "Super Achievers" that I would like to share pictures of, but I can't find that perfect picture that shows the clump, or the light hitting it from behind, or that perfect closeup.  I was limited to the pictures that I could find.  I do however have enough for a part 3, so look for that post in the next few weeks.  I am determined to label each iris as I put its picture in the computer this year!

One last note.  Neal and I don't sell or trade irises.  We share with those who visit in person and can help dig them up.  My husband is ill and I won't make him go into digging and dividing irises as a business. I hope you understand.  I do hope that by giving you the name and hybridizer of the iris that you can find a vendor if you want that particular one. The first 25 years of growing iris we bought about 95% of them from Schreiner's Iris Gardens and Cooley's.   

I loved all the responses I got from you last time about which irises do super well for you. Keep the comments coming.  Tell the rest of us what planting zone you are in so others in that same zone can try your "Super Achiever". Kindest regards from our home to yours.

  

Looking through 'Conjuration', 'Edith Wolford', Silverado and 'Dusky Challenger' at our home we built in 2003-4.  

                 

MY CHANCE TO SING THE 'BLUES'

by DAWN MUMFORD

'Stairway To Heaven' (Larry Lauer, 1992)

I know there have been others who posted articles about blue irises but I would like to have my chance to sing their praises.  I am hoping you will be tempted to plant a few if your garden is lacking blue.  

Over the last 30+ years my color tastes have changed almost every year.  One of the first years I started ordering I was drawn to the rusty orangey brown irises like 'Carnival Time', 'Copper Classic', 'Brindisi', 'Starburst', 'Astro Flash', and 'Copper Mountain'. One year I was drawn to blacks, some years I concentrated on Dykes Medal winners.  For a while I saw blues in the catalogs and it was as if they stood out more intensely than the other irises.  Some years the pinks and reds look tempting to me.  The last two years I've been attracted by the blues again and have placed orders with several companies who have offered them.  Here for your viewing are some of my favorites, but by no means all of them. I have many irises that are from different decades because we have been growing them for such a long time.  You will find that some of my blues are *historics and others are more modern.  

 'Silverado' ( Schreiner, 1986) 

This iris has perfect form as far as I am concerned.  In some light it looks almost white but it is a pale blue.  It grows well for us here and needs little or no care except it has to be divided often because it grows so well.

  

 'Babbling Brook' (Keith Keppel, 1965)

This 50 year old iris is such a stand-out in the garden.  It has very clear, clean blue color and photographs pretty true to color in my opinion.  

'Praise The Lord' (J. Boushay, 1971) 

The contrast between the deep blue and the white beard is striking.  Even without ruffles and lacing it is simply elegant.  

'Honky Tonk Blues' (Schreiner, 1988)

One of my top 5 blues.  I love the fading and the *reverse *bitone coloring.  

'Blutique' ( Virginia Messick, 1998)

Even though this one was included in my *broken color blog it is still also one of my favorite blues.  If you are a little timid to grow broken color start with this one.  Having just two colors it isn't as bold as some of the others.  

'Grecian Skies' (Opal Brown, 1984)

A friend gave it to me as a piece of rhizome a little bigger than a dime. I was sure it wouldn't grow and if it did I would misplace it.  We put a stake by it so we wouldn't hoe it out with the weeds.  It bloomed the second year and here is the bloom. Thank you, friend, for sharing it.  

'Skywalker' (Schreiner, 1996) 

The beautiful shading on it reminds me of 'Honky Tonk Blues' but 'Skywalker' is a lighter, more delicate blue.  As you can see it stands out in the garden.  The darker blue behind it is 'Sheer Bliss'. 

'Blue Crusader' (Schreiner, 1998) 

This was a substitute that Schreiner's sent me because they couldn't send 'Bleinheim Royal'.  I was disappointed until I saw this one bloom.  This is a beautiful, true *self where even the beard is blue.  

'Sea Power' (Keith Keppel, 1998) 
I love the color and all the ruffles.  

'Full Tide' (Opal Brown, 1972)

This 43 year old iris is still one of my favorites.  Perhaps it acts as straight man to the other more flamboyant irises.  Simply pretty!

'Adriatic Waves' (Keith Keppel, 2009)

This is one of my newer blues.  It is described in the Iris Wiki as having standards of cornflower blue, falls of violet blue shading to steeplechase blue. This picture, as all others in this blog, was taken in our garden by me.  

'Captain's Choice' (Schreiner, 2009)

This is a very dramatic iris. It can be classified as an *amoena or a *neglecta. 

I have several new ones that I don't have pictures for. 
They are 'Dangerous Mood', 'Baltic Sea', 'Water Waltz', 'Wake Water', 'Blueberry Bliss' and 'Grecian Sea'.  I would like to show those another time. 

Have you planted blues?  What do you like to pair them with?  I would love to hear from you.   

* historic are those irises 30 years old or older

* reverse are those irises that the standards are a darker shade than the falls

*broken color are those iris that have random splashes of color

*self is an iris of uniform color

*amoena is a iris that has colored falls and white standards

*neglecta is an iris that is a blue or violet bitone

* bitones are those irises that have 2 tones of the same color