Growing Irises Out East: Celebrating New Milestones

 by Heather and Alleah Haley

Heather's husband, Chris, once told her, "You can grow all of the irises you want if you can make money doing it." Four years after launching our backyard nursery operation, Heather is pleased to share, "We pulled it off!" Our multi-generational iris obsession produced a tiny net profit for the Broley Homestead at the end of 2023. Full disclosure: the effort yielded pennies per hour when all our time was fully accounted for. This is common for new farm enterprises, and we are pleased to celebrate profitability as a small business milestone. It gives us hope that maintaining an half-acre iris collection will be financially sustainable. 

In 2023 we took irises to our local farmers market for the first time.

The labels we use for potted irises in the spring are equally useful for bare-root rhizome sales in the fall

We continue to expand the number of community events and public plant sales we take irises to. Earlier this month, Alleah and Heather traveled to Laurel Hill, North Carolina, for an invited presentation to the Cottonland Garden Club. The presentation "Irises in the Garden: A Month-by-Month Calendar" was inspired by a question asked while Heather and Alleah volunteered at our local Cooperative Extension office. Another volunteer asked a deceptively simple question: "How do I care for my irises?" At the time, the best answer the mother-daughter duo could come up with was "It depends."

Alleah labeling bearded irises in July

Chris dividing beardless irises in September.

Irises are a relatively low-maintenance perennial, but they do require care. Our gardens are home to a curated collection of 1,200 named cultivars that span 15 of the 16 horticultural classifications recognized by the American Iris Society. What we do and when varies greatly depending on the quirks and preferences of each plant type. Having a knack for organization and creating educational materials, Heather crafted a region-specific, month-by-month calendar outlining the method to our madness. We have given this presentation several times to local libraries, and patrons say they loved it. Recently, Heather was invited to present the calendar program for our local AIS affiliate and the Cooperative Extension group that initially inspired the program. It will be an honor to finally share our best possible answer on a vast topic.

Volunteer work helps our business live its purpose: to preserve, support, and sustain. We thoroughly enjoy sharing our passion and love of irises with the public. Alleah, Chris, and Heather share personal commentary and stories about the plants, and customers seem to appreciate our insight. The following are some varietal notes about the top ten sellers for the Broley Homestead during 2023. 

'Dusky Challenger' (Schreiner, 1986)

In tenth place is a garden rockstar: 'Dusky Challenger'. The first time Heather entered an iris show, she brought a stem of this with her. The show was held in a mall; and while transporting her blue ribbon entry back to the car, several people wanted to buy the stalk. 

When we say this iris is a rockstar, we mean it! 'Dusky Challenger' won the American Dykes Medal in 1992. In 25 of the past 29 years, 'Dusky Challenger' was voted #1 as the favorite iris in Tall-bearded Iris Symposium voting. Alleah believes we could sell every rhizome of this iris we could grow; it's that good. 'Dusky Challenger', "probable child of the . . . famous 'Titan's Glory' (Schreiner '81), has all the outstanding qualities with more intense, deeper color saturation and even better, more highly refined form." [Perry Dyer, writing in the IRISES Bulletin No. 263 (October 1986)]. When she lived in California, Alleah routinely gave iris rhizomes to her coworkers. She rarely could convince folks to keep the irises name-labeled, but "the near-black one," be it 'Titan's Glory' or 'Dusky Challenger', increased so much with regular horse manure fertilizing that one recipient couple had it blooming all over their three-acre rural property in just a few years. 

'Bermuda Triangle' (Anna and David Cadd, 2000)

In ninth place in sales was 'Bermuda Triangle', a space-age border bearded (SA BB). While the general public tends to be somewhat reluctant to buy "novelty irises," 'Bermuda Triangle', with its horns at the ends of the beards, is a vigorous grower with a striking color pattern. It won an Award of Merit for border bearded irises from AIS judges in 2006. This award honors the top 1% of irises introduced during the previous three to five years. 

Broley Homestead is pleased to distribute this introduction of Alleah's close friends, Anna and David Cadd of Healdsburg, California, even more widely. 'Bermuda Triangle' increases well and thrives in the North Carolina climate. Although our peers on the East Coast often say that irises from the West Coast don't do well, this hasn't been our experience. It certainly isn't the case for this eye-catching median selection or many others purchased from or gifted by our West Coast friends.

Again and Again (Sterling Innerst, 1999)

In eighth place was reliable rebloomer (RE) 'Again and Again', a tall bearded (TB) iris. Our customers are really surprised when we tell them that some irises can bloom twice, both spring and fall; so reblooming is a strong selling feature. However, we like to share with customers that rebloom behavior requires both a genetic trait and favorable cultural conditions. When most irises are resting in the summer, a rebloomer is firing up for another round of bloom. Gardeners who provide nutrients and water to rebloomers in the summer are more likely to enjoy bloom again in the fall. 

'Stairway to Heaven' (Lauer, 1993)

'Stairway to Heaven' placed seventh among our 2023 sales. This iris won the American  Dykes Medal in 2000. It tended to rebloom in California, mainly when grown under a nighttime security light, as Alleah did at her workplace. It isn't known to rebloom in North Carolina. One of Heather's friends planted it under the porch light at her back door, but this may not provide enough wattage to prompt rebloom. We can hardly wait to situate some West Coast rebloomers under a security light to see if we can get rebloom here.

'Sicilian Orange' (Michael Sutton, 2016)

Sixth place 'Sicilian Orange', also a TB, grabs public attention, whether in the garden or in a photograph accompanying the plant at an iris sale. The striking combination of deep orange and wine in this bitone is delightful. It won an Honorable Mention in 2018 and an Award of Merit in 2022, and is under consideration as an iris that deserves two (or more) growing spaces in our production field. We don’t have any pots of ‘Sicilian Orange’  available for 2024 because we sold every extra rhizome we had of this variety last fall. 

'Sharp Dressed Man' (Thomas Johnson, 2010)

'Sharp Dressed Man,' in fifth place, is a child of the 2010 American Dykes Medal winner 'Paul Black', and bears a similar but perhaps even more stunning red beard than that of its parent. It absolutely screams, "Look at me!" For those who appreciate irises that share names with song titles, this one is sure to make their list. This tall bearded iris forms impressive clumps with many increases in our production field and consistently produces bloom stalks we enjoy taking to spring iris shows. As you might expect, American Iris Society judges consistently cast votes for this one. 'Sharp Dressed Man' won the highest award specific to tall bearded irises, the John C. Wister medal, in 2016.

'Immortality' (Lloyd Zurbrigg, 1982)

Fourth place 'Immortality' (TB RE) is one of the most reliable rebloomers wherever we've seen it growing. Its hybridizer Lloyd Zurbrigg focused on breeding reblooming irises and 'Immortality' was one of his most successful introductions. Alleah recalls reading an account that 'Immortality' bloomed during five months one year in one garden. Our customers certainly picked a good one here! The pure-white self pattern coordinates well with other iris colors and patterns making it a wonderful addition to any iris collection.

'Gypsy Lord' (Keith Keppel 2006)

'Gypsy Lord,' was our third most frequently sold iris and is another striking American Dykes Medal winner, this time in 2015. Its red, white, and blue color combination has been a somewhat elusive goal of iris breeders, brought to fruition here by the highly honored hybridizer Keith Keppel. The red-orange beards against the white center and mostly blue falls quickly catch the attention of customers. Keith's creations won the American Iris Society's top award, the Dykes Medal, eight times over the period, 2004 - 2021. Except for 2021 when two Dykes Medals were awarded to make up for no awards at all during Covid year 2020, only one iris has been awarded the American Dykes Medal each year since 1927, and it was not given in several years for various reasons. 

'Carved Pumpkin' (George Sutton, 2012)

'Carved Pumpkin', an intermediate bearded (IB) iris, was our second highest seller. This iris increases well, so we had many pots and rhizomes to sell. Our cousin Wendy loves the color orange and, like the public, she is attracted to any iris featuring orange coloration. The color of iris blossoms is influenced by soil pH. Try increasing this by adding bone meal or decreasing pH by adding acid fertilizer such as azalea/camellia food to see which intensifies flower pigment.

'Titan's Glory' (Schreiner, 1981)

'Titan's Glory', another American Dykes Medal winner, this time in 1988, was our overall best seller in 2023. Like many of the Dykes winners, this tall bearded iris is a vigorous grower and produces many increases in our garden. The original Schreiner’s catalog described it as "a fantastically sumptuous silken Bishop’s purple self," and it is. 

We often wonder if Perry Dyer was correct in his assertion that 'Titan’s Glory' was one of the unknown parents of  'Dusky Challenger'. Genomic testing for irises is possible, and we know scientists in laboratories who could help. However, the price-per-sample is rather high and we would need to sell many more irises than we do now to absorb the cost.

For 2024, we continue trying new things and sharing the joy of irises. Heather spent the winter upgrading the Broley Homestead website, and Chris engineered new protective structures to transport plants to market. Alleah has been hard at work creating metal labels for guest irises at three gardens near us. All hard work, but each new milestone is cause for celebration.

Thank you to all who have helped us learn and grow. 

New website categories make navigation much easier  

Utility trailer upgrades help us get irises to market

Smokin Heights Season That Was........

by Mel Schiller

Whoever would have thought that our spring would be so incredibly wet!

We had an unbelievable amount of rain. Getting good photos was a challenge in between rain, wind, and soggy-looking bloom. Living on one of the driest continents on earth, which has a fluctuation in temperature and rainfall, we are certainly not complaining! 

Every year we are faced with challenges – challenges in growing conditions, challenges in weather, challenges in pests. Challenges are a part of life. How we overcome them is how we grow on a personal and business level.

The season that was .... Braiden's death anniversary is forever in our hearts as the beginning of our iris season. My mind in particular is consumed with the loss of my child; it is a heavy burden. Each year it is something I need to allow and grow from in my heart and mind. 

The iris were late coming into bloom as the season was so cold and damp. Sunshine was hard to come by. Then WHAM!, the bloom started all at once. 

We had a hard time keeping up with photographs, hybridizing, and evaluating. Our iris field is spread out over five acres. We also had some of our last hybridizing efforts from the USA blooming in a different section of the garden.

We were able to evaluate seedlings on wet days and sunny days. This led to a lot of decisions about what to keep going for future evaluation and what to dispose of as not up to standard: poor bloom and stems, and diseased foliage, just to name a couple problems. 

The last year of evaluation for the USA seedlings

This past spring was also the year that South Australia hosted the National Iris Convention. We had a one-day show in which we benched over 150 stems, florets, and seedlings among all the different classes.

We wrapped our buds in toilet paper to protect them from the long travel to Adelaide where the iris show was held. Then we placed our entries in a big tub with dampened floral foam in the bottom and inserted the stems in the foam to hold them safe (hopefully). On the day of the show, we awoke to a foggy morning!

We were incredibly proud of ourselves for being able to supply bloom for all classes in the show. For the first time ever, we were able to provide standard dwarf, intermediate, and aril entries! We received 2nd and 3rd in the show with two of our very own hybrids: 'Dreaming Easy' and 'Zofonic Dancer.' 'Victoria Falls' grown by Jennifer, took home Champion of the Show. 

The very next day Smokin Heights hosted the National Iris Convention attendees. We awoke from our sleep throughout the night to on- and off- again torrential rain. At 7 a.m. the phones were ringing hot. Major flooding was occurring in all the areas that the tour group was supposed to visit. The group eventually made it to Smokin Heights just after a late lunch. With rain patches still occurring, the group managed a tour of Smokin Heights and the soggy field. Bailey was able to lead a tour of our seedling patch in between rain showers. 

National Iris Convention for Australia attendees!

The very next day was lovely and bright, full of hope and promise with an amazing sunrise!

The Intermediate and Dwarf Bearded irises bloomed exceptionally well this past season

Performing hybridizing was a task in itself this past season. Wet pollen and soggy stigmatic lips were a popular problem! We have managed to collect around 400 pods of hybridized iris from our field stock  – not bad considering the wet season!

Iris seeds from our hybridizing efforts

More hybridizing seeds

New,  imported irises from off the delivery truck and onto our lawn area

We looked forward to receiving our imported iris from the USA. In February, they were finally released from quarantine. Australia has incredibly strict rules for importing bearded irises into our country. Importing is not for the faint-hearted; it is a costly, time-consuming, and stressful job! But this effort is worth it for irises we would like to use genetically in our hybridizing program. 

 A small portion of the field photographed this past week

The field will not be dug and replanted this year. There is enough room for increase and growth to postpone a replant. Instead, plants will remain in place while we apply fertilizer (for nutrients) and pre-emergent herbicide (for weed control) over the next couple of months.

The following is a small selection of new varieties hybridized by Bailey and me:

Tall bearded iris 'Brave The Storm' 

(Inner Darkness X Black Lipstick)

Tall bearded iris 'Flash Warning'

(Secret Status X Raise Your Glass sibling)

Tall bearded iris 'Disruptor' 

(complex ancestry)

Tall bearded iris 'Lady Of Luxury' 

(complex ancestry)

Tall bearded iris 'See You In Heaven' 

(Seasons In The Sun X Carnival Capers) 

Standard dwarf bearded iris 'Rather Snazzy'

(Troublemaker X Stop And Stare)

The small selection of iris we registered this season withstood our unusually wet conditions superbly. Now that we have finalized business orders we can plan for our next season. We also celebrate ten years of Smokin Heights. Bailey and I are so very grateful and appreciative of our accomplishments. Every day is a blessing and we have our garden to enjoy and nurture. 

It is now time to weed the garden beds as they have been unattended for the last few months. Weeds are plentiful! Time for us to enjoy solace in our garden.

Happy Gardening 

The American Iris Society Announces the 2022 Knowlton Medal Winner

'BOY GENIUS'

The Knowlton Medal is restricted to border bearded (BB) irises. It is named in honor of Harold W. Knowlton (1888-1968) of Auburndale, Massachusetts, a tireless promoter of the border bearded class of irises. Bennett Jones wrote in The World of Irises: "Harold Knowlton was among the first to make deliberate selections of smaller plants. Two of his 1950 introductions, ‘Pearl Cup’ ... and ‘Cricket’... display the desirable features we still seek in modern border irises." Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

'BOY GENIUS' 

photo by Jeanette Graham

 'Boy Genius' (Joseph Ghio, R. 2011) Seedling #04-44B. BB, 25" (64 cm), Very early to early bloom. Standards gold, black tint at midrib; falls almost solid mahogany black, gold dotting around beards, gold hairline edge; beards gold. Seedling 02-160: (seedling 00-98B: ('Feelings' x seedling U97-F, unknown) x 'High Master') X seedling 02-317Q: ('High Master' x seedling 00-98B). Introduced by Bay View Gardens in 2012.

The World of Irises blog will be posting classification medal winners as soon as the hybridizers are notified. The entire list of winners, including Award of Merit and Honorable Mention, will be published on the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

Smokin Heights New Introductions 2022

by Mel and Bailey Schiller

The rains have arrived. It is so nice to have a few muddy patches around our garden. We are forever thankful for the natural rainfall we receive. The weeds are growing, and the pastures around our house are greening up with grain crops and pasture paddocks. 

The irises we replanted in April are starting to show signs of growth. Also, weeds seem to like this newly planted area! Here we offer a peek at our new Smokin’ Heights introductions for the coming season. Our family is proud of these hybrids and hopes you admire them like we do.

'Haunts My Soul' TB (B. Schiller 2022)

'Haunts My Soul' was registered in 2020 and was scheduled for release in 2020, but we accidentally threw out half of the stock thinking it was a not-so-nice sibling. But, never mind…onward and upward.

E41-1: ('Italian Master' X 'Captain Thunderbolt') TB (M. Schiller 2022)

We fell in love with this seedling at first sight. It has the same pattern as ‘Captain Thunderbolt’, but in maroon colouring! Name applied for is  'Zoophonic Dancer'.

E23-3: (('Sassy Talk' sib x 'Power and Design' pod parent sib) X 'Woven Sunlight') TB (B. Schiller 2022)

This one will not go unnoticed in the garden; you can see it from a mile away. It is like a beacon of light! Name applied for is 'Equally Wild'.

E23-6: (('Sassy Talk' sib x 'Power and Design' pod parent sib) X 'Woven Sunlight') TB (B. Schiller 2022)

A sibling to 'Equally Wild', this is Bailey's favourite of the cross because of the high contrast between the ground colour and plicata edge. Name applied for is 'Fancy Like'.

E23-11: (('Sassy Talk' sib x 'Power and Design' pod parent sib) X 'Woven Sunlight') TB (B Schiller 2022)

Bailey had great success with this cross. The pod produced some very different seedlings. This was another that was too good not to introduce. Bailey loves the green tones to an iris as the colouring is very different. He likes different! Name applied for is 'Sandsear Storm'.

F50-6: (Blyth A117-1 X 'Boston Cream') TB (B. Schiller 2022)

A delightful broken-coloured plicata. Of course, this is another example of “different" as far as irises are concerned. Splotches, dots and blotches...what is not to love? Name applied for is 'Lunacy'.

E14-1: ('Emblematic' X Blyth Z85-:('Tender Heart' sib x sib) TB (B. Schiller 2022)

A very tasteful iris in the perfect colour! Form is awesome. Name applied for is 'She Be Magic'.

E37-3:('Volcanic Glow' X 'Inside Job') TB (M Schiller 2022)

A sibling to last year's 'Nordic Lover', worthy of introduction this year. Hot summer tones in colouring in a very unique luminata-plicata pattern. Name applied for is 'Deva Summer'.

Looking over the field, it appears the growth is very slow at the moment when compared to the same time last year. We are expecting a big year with both first- and second-year seedlings blooming. We are already seeing some bloom stalks in the second-year plantings which have not been replanted. We cannot wait for spring!