Trip Down Memory Lane

By Mel and Barry Schiller

Mid America Field being watered 2019

What an unusual year it has been for the world at large....

Australia alone has endured severe drought, soul destroying fires, floods and now Covid-19.

In previous years we would of just arrived home from being in America for the bearded iris bloom season. That just all seems a distant memory.......a memory with which we are thankful for having photographic evidence!

Here are a couple of our fondest memories from previous trips we have made to Portland, Oregon USA.

Schreiner's Iris Garden 2019

We stay in Oregon and are usually not too far from Mid America Garden, Schreiner's Iris Garden, Keith Keppel Miller Manor and Robyn Shadlow.

It is not only the gardens we have truly missed this year but the wonderfully warm people who we have met along the way. Each person has a different piece of knowledge that we gratefully accept. Whether it be iris knowledge, plant knowledge, or just flat out warm friendship. We have missed it all terribly.

Schreiner's Seedling beds 2019

We reference ourselves as 'Learner' Iris hybridizers and we are like sponges soaking up the generous information that the Schreiner Family, Thomas Johnson, Paul Black, Lynda Miller and Keith Keppel can provide us on growing hybridizing and the general genetics of different varieties. These people hold a special place in our heart. It would take months of reading to provide the information that we receive in a mere few weeks!

Thomas Johnson and Bailey Schiller Mid America 2019

Another beautiful area that we have visited is the Multnomah Falls area and also Chad Harris's Mt Pleasant Iris. What a beautiful garden including the most extravagant beardless iris. What a jaw dropping experience!  We were blessed with beautiful weather and fantastic hosts.

Paul Black was our chauffeur for the day and we enjoyed Maggie Asplet's company.

Mel and Bailey Schiller Multnomah Falls 2018

Mt Pleasant Iris 2018

Pittock Mansion 2018

Japanese Garden in Portland 2018

Lynda Miller was our generous chauffeur and tour guide to the Pittock Mansion and the Japanese Gardens we also visited the Rose Garden in Portland that same day. Maggie Asplet provided lovely company as we trecked all over visiting these wonderful scenic educational places.

Ahhhhh the memories....

Visiting the wonderful people in and near Salem has given us the opportunity to expand our worldly sights and our hybridizing goals. We have been fortunate to have 2 bloom seasons to work with in achieving our goals quicker. Each year our visit to the states also gives us the opportunity to view the Iris we would like to import into Australia.

We see this year as the quiet time of reflection to reminisce on our previous years of wonderful memories and fun times with all our friends. Re-evaluate our goals and see where we are headed from here. The garden photo's that we are seeing from our Facebook family are lovely memento's for those of us who cant be there. We sincerely hope you all remain safe in these uncertain times and that your love of gardening makes your heart flourish.

Keith Keppel 2019

Convention 2019 - New Zealand Style

By Maggie Asplet

From the 15th of November through to the 18th of November, Irisarians from around the country and overseas gathered for three days of wonderful companionship, visiting beautiful gardens, attending workshops and the usual AGM and a delicious dinner and awards evening.

Friday evening is the time to register, check out who else is there and start talking about irises. This was a more informal evening with the newly elected local Mayor, Nigel Bowan opening proceedings for our annual event.  Our President, Marilyn Fleming also welcomed everyone.  We then had two short presentations from our two overseas guest speakers, Andi Rivarola and Gary White introducing themselves.  There will be more about them later.

From Left - Mayor Nigel Bowan, NZIS President Marilyn Fleming, AIS Vice President Andi Rivarola and AIS IPP Gary White

For me, the most special part was the book launch - Why Irises?  I trust you have all seen the earlier post about this book.  I was great seeing the team who had assisted the author, Gwenda Harris, make this all happen.

Marilyn Rathgen (at podium) gave background and introduced the team.  Stephanie Boot (also standing) was responsible for editing, providing many photos and layout and support and Alistair Boot had publishing responsibility.  Absent was Graham Menary also responsible for supplying photos.

There were a number of beautiful blooms on display, items set out of the silent auction and some beautiful memorabilia on display.

With the formality of the opening over, it was off back to our motels for the evening.

Saturday 16 November - a day out and about on the bus.  Yes, just one bus which was followed by a few cars.  We set off for the area of Geraldine for the day.

Our first stop was the the Geraldine Festival with many stalls all set out in the Domain for us all to wonder around, find a coffee and later get our lunch.

A beautiful outdoor solar light made from a stump; a new iris business "Irises of Kinvara", my favourite floral arrangement on display in a near by hall

Our next stop was to the home and garden of David and Lois Attwood.  This was also our first opportunity to purchase plants, and we did.  Like all iris bus trips, there is always room in the baggage lockers for plants.  A delightful town garden with many little treasures.  My favourite was the Moraea pictured below.

Pictures from David & Lois Attwood's

Moving onto our next garden of Bob and Libby Hall.  A beautiful older garden with some wonderful trees around, iris lining the left hand entrance of the the driveway and another opportunity to purchase some plants.  This was also a space of some wonderful and interesting sculptures, all of which were for sale.

I actually have a habit of going home from convention with a large item of my garden, or having to have it couriered home afterwards.  I can say that this time I was a little restrained and did not give into my usual buying habits (Large scale pieces to try and fly home with).

Pictures from Bob & Libby Hall's 

Our final garden for the day was at the property of Bernie & Joy O'Keefe and the home of Woodbury Rhododendrons.  This is very much a spring garden with some magnificent rhododendrons an numerous companion plants such as hostas, peonies, primulas, trilliums, hellebores and different edging plants.  Roses provide the garden with some wonderful summer colour.

As you wondered around this garden, we came across a lovely row of irises in full bloom.  I was also very taken with the pond area and water loving irises growing so well.

Pictures from Bernie & Joy O'Keefe's garden - Woodbury Rhododendrons

As is normal when attending a convention in New Zealand, we often are caught eating.  This was afternoon tea before we left for the trip back to Timaru and a free evening.

Saturday evening, although a free night, a few of us went out for dinner taking Andy and Gary for a bit of kiwi hilarity, topped of with our convention convenor feeding her face (sorry Marilyn).

Sunday, the day of staying put in Timaru, listening to some wonderful presentations by Andy & Gary on their trip to both Paris and Florence.  This was following by - guess what - time for mornig tea.

Shortly after this interval we held our judging workshop panel discussion with Gary and Andi on historic irises.  So very informative, on both counts and especially the Spuria irses, as we don't have much in the way of hybridising being done in this area.

After lunch, we held our Annual General Meeting - went without a hitch and didn't take long.  This was followed by the societies annual auction.  The South Canterbury Iris Group never disappoint in having a great selection of irises to bid on, and I sure did my fair share.

Andi checking out some blooms on display, then assisting Gary with one of their presentations and the group photo

The evening was our formal dinner at which time awards were given out, entertainment was provided by local member, Jean Barkman and then we were treated to another presentation by Andi on spuria irises.

Jean Barkman

Monday, a time to relax and enjoy the last of the gardens, so it was onto the bus again to travel south and visit members garden.  It was a day of dodging heavy showers and some hail storms that came through, particularly in the afternoon.

Our first garden of the day was at Lynda & Malcolm Crossen place in Southburn.  A beautiful garden with gorgeous iris display garden and also the irises that were entered for our New Zealand Begg Shield award.  This is judged during convention by approximately three judges.  Again, this is a garden with peonies, roses, hostas, rhododendrons, azaleas and so much more in, set in a stunning rural environment.

photos from Lynda & Malcolm Crossen's 

Our next stop was to Mary Brosnahan's garden.  Wow, this was just lovely, so well kept with the help of her daughter Susan.  I think the photos will say just how lovely this garden was.

AND - morning tea time

Back on the bus again to Lesley & Robert Tennant's garden at Otaio.  The property has been in the Tennant family since 1946 with many of the large Oaks, Elms and Ash already being there and since then the garden have been developed around this.  Definitely a garden that you need to wonder around to find some of the beautiful spots and areas framed with trees.  I even had an opportunity to talk with the chickens. The daffodils and the stunning pond are features of this property.

It is now 12.45pm and it is time for a short bus trip to the Waimate Events Centre - for lunch.  Before we got there, we had the first of some very heavy hail

From here it was onto our last members garden of Stephanie Boot's.  On the way, we have to "kill" a little time as the hail had again hit us, so we went around the block in Waimate looking at the Silos.

for more information - https://waimate.org.nz/visit-waimate-blog/silos

Just as soon as the hail had finished, we arrived at Stephanie's.  The very first thing you noticed was the huge amount of damage that the hail had done to her beautiful garden.  A gardeners garden, with some wonderful large Ash, Copper Beech and American White Oak trees.

Large specimens of Cordyline, Kowhai, Southern Beech, Totara, Chestnut, form the "bones" of this garden with Rhododendrons, Camellias, Roses and various other shrubs and natives.  Siberian irises now accompany the roses.

Hail on the ground when we arrived; Stephanie (facing us) talking with Andi, Gary & Marilyn; an iris not damaged by the hail

More garden areas at Stephanie's

It was also time for the official handover of the banner from the South Canterbury Iris Group to the 2020 hosts Bay Of Plenty Iris Group.  The banner was actually handed over on Sunday evening so that it could be taken bake to the Bay of Plenty by car.

This was a time for afternoon tea, thank you from different members and our two guest Gary & Andi.

South Canterbury Iris Group fare-welling us all

On our way back to Timaru we stopped at the Makikihi Display and Trial Gardens, which had not been spared damage from the hail storms during the day.

The Makikihi Trial and Display Gardens were established by the South Canterbury Group in 2008 under the enthusiastic guidance of Brian Harris.

Now Lynda Crossen, with assistant Stephanie Boot, is the Director of the TB Trial Gardens and the Group, under the supervision of Jessica Ward, maintains the Display gardens which contain Dwarf, Median and Tall Bearded, Siberians, Spurias, Louisianas, bulbous and some species and historics.
Potted irises and plants are for sale all year round.

SO, this is a little insight into a New Zealand Iris Society Convention.



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Three Myths About Bearded Irises

by Tom Waters

Every area of human knowledge has its myths: ideas firmly believed by large numbers of people that are not actually true. The rise of the internet and social media has further complicated the process of separating myth from reality. In earlier times, a curious person might seek out a book or an expert to resolve a question, and stand a fair chance of getting accurate information in return for their effort. But today, when a curious person does an internet search instead, the information they find is just as likely to be wrong as it is to be right.

On the subject of growing bearded irises, I have found three myths that seem to be ubiquitous, and inevitably resurface during any internet discussion of the subject. This article addresses each of these three myths, in the hope that a clear exposition of each will provide a little island of solid information that is often missing from untethered internet exchanges.

Myth #1: Bearded irises will not bloom unless the tops of their rhizomes are exposed to sunlight

Although, as I shall explain in a bit, there are some good reasons for planting irises with the tops of the rhizomes exposed, it is not necessary to do so to ensure bloom. Irises bloom just fine if planted with an inch or more of soil over the rhizome. Nothing magical happens when sunlight strikes the surface of an exposed rhizome.

Where did this myth come from? I think it has three sources. The first is a very basic piece of advice: iris rhizomes are not bulbs. Most spring-flowering bulbs (daffodils, tulips, crocuses, etc.) need to be planted fairly deeply (three times their height is a common recommendation). If you plant an iris as deep as a tulip, it may indeed not bloom. In fact it may not survive at all. The second is a general remark about growing conditions irises prefer: they like full sun, or at least half a day of sun, and will not bloom well in too much shade. Finally, there is a bit of traditional advice that irises should be planted "like a duck in the water", with the top half of the rhizome above the soil surface. I think these last two points (a recommendation for planting with exposed rhizomes and the fact that irises bloom best in sunny locations) led people to blend these two ideas together and conclude that it is sunlight striking the tops of the rhizomes that causes irises to bloom. The advice not to plant them deep like tulips or daffodils then reinforces this notion.

Okay, if it is not necessary to expose the rhizomes to direct sunlight to ensure bloom, should I plant them exposed or covered? What is the best planting depth?

The short answer is that it just doesn't matter very much. In most gardens, irises with the rhizomes exposed and irises covered with a half inch or inch of soil will both do equally well. If you look at an established clump, you will see that the rhizomes themselves sometimes grow down into the soil and sometimes grow up onto the surface. It's all good.

In some locales, particular climate conditions can favor either shallow or deep planting. In a climate that is often rainy and humid, exposed rhizomes are less likely to rot from wet soil. Much of our traditional gardening advice comes from places with such climates: the UK and the eastern seaboard of the US. I believe the advice to plant with rhizomes exposed originated in these areas, and then was simply repeated.

In areas with very cold winters, Irises may benefit from being planted more deeply, making them less susceptible to heaving during freeze-thaw cycles.

In dry, hot regions (such as much of the western US), planting with the rhizomes covered offers some protection against sun-scalding and desiccation from heat and wind. The rhizomes appreciate being below the soil surface, where conditions are a little cooler and moister.

Bottom line: Plant covered or uncovered, according to your preference, experience, and local advice. Irises will bloom just fine either way.

Myth #2: Irises can "revert" to some other color

It seems like everyone has heard a story of a beautiful clump of irises, say nice ruffled pinks, "reverting" to white or purple after a few years. In fact, this does not happen. Irises do not spontaneously change color. (There is one minor qualification to this statement, which I will address below.)

No, this iris will never "revert to purple"

Where does this myth come from? One source, I think, is that some plants do appear to behave this way, particularly annuals that reseed each year. If one plants a hybrid zinnia or morning glory, for example, the plants that come up from their seed in future years will not look like the original, and in fact may show simple "wild type" colors common in the original species from which the hybrid was developed. A second source of this myth comes from the fact that if different irises are planted together, one of them may multiply faster and eventually take over the planting, making it seem to the casual observer that the irises in the planting have "changed" from the color that was originally common in the planting to the one that eventually took over. But note carefully that this is competition between two different plants, not a single plant changing color.

In almost all cases where people say their irises have "changed color" or "reverted", this is the explanation: there was more than one variety in the planting to begin with, and one that had not bloomed the first year or two grew well and came to dominate the planting in later years.

It is possible for the coloring of an iris to appear somewhat different from one year to the next, because of weather differences or chemical exposure. The blue and violet pigments, in particular, are somewhat sensitive to unusual weather. These changes are changes in the darkness or saturation of color, though, and cannot result in a whole new color or pattern. A pale blue iris may appear to be cool white in one year or sky blue in another year, for example, but will never become yellow or pink. Some herbicides cause deformed blooms with color strongly depleted in some parts of the petals, but the deformity is obvious.

There are a couple other ways an iris of a different color can appear in a planting, even if only one variety was planted to begin with.

The first is hybridization. Just as your morning glories may reseed themselves, so a bearded iris may occasionally form a seed pod and drop its seeds into the soil around the plant. If these seeds sprout, the seedlings may well be a different color than the parent, and when they bloom (perhaps three years after the seeds are first produced), the gardener may be in for a surprise! To prevent this from happening, you can remove the bloom stalks after the flowers fade, so that seed pods do not develop.

Although possible, seedlings appearing in a bearded iris clump this way seldom happens. Most bearded irises do not produce seed on their own. (In my garden, I see maybe two spontaneous seed pods for every thousand blooms.) And bearded iris seeds don't germinate well in many climates without special attention. If seedlings do sprout in an established clump, they will likely be crowded out by the parent. Hybridizers go to a great deal of trouble to get bearded irises to cross-pollinate and to grow the seeds to maturity. The process can and does happen without human intervention, but only seldom. (If you grow beardless irises like Siberians, the appearance of unexpected seedlings is much more likely.)

Finally, an iris may experience a mutation that causes the flower color to change. Such mutations, called "sports", are extremely rare events. Except for a few historic varieties that are prone to such mutations, most irises will never produce a sport. You can grow a thousand different varieties for a decade and never see one. I started growing irises in the 1970s, and have never seen a sport in my garden, or in the gardens of any of my iris-growing friends.

Bottom line: Bearded irises do not spontaneously change color. Each iris is a unique individual, and will retain its original color and pattern forever. If you see a different colored iris in a planting, it must be a different variety that was already there and just had not bloomed, or had not been noticed, before.

Myth #3: Iris foliage should be trimmed back in the fall

It's a ritual that some gardeners swear by: attacking their iris beds in August or September with shears, resulting in a defoliated war zone that looks as though someone had come through the garden with a lawn mower set at 8 inches. Sadly, those irises are now deprived of much of their food source: photosynthesis in green leaves.

Why do people do this? What makes them think that cutting leaves in half is good for their plants? I think there are two sources for this myth. The first is that many perennials do benefit from being cut back at certain times of year, to stimulate new growth, and a new flush of bloom in some cases. But if you are an observant gardener, you will notice that the anatomy of these plants is different from that of irises. These plants have buds along their stems. Removing the tops of the stems encourages the lower buds to grow, resulting in bushier, more vigorous plants. But irises do not grow this way. All the leaves of a fan emerge from a single bud at the tip of the rhizome. When you trim a fan back, you are just chopping leaves in half, not removing any upper buds to stimulate lower buds into new growth.

The second source of this myth is that when irises are dug and divided, the fan is traditionally trimmed back. This is how irises are generally sold: bare-root, with roots and fan trimmed back to about 6 or 8 inches. This trimming is a good idea for an iris that has been dug and divided. Its growth has been interrupted, and it will take some time for new growth to emerge from the rhizome. During that time, a big fan of leaves can weaken the plant by drawing too much water and energy from the rhizome. The leaves lose water by transpiration, which the old damaged roots are not able to replenish. A big fan also makes it easy for the newly planted iris to topple over or become uprooted. But these reasons only apply to plants that have been dug and divided; they are not applicable at all to plants left growing in the soil, undisturbed.

Some have said that trimming back in the fall helps discourage iris borers, which lay their eggs in the leaves at this time of year. The eggs, however, overwinter in dead, dry leaves, not growing green leaves. Removing dead foliage is helpful; cutting green leaves in half is not. The recommended procedure for borer control is to remove all dead foliage and burn it in late winter or early spring.

Some just think the trimmed fans look tidier. This is understandable. By the end of summer, iris foliage often looks pretty tired and unattractive. Many leaves are drying at the tips, getting a little pale and floppy, and perhaps suffering from damage from insects or other ailments. Ironically, if you trim the leaves back, then the tops where you cut them will just turn brown and dry up, so instead of tall leaves with dry ends, you have short leaves with dry ends. Was it really worth it?

Bottom line: Cutting through the green fans of an iris in the fall does not help the plant, and may weaken it slightly, as you are reducing its capacity for food production through photosynthesis. Irises are rugged, and this slight weakening is something most of them can cope with without suffering much, but why put them through it at all? It does "tidy" your garden, but that only benefits the aesthetic sensibilities of the gardener. It does not help the irises in any way. If you want to tidy up at this time of year, restrict your activity to removing dead foliage and dry leaf ends. Don't cut green leaves!

The foliage on the undisturbed clump on the left should not be trimmed. If you want to tidy up, remove just the dead leaves (1 and 2) and the dry end of leaf 3.

IRISES, the Bulletin of the AIS - Winter 2016 Edition

By Andi Rivarola

A warm welcome to those who are seeing the cover of yet another wonderful issue of IRISES, the Bulletin of The American Iris Society. The image below is a majestic view of the Kasperek's Zebra Gardens and iris fields in Utah, photographed by Melissa Hanson, Winner of the 2015 AIS Photography Contest, category "In a Field or Home Garden."

The Winter 2016 issue of the AIS Bulletin is now available for online viewing within the Emembers section of the AIS website. Note: to access this area of the website you must have a current AIS Emembership. AIS Emembership is separate from the normal AIS membership. Please see the Electronic Membership Information area of the AIS website for more details.

In this edition of IRISES, meet the new AIS President, Gary White on a beautifully detailed introductory article on pages 6 — 8. 

Learn why Fred Kerr, the creator of beautiful 'Queen's Circle,' won the 2015 AIS Hybridizer Medal, as announced on page 9.

Read about news from different iris organizations on Section Happenings by Jody Nolin, on page 12.  Don't miss news from the Japanese Iris Society, the Spuria Iris Society and the newest group to join the ranks, the Novelty Iris Society. 

Riley Probst reports on pages 15 and 16 about the 2015 AIS Tall Bearded Symposium, some wonderful statistics and lastly all the results, which are always interesting. 

The 2015 AIS Photo Contest Winners are recapped with gorgeous photographs, individual iris shots, irises in garden settings and irises and people. Don't miss them, they are on pages 29 — 33. 

Always inspiring, Remember Friends is a section that provides us with a glimpse on the life of those irisarians now gone, on pages 34 – 36. 

"A world renowned iris garden can be found in a bustling Northern New Jersey suburban community.  A stone’s throw from New York City, the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens located at 475 Upper Mountain Avenue, Upper Montclair, NJ is a repository for fifteen hundred plus varieties in all iris classification." ~ Mike Lockatell 

We hope you are attending the 2016 National Convention in Newark, NJ on May 23 —28. In case you have not seen the registration form online we're happy to share it on page 37. Some information on the convention, such as hotel and gardens are on page 38. And, a fantastic article in beautifully crafted words and photos by Mike Lockatell on what you will see at The Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, called "Presby Defies TIme," on pages 39 — 41. Also, Paul Gossett describes for us on page 42 beautiful Glenara Gardens in Upstate Central New York. If the word and photographs inspire you please join us in the Spring. 

"The incredible progress in U.S. iris breeding from the early Twentieth Century to the present comes alive in dazzling shapes, colors and patterns for young and old to enjoy each year."  ~ Presby Defies Time

Future convention dates, plus important AIS Board meeting times and locations are on page 55.

Lastly, a great picture from the AIS 2015 Photo Contest that deserves your attention. 

There's a lot more to see and read in this edition of IRISES, either in digital or print formats. If you are an AIS member know that you will receive the print edition soon (it's in the hands of the Post Office), or if you are an e-member, then that version is already available online as mentioned above. 

Happy gardening!

IRISES, the Bulletin of the AIS - Fall 2015 Edition

By Andi Rivarola

A warm welcome to another wonderful issue of IRISES, the Bulletin of The American Iris Society. As you can see from the cover below it features 2015 Dykes Medal Winner 'Gypsy Lord' by hybridizer Keith Keppel. 

The Fall 2015 issue of the AIS Bulletin is now available for online viewing within the Emembers section of the AIS website. Note: to access this area of the website you must have a current AIS Emembership. AIS Emembership is separate from the normal AIS membership. Please see the Electronic Membership Information area of the AIS website for more details.

In this edition you will enjoy the images of all 2015 AIS Award Winners, starting on page 2, including all three Wister Medal Winners, 'Money In Your Pocket' by Paul Black, 'Snapshot' by Thomas Johnson, and 'Temporal Anomaly' by Rick Tasco.

On page 7 don't miss a beautiful picture of 'Royston Rubies' by Adam Cordes, the winner of the Lloyd Zurbrigg-Clarence Mahan Cup for Best Iris Seedling at the Portland, OR Convention.  It was an exciting seedling to see doing well at most Convention gardens. 

A heartfelt note by outgoing AIS President, Jim Morris on page 9 who says Adieu fondly recollecting the many experiences, and paying homage to the people that made it possible for him to accomplish his timely mission. I enjoyed his quote by U.S. President John F. Kennedy: 

Before we can set out on the road to success, we have to know where we are going, and before we can know that we must determine where we have been in the past.

On Section Happenings on page 10, Gary White, AIS Section Cooperating Society Liaison got this report from the Society for SIberian Irises: 

A Siberian iris was the first runner-up to the Dykes Medal, after judges voting for iris awards this year. 'Swans In Flight' (Hollingworth 2006) may be the closest siberian iris to date to winning the Dykes Medal. 

The Portland Convocation was fully covered in this edition of IRISES, starting on page 12 with articles and photos by Jim Morris, from Missouri; Stephanie Markham, from Massachusetts; Ginny Spoon, from Virginia; Bonnie Nichols, from Texas; Chuck Bunnell, from Indiana; and Kate Brewitt, from Canada. 

On page 28 you will find a full list of 2015 AIS Awards. 

Read the continuation of an amazing article called "The Long Road to a New Iris in India: Part 2" awaits you on page 36.

A fantastic dedication to the passing of David Cadd (1945 - 2015), written by Jim Morris is on page 50. We will miss you David.

Lastly, don't miss news about the 2016 National Convention to be held in Newark, NJ and at The Presby Memorial Iris Gardens on page 51, with a Registration form on page 52. (FYI, the website for the convention can be found here).

There's a lot more to see and read in this edition of IRISES, either in digital or print formats. If you are an AIS member know that you will receive the print edition soon (it's in the hands of the Post Office), or if you are an e-member, then that version is already available online as mentioned above. 

Happy gardening!

Reblooming Iris Program in Zone 6: "But That's Too Old!"

by Betty Wilkerson

Over the past thirty years, I've grown most of the irises reported to rebloom, and used many of them in breeding. I've produced and grown many iris seedlings that I thought would rebloom, but most have not.  Over the past ten years, as I've tried to encourage others to breed rebloomers, I've often suggested certain strong rebloomers. Ninety percent of the time or more, I'm answered with, "That's to old." or "That's to plain." Of course, they are right, but if we want rebloom, it seems this is the path we must take in zone 6. Most of the rebloomers, introduced in the past thirty years, either don't ever rebloom in my garden, or miss most years. In order to breed rebloomers you may want to use some of the older and more tailored rebloomers.  

My advice would be to grow a handful of strong rebloomers, and experiment with the crosses.  Grow some known rebloomers that are strong in the type of rebloom you want to produce, even fall rebloom if that makes you happy.  Add a few good color genes if you can, but know that the closer you stay to strong rebloom, the more rebloom you are likely to get in your seedlings. Mainly, be happy with your crosses, otherwise there is no point.
  

'Blatant' (Byer's 1990)

'All Revved Up' (Wilkerson 2007) 

Several years ago, John Van Hook visited my garden on a regular basis, and he often urged me to use 'Blatant' as a reblooming parent. Like everyone else, I didn't want to use it because it was "older & plainer." Eventually, I put pollen from 'All Revved Up' (Wilkerson 2007) onto 'Blatant' (Byer's 1990).  I lined them out, fertilized well, and watered on a regular basis.  The cross is approximately 75% plicata so I got plicatas, selfs, saturated variegatas, one white with yellow standard rims and fall rims, and one white glaciata.  A total of 13 rebloomed, including the glaciata.  

'Cool Character' (Wilkerson 2013)

1907-10Re (sibling to 'Cool Character'

1910-10Re (sibling to 'Cool Character.') 

Another rebloomer that I've been reluctant to tell people to use in breeding is 'Violet Returns' by Earl Hall. It's a half sibling to 'Feed Back.' It's both older looking and more tailored, but it produced one of my best reblooming seedlings, 1625-01Re.  'Star Gate' is the pod parent and my 'Violet Returns' X 'Breakers' child is the pollen parent.  Again, it's plainer and shorter than desired.  

2006-01Re is from ('Chinese New Year' x 'Theme Master') X 1625-01Re.  All this one really needs is a touch more form.  It has great height and branching which I attribute to 'Chinese New Year.'  

2006-01Re seedling

2008-01Re Wilkerson seedling

Another child of 1625-01Re is just above, 2008-01Re.  It's not particularly modern, but did rebloom a lot. Yes, it is hard to get modern form when using these more tailored varieties, but this is where the reblooms seems to reside.  Also, rebloom passes most easily when working with plicatas.  I've had really good luck with 'Earl of Essex,' and 'Over and Over.'  'Earl of Essex' is good for working with fall/cycle rebloomers, while I expect 'Over and Over' to work better when working for summer/whenever rebloomers.  More work with 'Over and Over' is in the future.

I've recommended 'Over and Over,' since it's one of the strongest rebloomers I've grown. Most people say they don't want to use it.  Few say it's because it's too plain, but don't offer other reasons.

'Over and Over' (Innerst 2001)

The picture above is not one of the best pictures, but does show some of it's potential faults. It would probably be best to make the cross both ways, just to satisfy your own curiosity as to which way is best.  If you have better pictures of 'Over and Over,' and you are willing to let me use them in my blogs, please send them to me at bridgeintime@aol.com, with permission to use.  

Keep in mind that my reports are from work in my own garden in south central Kentucky.  I'm on a ridge, above a creek. The garden was a former pasture. Your results may be different than mine.   

Species Irises: Back to Nature

by Tom Waters

Iris missouriensis, a beardless species native to North America

Iris missouriensis, a beardless species native to North America

Iris missouriensis, a beardless species native to North America

I became interested in irises as teenager. After a year or so of growing tall bearded irises, I became more aware of the other types available, and of the special groups of enthusiasts who had gathered around each type. When I discovered that there was a group (SIGNA) just for “species iris”, I was baffled. In my biology classes at school, I had learned that the species was the basic category for classifying all life on earth. So didn’t all irises belong to some species or other? It didn’t make sense that there would be a special iris society just for species.

Beginning classes in school, naturally, emphasize simplified basic concepts at the expense of all the qualifications, complications, and exceptions that the real world has to offer. In school I learned that two individual animals or plants belong to the same species if they can breed and produce fertile offspring. But that’s not always the case, especially in the plant kingdom. Irises belonging to two different species can often cross and produce fertile offspring, and in fact this is how most of our named garden varieties of iris originated. Those named varieties (“cultivar” is the precise term) are almost all hybrids, with two (or more, usually) different species in their ancestry.

So now it started to make sense. People interested in “species irises” were interested in the original iris species that exist in nature, as opposed to the many garden cultivars that had been produced by hybridizing, crossing different species with one another.

Iris paradoxa, an aril species from northeastern Turkey

Iris paradoxa, an aril species from northeastern Turkey

I grow bearded and aril iris species, because I’m interested in hybridizing with them, and also because they come from parts of the world with climate similar to my own, so it seems a good fit. Many people grow other kinds of species: Siberians, Louisianas, and wild irises from North America, Europe, and Asia.

Iris reichenbachii, a bearded species native to the Balkans

Iris reichenbachii, a bearded species native to the Balkans

Iris reichenbachii, a bearded species native to the Balkans

What is the appeal of species irises for gardeners? Obviously, botanists are scientifically interested in the original species, which are the product of natural evolution and occupy distinct ecological niches. For a gardener or iris hobbyist, this scientific curiosity can inspire interest in the wild species. But there are other lures as well. There are many species that have been used infrequently or not at all in hybridizing. If you take a fancy to these, you will necessarily be growing species. Some of us like the “wild look” as an alternative to the deliberately “altered” creations of human hybridizers. And some like the idea of growing the wild irises native to their own area.  For others, conversely, species from other parts of the world provide a connection with the plant life of distant lands and environments.

Iris stolonifera, an aril species from central Asia

Iris stolonifera, an aril species from central Asia

Iris stolonifera, an aril species from central Asia

If you take an interest in species irises, you soon learn an important difference between species and hybrid cultivars. The hybrid cultivars are all propagated by division. Each plant is an identical replica of the original. Each one is really an individual organism, as distinct from all other irises as you or I are from all other people. But a species is not an individual. A species is an entire population of related individuals; it is like the whole of Homo sapiens from all the places humans live, with all their different characteristics and genetic heritage. So whereas I can “have” a particular cultivar, say ‘Dividing Line’, in my garden, I cannot “have” a species, such as Iris pumila. I can only have at most a few individual plants that belong to that species. They will all be different individuals, and all different from the great numbers of other  Iris pumila plants growing wild in Eastern Europe.

Species enthusiasts embrace this fact, and often strive to have a range of different plants representing each of the species they grow. This not only adds interest to the collection, but helps preserve some of the genetic diversity of the species in our gardens. Like many wild plants, irises are often threatened in their native environment by human activity and encroachment. The gardener who grows species contributes, in a small but potentially significant way, to their conservation and preservation.

For those of us interested in hybridizing, growing many different plants of the same species offers another benefit: genetic diversity.  If you trace the ancestry of our garden hybrids back far enough, you will find the same ancestors appearing over and over again. Despite all the range of color and form in the modern hybrids, they actually come from a rather inbred gene pool. Going back to the species expands the genetic base for our hybridizing efforts.

Iris pumila, a bearded species from eastern Europe

Iris pumila, a bearded species from eastern Europe

Iris pumila, a bearded species from eastern Europe

This brings me to a final observation. One can obtain species plants from commercial sources and others who grow them, including named cultivars in some cases (these are selected individuals of the species, not hybrids between different species). But it can be even more satisfying to raise species from seed. Many iris societies and rock garden societies have seed exchanges, where one can inexpensively obtain seed of many different iris species, including sometimes seed collected in the wild. There are also some commercial sources, mostly specialist plant collectors. When you raise irises from seed, you will naturally be “selecting” those plants with the genetic predisposition to do well in your own climate.

Growing species irises, particularly growing them from seed, provides a window onto the natural world that growing only hybrid cultivars cannot. There is a special pleasure that comes from raising these lovely wildflowers, knowing that you are enjoying (and helping preserve) some of the world’s beautiful and fascinating flora.

Iris missouriensis growing wild near my home in northern New Mexico