by
Carlos Ayento
As
mentioned previously, the Chicago iris gardener is presented with many problems:
humid summers, cold winters without snow cover, and the pests such as grey
squirrels, rabbits and iris borers. While
pest can be controlled to an extent, weather cannot; and only the toughest
irises survive and thrive in the Windy City.
In
my last blog, I provided a sampling of some West Coast iris originations
that have grown well in the City of Chicago.
Today, I present a listing of modern irises by introduced by various iris
hybridizers that have proven themselves to be superb growers. If you have some difficulties growing iris,
give these a try!
From
Anthony and Dorothy Willott, we have Hallucination (2006). It is a remarkable standard dwarf bearded
origination for its red-violet bands, veining and dotting. The carrot-red beards make a nice touch. It has proven extremely resilient and
vigorous. It was attacked by squirrels
in June and has made a remarkable comeback.
Bijou
(George Sutton, 2002) was an iris that I received as a gift from an order
placed in 2007 or so. I’m am so glad
that I received it. It has been nothing
short of amazing and is quick to form clumps in the garden. I’m also a sucker for blue-pink irises,
especially ones with blue beards!
Direct
from Canada, one of my personal favorites of Chuck Chapman’s introductions is
his Summoned Spirit (2002). It’s an
intriguing medley of pale gold and blues, almost as if each petal was individually
brush stroked. The bonus of it being
bred in Canada is that it is completely cold-hardy and snuffs at Chicago’s most
brutal winters.
Named
after a computer graphic movement, Walter Moores’ ASCII Art (2007) is fine
plicata. But, the fact of the matter is
that it isn’t just your average plicata.
The light purple coloring is heavy strictly on the hafts and style arms
of the petals. The strokes of purple are
seemingly bleached away the further it encompasses the standards and
falls. It has bloom consistently since
planting it in 2014 and has outstanding growth qualities.
A
favorite iris amongst myself the Region 9 iris gardeners is Emma’s Laughter
(2008) by our very own G. Steve Poole. While
Mr. Poole has registered and introduced irises since the early 1980s, it is
only recently that his originations are taking notice. I appreciate Emma’s Laughter for its
exquisite ruffling, pale powder blue coloring and crisp texture.
Ernie
Hoch is a new iris hybridizer based in Washington state. He only has a handful of registered
introductions, but that consistently impressed me is his 2014 introduction
Chevron Three. I purchased the iris as a
new introduction in 2014 and it does not disappoint. As a matter of fact, it has bloomed every
year so far, since planting it in 2014. Growth
is just outstanding. It produced
rhizomes like no other. I’ve literally
had to divide it every year because there were just so many new rhizomes. Highly recommended!
From
overseas, the wonderful French-import Pause Douceur (2014) from fourth
generation hybridizer Richard Cayeux, is proving its worth here across the
Atlantic and in Chicago. A delectable confectionary,
Pause Douceur has classic form, strong substance and superb growth habits. Having purchased this iris directly from the
Cayeux Iris firm in 2014, I have sadly yet to see this wondrous iris for sale
by any U.S. iris growers. I’m sure it will
prove to be a popular iris variety in the years to come.
In
the world of irises with ruffles galore, sometimes an iris with a more tailored
appearance is a welcome reprise. As a
historic iris enthusiast and collector, some of my favorite irises are from the
1950s through 1970s. These irises were
ruffled just enough to be pleasing. So,
when I saw the Schreiner’s introduction Better Together (2014), I was very
pleased so a highly contrasted iris in a tailored (to modern iris standards)
bloom. To me, the most eye-catching
quality is the subtle brushing of buff-cream on the pale violet-blue
standards. It is very appealing,
especially when offset by the much darker, wine-purple falls. So far, it has been proving itself in Chicago
and it has been one of my personal favorites the recent Schreiner
introductions.
