The Survivors - In Praise of Hardy Irises

By Mike Unser


I've been a member of HIPS for many years now and have had hundreds of folks send me photos of irises they have found which they are looking to ID. I also like to note when I am traveling what varieties I see left in public plantings where they receive little care. From these observations a few have turned up again and again, and it has given me a good appreciation for those varieties that are super hardy and can survive years of neglect. Here's a few of my favorites. (As always, click the photos for larger views).

Flavescens shows up over and over, especially in the northern part of the country where it was spread far and wide by settlers from Scandinavian countries. I see it here in Olympia and surrounding towns all the time in spring, happily blooming away with no care at all. One local clump is in the shade of a big leaf maple and doesn't seem to mind the heavy shade a bit. These survivors are always breaking the "rules" we usually think of when cultivating bearded irises.


Several years ago when visiting my hometown in Illinois I stopped by the farm where my grandparents had lived. My grandmother had sold the place ten years before but her iris garden was still there. The current owners graciously allowed me to take some starts home. Among them I found I. kochii, Blue Shimmer, and Pinnacle. I. kochii in particular seems very widely spread.


Another relative's old homestead turned up Florentina happily growing under a large rhody. Florentina shows up everywhere in the US.


This next one does not have a name. The best HIPS experts have pondered it and come up empty and yet it is everywhere. I see this more often than most any other in people's submissions wanting IDs. I saw it on the AIS Facebook page the other day too, again, someone looking for the name. It is a real charmer too. Small diploid blooms but loads of them They open with the standards tinted lavender but it fades to a soft yellow over the life of the bloom.


These last two are maybe the hardiest of all: Lent A. Williamson and Indian Chief. Both are found all across the US. Here they are growing outside the Court services building in Olympia, WA. Every couple of years the city work crews come thru and dump several inches of beauty bark on them (!!), but they are otherwise left alone.


Indian Chief is growing in shade on the north side of the building and only gets direct sunlight in the summer when the sun moves far enough north to hit it.


I visited Mt. Hood several years ago and came upon a large clearing well up in the mountains. A cabin had been there once long ago but was now long gone, leaving an open grassy meadow. Scattered across the hillside were bearded iris fans. I took one home to see what this might be and, sure enough, it was Indian Chief.


If you are looking for some bearded irises that you'll never have to fuss over you could not find better than these, and they are perfect for tough climates or growing conditions. Hybridizers looking to bring vigor and hardiness into their lines could consider these as well.

Louisiana Irises -- Who could possibly have one favorite?

By Ron Killingsworth

A clump of mixed Louisiana irises

We grow a lot of Louisiana irises -- about 80,000 plants in all, and over 500 varieties.  Iris lovers often ask me to name my favorite Louisiana iris, at which point I begin rattling off the names of 15 to 20 varieties.  I really do not have an all time "favorite" but I will share some of those that are in my current "top 30" list.  

'Adell Tingle' (Hutchins, B 2006)

This iris was named for my mother's sister, my Aunt Adell, and is one of my favorite irises because of the name and because it is such a pretty lavender iris, with veining and ruffling.

'Amber Goddess' (Arny, C 1963)

Charles Arny produced a lot of Louisiana irises in the 50's and 60's.  This iris is registered as "amber" but can look quite red at times.  The darker style arms really set the flower apart from others.

'Atchafalaya' (Campbell, F 1998)

 The Atchafalaya Basin in south Louisiana is well know for the bald cypress trees and "swamps" located within the basin.  The iris is a beautiful open form dark red violet with a halo.  This large clump shows that it is a great garden iris.

'Bayou Tiger' (Strawn, K 1993)

This iris is a great Louisiana iris.  It has distinctive colors and has a great Louisiana name!  The "tiger" part of the name comes from the Louisiana State University (LSU) colors displayed by the flowers.  Every Tiger fan should grow this iris.

'Brazos Gold' (Strawn, K 1993)

A beautiful bright yellow with orange signals.  It is a great addition to any garden.

'Bryce Leigh' (Chowning, F 1973)

Is it starting to show that I really like a lot of the older cultivars?  This iris has flowers in the open form and is registered as "pale lavender" but looks more pink to me after it fades a little.  The maroon surrounding the signal and showing on the style arms will help anyone identify this iris from a long distance.

'Flash Harry' (Davis, Penny 2008)

This iris out of Australia by Penny Davis is a beautiful wine "blush" or red sort of overlaid with orange, with ruffling and lots of other beautiful things happening in the blooms.  It is in my top ten!

'Frank Chowning' (Rowlan, Henry 1984)

Of course this iris was named for Frank Chowning who gave us many wonderful Louisiana irises.  This iris is registered as "currant red" and has a nice bright yellow steeple signal with overlapping form flowers.

'Fringed Gold' (Shepard, D.L. 1992)

This "brick red" iris has a lot going on in the bloom.  The spray pattern around the signal is a characteristic I like in several other irises.  The style arms are edged yellow and there is a nice halo around the petals.  A beauty to behold.

'Gulf Moon Glow'  (Faggard, A. 1994)

Nice bluish stands with yellow green falls, green style arms -- even claims to have a slight fragrance.  I love this iris and grow it in about 15 different locations!

'Plum Good'  (Nelson, I 2001)

This iris has been around under the garden name "Plum Good" and was only recently registered.  It is certainly "plum" colored and I think it is a very "good" iris -- you should be growing it!

'Point Aux Chenes' (Musacchia, J 2005)

I know, I know!  You can't pronounce the name of the iris nor the name of the hybridizer.  Well, welcome to Louisiana.  This iris is registered as "golden peach self" but looks more "orange" to me.  It has a distinctive signal and is a great garden iris.  You can learn to pronounce the name or just give it a garden name of your own!  By the way, Joe Musacchia lives SOUTH of New Orleans -- yes, south of New Orleans.

'Prix D'Elegance' (Pryor, Heather 1995)

I really love the iris and the name.  It is a great garden iris and grows like a weed here in NW Louisiana.  It is registered as "rose pink" with lemon style arms.  A great iris!

'Splitter Splatter' (Grieves, D. R. 2004)

Another iris out of Australia that caused quite a stir when it was first introduced in the USofA.  I had people calling me from Florida wanting to purchase it and I had never even heard of it!  Now we grow it and it is certainly a "novelty" iris that will add excitement to your garden.

'Starlite Starbrite' (Granger, M 1985) and 'Delta Star' (Granger, M 1966)

The white "cartwheel form" iris in the front is Starlite Starbrite and the darker blue one in the back is the "cartwheel form" Delta Star.  Marvin Granger produced quite a few of these "laid out flat" irises that have all falls and no stands.  Starlite Starbrite is a show winner and has won many blue ribbons.

'Tantra' (Dunn, Mary 1998)

Mary Dunn lived in CA and hybridized many award winning irises.  This light orchid colored iris has lighter stands and that wonderful darker veining from the signal down to the edge of the petals.

'Texas Toast' Mertzweiller, J 2005)

Texas Toast is one of the most unusual tetraploids (having four times the haploid number of  chromosomes in the cell nucleus- most Louisianas are diploid) of the few registered.  It does in fact look like a nice lightly toasted bread.  Joe Mertzweiller did a lot of work on converting diploids to tetraploids and this seedling was still around when he passed away.  Marie Caillet registered it for him in 2005, long after his death.

'Wood Violet' (Dormon, Ruth 0 1943)

Most growers of Louisiana irises are familiar with Caroline Dormon but not all know that her sister Ruth also grew and hybridized Louisiana irises.  This is a very late bloom with a white spray pattern around the signals.  An oldie but a goodie!

'Cotton Plantation' (Dunn, Mary 1994)

When you see a clump of this iris in full bloom you will indeed think you have wandered into a cotton field in Louisiana or Texas.  The beautiful white blooms sure do look like cotton bolls.

'Heavenly Glow' (Morgan, Richard 1988)

This iris is a beauty.  It grows well and has very green style arms.  The signal is surrounded by an orange red coloring.  It is indeed "heavenly"!

'Professor Neil' (Mertzweiller, Joe 1990) and 'Her Highness' (Levingston 1957)

Professor Neil is one of the tetraploids hybridized by Professor Mertzweiller in the 50's and 60's.  It is a great garden iris and my favorite of the "professors" (a group of tetraploid Louisiana irises named by Mertzweiller for his professor friends at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette).  In the background is "Her Highness", a collected iris.giganticaerulea alba that is in my top ten!

'Just Helene' (Mertzweiller, J 1990)

This iris is an eye catcher!  The veining, the blue and yellow stands, the yellowish "ground" veined light blue falls, the green yellow signal!  Wow, beautiful and a great garden iris.

'Lone Star' (Campbell, Farron 1997)

Farron Campbell once owned Lone Star Nursery in the great state of Texas.  He hybridized this iris that has i.hexagona in its parentage.  It is a very late bloomer and has a cartwheel form, laid out like a plate!  Very pretty.

'Longue Vue' (Haymon, Dorman - 1999)

This beautiful white iris with "laced" edgings was named for Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans, LA, where you can find many Louisiana irises growing along with thousands of other plants.  My favorite white and among my all time top ten.

'Navajo Coral' (Shepard, D. L. 1996)

A "sandy coral" iris with yellow gold signals and greenish style arms.  Very distinctive and a great garden iris.  A treasure from the great state of AZ.


So, as you can see, I really like some of the older Louisiana irises, irises that are considered "historic" because of their age.  We still grow hundreds of irises registered in the period 1920 to 1960.  I like the older open forms and the smaller blooms -- yet I also like the more modern fancy ones.  I just love too many of them to chose one favorite.

Do you have trouble winnowing down your list to one favorite?  Tell us which ones you like and why in the comments section.

If you are interested in growing some of the beauties, contact the Society for Louisiana Irises for more information. You can also learn a lot more about irises by visiting the American Iris Society web site.