The Joy of Maiden Blooms

                                                         By Joe Musacchia

     One of the most exciting times for a hybridizer is spring bloom in the seedling beds. You go through the winter with great anticipation of the upcoming spring to see what your work has produced. Over time you learn that only one in a hundred may be a really special iris, but as the stalks start forming, there is always hope that maybe this year there will be more good than bad.  Finally the morning comes when first color shows. You start watching the weather reports. Is there a late freeze? Any storms coming with hail? All is good, and they have started. What excitement! Then the evaluating starts: how many bud positions, how strong is the stalk, is the color fading, is it different than mama?  Maybe we will keep this one another year. But then, HEY! Look at you! Aren't you something. This is what it's all about: the emotional ups and  downs going through the seedlings one by one, looking for that winner. 

    These are pictures of my 2016 maiden blooms. Much evaluation remains to be done, but I thought you might like to see what I saw when they first opened. 

    'Hush Money' has produced some real nice kids:

12-46-1 stalk

12-46-1 'Ginny's Choice' X 'Hush Money'

12-46-2 'Ginny's Choice' X 'Hush Money'

'Hush Money' X  'Tchoupatulous'

I have been trying to make a cross with 'South Yara Darling' for several years, and finally it happened:

13-05-01 'South Yara Darling' X  'Pointe Aux Chenes'

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 This is a seedling that was lost and found last year, and this is its first time blooming in my garden.

08-03-01  'Charlotte's Tutu' X 'Honey Galore'

 'In The Navy' X 'Our Sassy'

   Another difficult cross was with 'In The Navy'. Here is a first look at 'In The Navy' X 'Our Sassy'.












 

'Simply Irresistible' X 'Pink Poetry'
05-22

'Queen Jeanne' X ' Mardi Gras Mambo'
12-31

This one was a real surprise. At first glance I thought Court Jester. But that name is taken.















I hope you enjoyed seeing my maiden blooms. Hopefully in the future you will see one or two introduced with their new names. Here is wishing everyone a wonderful bloom season.

A Long, Long Iris Trail a-Winding

By J. Griffin Crump

In my post of this past October 6 ("What Happens If You Cross These Two Irises?"), one of the featured irises was 'Entrancing', which is scheduled to be introduced in 2015.  Of course, its pedigree is much longer than just the parents, which were also shown. I thought that it might be interesting to trace it back as far as the record goes, along with some explanation of why certain things were done.

Like many of my seedlings and several of my introductions, the trail winds back through 'Wabash', the iris which first lit the spark that started my hybridizing.

'Wabash'

This beauty was developed and introduced in 1936 by Mary Williamson, who gardened and hybridized near the storied river of that name in the north central portion of my native state of Indiana.  'Wabash's own parentage was 'Dorothy Dietz' X 'Cantabile' (Latin for "praiseworthy").  In turn, 'Dorothy Dietz'' parentage was 'Wyoming' X 'Lent A. Williamson', and Cantabile resulted from 'Lent A. Williamson' X unknown.  Thus, there were two "doses" of 'Lent A. Williamson' in 'Wabash''s breeding. 'Lent A. Williamson' resulted from a cross of 'Amas' (introduced in 1885) X unknown.  Of all of these ancestors of 'Wabash', the only photographs I have been able to find have been of 'Lent A. Williamson'.  Unfortunately, two of those photographs  --  one in our own Iris Encyclopedia and the other contributed by our late friend Mike Lowe, of the Historical Iris Preservation Society, to another late friend, Clarence Mahan's "Irises and the Men and Women Who Created Them" are differently colored, but clearly are the same flower.  The difference in color of the background, as well, suggests that there was a difference in lighting or in the film, or both.  I include both of them here.  (Note the nick in the fall on the lower right in the second photo.)

Lent A. Williamson (Iris Encyclopedia)

Lent A. Williamson (Mike Lowe)

There are nine other photos of 'Lent A. Williamson' in the Iris Encyclopedia, all of which show the flower as blue-violet.

In 1992,  hoping to bring 'Wabash''s velvet falls into (then) more modern form, I crossed it, as pod parent, with a yellow bi-tone seedling of unknown heritage (though it may have been from the lines of Jean Stevens of New Zealand, some of which I had) which had broader falls.

Yellow bi-tone seedling

The cross produced Seedling 93L6, which reversed the color pattern of both parents, giving basically white falls and solid yellow standards, with a yellow ring on the broad, ruffled falls.  At this point, I felt I was making progress.

Seedling 93L6

I crossed 93L6, as the pod parent, with Barry Blyth's 'Chinese Treasure', hoping that it would interact with the 'Wabash' genes to restore the amoena (pure white standards) factor and velvet texture of the falls.  

Chinese Treasure

I was quite surprised by the resulting Seedling 952G8.  It was smallish, but the colors are rich.

Seedling 952G8

Meantime, still working with amoenas and dark velvet falls,  I had crossed the amoena 'Margarita' by the exotic bi-tone 'Momauguin' (which I had never been able to photograph well and no longer have).

'Margarita'

'Momauguin'

'Momauguin' certainly wasn't going to win any beauty contests, but I was intrigued by the crushed velvet texture of its falls.  I saw it growing in Charlie Nearpass's garden one spring, and he ripped it out of the ground and gave it to me.

The cross of 'Margarita' X 'Momauguin' produced six seedlings, of which only three survived, but the graceful form of their stalks added a new focus to my hybridizing efforts.  The best of the three was 93RR6.  In the following photo of a clump of this seedling,  there are three stalks shown.  The stalks on the left and right display the graceful S curve of the entire plant as well as the lower branch, probably indicating aphylla ancestry.  The S curve is present in the center stalk, of course, but is more difficult to trace in the picture.  The plant normally carried 9 buds.

Seedling 93RR6

I treasured 93RR6, but could never get a cross involving it.  Happily, there was its sibling 93RR2, smaller overall, but with the same seductive branching and velvety falls.  I crossed it, as the pod parent, with another smallish iris, 'Fringe of Gold'.

Seedling 93RR2

'Fringe of Gold'

These two produced Seedling 952H1 which, unfortunately, seems to have eluded the camera;  I crossed it, as the pod parent, with 952G8 (shown above), and that resulted in Seedling 20Q5, again somewhat on the small side, but keeping the desired branching.

Seedling 20Q5

I waited for a long time to find a suitable match for 20Q5, as noted in October's post. Eventually, after acquiring Sterling Innerst's 'Lynsy Alexandra', I found it to be so similar in shape and patterning that it invited the cross.

Lynsy Alexandra

 Among the several good seedlings resulting, I found Seedling 07S9  to be entrancing, so it will be introduced under that name in 2015.

'Entrancing'

 And the branching?  

'Entrancing'

So, in the pursuit of initial goals, we may find other avenues also worthy of exploration.  So much the better.

What Do Iris Hybridizers Look For?

by Griff Crump

In suggesting topics for this posting, Renee Fraser remarked, "One thing I always wonder about hybridizers is which new intro caught their eye and why?"

The first attraction for me is, simply, the beauty of the flower itself.  The second motivator is its being of the patterns that I prefer, which are predominantly amoenas and near amoenas with velvety falls, usually dark.  The third consideration is whether it might fit into my breeding goals.

Here are some of the recent introductions that have caught my eye:

Judy's Smile (Skaggs 2014), offered by Stout Gardens At Dancing Tree.  From Starring x Kitty Kay.  I have both of the parents, so might try the cross myself.

 'Judy's Smile'

Another beauty, which I won't use in hybridizing (because it doesn't fit within my goals), but which I admire and would like to grow just for its handsomeness, is Mike Lockatell's  reblooming border bearded Double Dare.  I saw it when he first exhibited it at a Region 4 fall regional show.  I and others thought it should have won best seedling, but one of the judges just didn't like plicatas.

'Double Dare'

I always like a good red, and Don Spoon's Red Hot Momma (Rogue X Dynamite) falls in that category.  I can't seem to keep either of those parents alive (or, at least, blooming), but Don has, so maybe I'll approach him for a start.

'Red Hot Momma'

Lesley Painter's Midnight Rose (Napa Country Iris Garden) is the kind of iris that I really like, a near amoena with dark velvet falls.  As a hybridizer with limited space, however, its unknown parentage gives me pause, i.e., will it work with the genetics of my existing stuff?  If I had more space, I'd grab it.  (And if you have space, I think you should, too.)

'Midnight Rose'

Keith Keppel's Gambling Man (Silk Road X Roaring Twenties) caught my eye, as does anything with the Edith Wolford color pattern.  This, though, is from quite different lineage.

'Gambling Man'

I am particularly impressed with the introductions of Robert Piatek, of Poland, and those of Anton Mego,  of Slovakia.  I have Mego's Slovak Prince and seedlings from it, and I hope that others of  their cultivars will soon, if not already, be available in the USA.

'Slovak Prince' 

Which newer introductions caught your eye this year?

"Talking Irises" BROKEN COLOR IRISES WITH HYBRIDIZER BRAD KASPEREK AT ZEBRA IRIS GARDENS

By Susanne Holland Spicker


A recent drive to ZEBRA IRIS GARDENS, a commercial iris garden in Elwood, Utah, gave me a "GNU," (as the Kaspereks would say) appreciation for BROKEN COLOR IRISES and a newfound love for SPURIA IRISES. Brad and Kathie Kasperek are the owners/operators of this beautiful iris garden.  It is the world's leading source for broken color (BC) bearded irises, and I was impressed with their large variety of award winning spuria irises as well.

Brad has been hybridizing irises for several years. He has a wealth of knowledge and is recognized as the pioneer of broken color irises, which are flowers with random streaking and/or splashing of 2 or more colors. They come in Tall Bearded (TB), Border Bearded (BB), and Intermediate Bearded (IB) varieties. Visiting with Brad was interesting and very educational. He stated that it takes roughly 100 years to "perfect" a flower, and since broken  color irises have only been around for about 25 years, the hybridizing is still in its infancy. Improvements in bud count, branching, and form continue to be perfected.  I was impressed with his irrigation system, and the neat, well organized way his garden is laid out--especially the identifying markers on every plant.

Brad's first introduction was award-winning "TIGER HONEY", (TB 38" EM AM 1994). Since then, he has introduced roughly 100 irises--many, award winners. The names of his irises are as unique as they are. Most are whimsical names based on African or wildlife themes.

After viewing rows and rows of blooms, some of my favorite Kasperek irises that were in bloom include:

Bi-color plicata "LLAMA MAMA" TB  37"  EM  2005  HM.  Large and vigorous!

"OKAPI POPPY"  TB 37"  M  2004 AM  Vigorous and graceful.  

A favorite:  "DRUNK SKUNK" TB 32" EM  2012.  Stunning!

"MAGDALENA LOUISA" TB 36" M  2003  HM.  A clean, BC pink--beautiful!

2013 Introduction, "MINK PINK."  Simple and elegant. TB 35" M.   I Love the beards!

2008 Wister Medalist, "MILLENNIUM FALCON"  TB 38" M.  Stunning--A real knockout!

 "MEERKAT MANOR"  BB  25" M  2008  AM.  A personal favorite!

"KINKAJOU SHREW" TB 38" EM  2000  AM.  This large bloomer is an excellent grower.

"PEEKABOO ZEBU" TB 35" ML  2005 AM.  Ruffled, bright and cheery.

This seedling is sure to be a winner--I loved the new, exceptional color!

Exciting seedling!

 "GNU BLUES"  TB 36" M 1994 AM.  Lovely!

"BEWILDERBEAST" TB 30" EM  1995 HM. A favorite--goes with many color combinations. 

"GRIZZLY GOSLING" TB  36" M 2006--Exceptional color and form on this ruffled BC iris.

"IWAN'A IGUANA" TB  36"  M  2004 HM--Lights up the garden--a favorite of garden visitors.

"SPICED TIGER" TB  31" EM  1996  AM.  Dramatic!

"KILIMANJARO SUNRISE" TB  37" M HM  The first BC yellow/violet bicolor.

"QUAIL ALE" TB  37" EM  1996 HM.  Understated elegance on this light yellow beauty.

This radiant charmer stood out in the garden

"FLAMINGO GRINGO" TB  30" EM 2008.  Exciting in the garden!

"OCTOPI PI" TB  36"  ML  2012.  This plicata has  clean, bright orange standards.

A favorite--2013 introduction, "YETI AGAIN" TB 36" ML.  A sure winner!

"CHOCOLATE MOOSE" TB  37"  M  2003 HM.  Dramatic--a lovely clump.

"HOT DOGS AND MUSTARD" (Kathie Kasperek) TB  36"  M 1995  AM.  Kathie's creation works great in designs.

"BRADLEY BADGER" TB 34"  M  2013.  A favorite--Lights up the whole garden!

Brad's introductions have received many awards from the AIS judges, and last year he received The Founders of SIGNA Medal for "Z Z ZANZIBAR" and both "MEERKAT MANOR" (BB) and "PLUM DUCK" (Spec x) received Awards of Merit.  Also, "ORANGUTAN ORANGE" (TB) picked up an Honorable Mention. This year's introductions are exceptional as you can see by the pictures of 3 of my favorites:  "BRADLEY BADGER," YETI AGAIN," and "MINK PINK".

Whether you're a lover of broken color irises like me or not, you'll have to agree that the Kasperek  irises must be recognized as something relatively new and different in the iris world. I am grateful to Brad Kasperek for his passion, and for the countless hours and patience involved in hybridizing these unique flowers. I find them beautiful, and have a long wish list after visiting his iris garden. Whether in a clump or a single stem, they are very striking, making exciting attention-getters in the garden. I see many possibilities for companion plants and other irises that compliment their wonderful patterns and colors.

What do you like most about Broken Color irises?  Which is your favorite?

NOTE:  Look for part II of my visit to Zebra Iris Gardens, where I talk about Brad's hybridizing priority shift to spuria irises, and pictures of some award-winning spurias, as well as some of Brad's stunning seedlings!