IRIS SEPAL TECTONICS

By Sylvain Ruaud

'Aliquippa' illustrates the old style, narrow-petaled,

airy and open aspect of early diploid hybrids.

The progress made with irises has not been limited to enriching the colors of the flowers. They have also focused on improving the holding power of the iris flowers in order to present more elegant and longer-lasting flowers. The most fundamental progress has been the transformation of the sepals (falls), but the petals (standards) themselves have evolved. Originally, they were light, gracefully arched over the sexual parts. But their lightness left only a brief period of perfect presentation. In nature this was not inconvenient because fertilization must occur soon after the flower blooms; that wind or rain crushes the petals was of no consequence. In our gardens on the other hand, it is preferable that the flowers last as long as possible. The hybridizers, therefore, worked on strengthening the petals.

"Ruban Bleu"--image by Christine Cosi

By selecting flowers with increasingly thicker petals, and by retaining those that could be held quite strong, either because of the robustness of the ribs, or because of a very solid shape. But on the other hand, the arch shape gradually gave way to a cup shape, therefore open on top, or to a tulip bud presentation, therefore closed. The elegance in these cases comes from the undulated or serrated edges.

'Chevalier De Malte'--image by Christina Cosi

As far as sepals are concerned, the evolution has been even more remarkable. The big drawback of iris sepals is that they have very thin original attachments. This is not an anomaly: the sepals were originally intended to open wide and fold down to allow insects easy access to the sexual parts. In fact, they resembled leaves of forget-me-not flowers, starting from the area of attachment of the floral parts above the ovaries, a thin and narrow "tail", spreading out in an ovate shape, attenuated at the base, obtuse at the tip. By the effect of selections, the breeders have managed to obtain heart-shaped sepals, thus widening very quickly. This is true for large irises (TB, BB, IB), not yet for dwarf irises.

'Cumulus'--image by Rene Leau

At the same time, as for the petals, the flesh of the sepals thickened, taking a texture close to that of the magnolia petals. Gradually the sepals have had a better hold: instead of hanging sadly, they have straightened, taking in turn an arched shape. But the transformation did not stop there. The goal was sepals standing as close to the horizontal as possible.

'Prince Of Monaco' shows the mid-century advance in substance

that resulted in more flaring petals.

Another means of maintaining the sepals in this position  was thus to select the plants whose parts developed quickly in width, taking this cordate form mentioned above. We speak of "overlapping" sepals, i.e. those that leave no space between them and even overlap, a bit like the tectonic  plates of the earth's crust. The flower gains in size what it loses in reproductive accessibility: in many modern varieties the overlapping of the sepals partially  or totally conceals the stamens and styles. In a hybrid, this does not matter since pollination is exclusively  ensured by man.

'Impresario'--image by Ldislaw Muske

 In addition, the appearance of the ripplings on the iris flowers allowed a better holding of the sepals. This is the principle of the corrugated sheet, where rigidity is achieved by the movement given to the metal: it is obvious that the corrugated varieties have more rigid and upright sepals than the flat varieties (we could say "tailored").

'Parisien'--image by Christine Cosi

Thus, from soft sepals quickly taking a folded position, in about 70 years, we have reached almost horizontal, wavy or even creped sepals, which keep the flower elegant and fresh for several days, allowing to see open on the same stem several staggered flowers, a little like we are used to see in gladioli or cannas. It is obviously more spectacular.

'Butterlicious' shows the modern version

with bubble ruffling, flare, and wide, overlapping hafts.

Does this mean that the iris flowers have reached perfection without any possibility of improvement? The answer is no. Iris flowers will continue to evolve, not necessarily to fundamentally transform the flowers we enjoy today, but to bring other forms. This is what Richard Cayeux imagines for the iris of the future when, in his book "L'iris , une fleur royale", he evokes the bearded irises of the third millennium: "We can already imagine new models of iris flowers today: "spiders" irises (with very long and very narrow divisions...), irises with lash-lined divisions..." as well as flowers with the appearance of I. paradoxa, i.e. with sepals "very small, horizontal, with a strong black beard and purple and shimmering petals clearly larger". He forgot to mention the opposite situation: petalless irises, i.e. with a flat shape, a bit like that of Japanese irises, where the six flower pieces are sepals or pseudo-sepals, overlapping widely. This is a little bit the case of the so-called "flatties" varieties that we already find nowadays. The movements of these spread sepals will not have the same consequences as those of the earth's tectonic plates, but if these forms were to develop widely, it would still be, in the little world of irises, a kind of earthquake.

Editor's Note: Butterlicious, Prince of Monaco, and Aliquippa courtesy of Mike Unser.

What Rains May Come to Pacific Iris Flowers

Kathleen Sayce

Irises are at an inherent disadvantage in a spring-wet climate, because they have upturned flowers like tulips instead of down-turned flowers like many lilies. Hybridizers in dry spring areas have selected for wide, frilly flowers over the past few decades; usually these plants flower in late winter to mid spring. In spring-wet areas, these flowers are hammered by rain, damaged so badly that pollination cannot occur. 

A modern wide-petaled, frilly Pacific Iris flower on a dry day. This is an unnamed seedling, flowering for the first time this year.  

So what's an irisarian to do with wet weather during flowering?  The answer is to evaluate flowers to see which ones do well, or at least better, in intense rain. Most of us can live with moderate damage, and are happier with a colorful spring flower display that doesn't look like soaked tissue paper was tossed around the garden. 

When it rains during flowering, I take a waterproof camera into the garden and record how well each flower and its plant hold up. Flower shape is important. Stem sturdiness is important; lovely flowers that lay flat on the ground (due to weak stems) are not going to make the cut. Very important is how well the flower survives being battered by rain and wind. Enough rain, and any iris flower can be battered into oblivion, so the following is a first attempt at a weather-tolerance scale.

For this year, the following is the result of rain-on-flower observations in my garden:

Wide frilly flowers often fare badly in heavy rain; they can tolerate light rain. The petals are thin, and a few days of intense rain shreds them to fragments. 

The same unnamed Pacifica Iris seedling following an intense rainstorm. Its wide petals tend to melt in heavy rain. The damage to the falls is not a deer or slug, it's rainfall that tore off portions of the petals. 

Yellow flowers typically melt in heavy rain. Open one day, gone the next. It's quite shocking to see how poorly this color fails to hold up to a good storm. Do any yellows hold up well in rain? I grow four or five, and am going to research this in coming years. One of the yellows has weak stems, and these are battered to the ground in storms. It's toast. 

Another unnamed seedling, a lovely yellow, after a rainstorm. Note the damaged style crests and standards, and melted falls. 

White flowers vary in durability. Some do well. Others melt. Doug' flowers (Iris douglasiana selections and crosses) are at the core of many reliably sturdy hybrids. 'Canyon Snow' is very sturdy for a white flowered Pacifica Iris, and is a Doug' selection. 'Cape Sebastian' is an unregistered Doug' selection with a white flower and purple signal, and it also does well. Both have been available for several decades, and are highly recommended. 

'Canyon Snow' when dry, above, and wet, below. This Doug' selection holds up well in rain with sturdy upright stems and durable flowers. 

Older hybrids have narrower petals and less frilling, and often do surprisingly well in heavy rain. Go back about 20 years, to find these sturdy forms. 'Mission Santa Cruz' and 'Cape Ferrelo', to name two, also do well in intense rain. 

'Harry's Rootbeer' holds up in rain. This hybrid is a 'Mission Santa Cruz' progeny, bred for southern California, which also does well in the Pacific Northwest. 

Species and species crosses often also do well. This includes Iris tenax, I. tenax x I. innominata, I. chrysophylla  x I. douglasiana, and others. Flower petals are sturdy and narrow compared to modern hybrids. Flowers are held upright on strong stems, which rarely flop on the ground in heavy rain. Only I. innominata tends to melt and flop. 

Iris tenax from Lewis County, Washington, does well in rain, as do many Pacifica species. 

I. tenax is usually upright and sturdy, with flowers holding well in all but the most intense rains. No surprise, this species is native to the Pacific Northwest, and flowers latest in my garden. 

From observations made this spring, I know that some yellow flowers melt in heavy rain. I plan to look for and breed for sturdier yellows, and use rain screens to protect plants now. 

For those large frilly flowers, use rain screens. If my climate is consistently wet in mid spring when these ruffled beauties flower, then I have to be ready to lose them. They may be toast as well. 

Older hybrids, in a wide range of colors, do well. Rejoice! Use rain screens over the plants I want seeds from, and enjoy the flowers, rain or shine. The ideal form has strong petals and sturdy upright flower stems. 

As for species, they flower very well, so long as I keep away from yellows. Too bad for me that the yellows are my favorite color. I'm just going to have to get over it. I would like to know if readers have similar observations in wet spring areas. Are there particular colors that rain damages more in your garden? Or flower forms that do not hold up well to your weather?

Joe Gatty's Iris of Lovely Form

 By Bryce Williamson

Sometimes, when an iris hybridizer dies, too quickly his or her irises drop out of commerce and the last introductions often fail to get awards. Paul Cook did win the Dykes the year after his death, and Monty Byers is a huge exception—three posthumous Dykes Medals.  There are others, however, who are not as well remembered, so I would like to tell you about two Region 14 hybridizers who I miss. This post is on Joe Gatty.

Joe Gatty was a New Jersey transplant to Northern California. He first had success as a hybridizer when his white tall bearded iris 'Friendship' won the President's Cup.  Until his death, Joe produced lovely things from what was really a small seedling patch. Mary Dunn remarked that Gatty irises can be viewed in black and white because they are studies in form. 

Joe Gatty (Photo courtesy of Keith Keppel)

Joe was also an accomplished breeder of median irises. While I am focusing on his tall bearded iris,  I must mention that the famous 'Gingerbread Man' has a Gatty seedling as one parent; and 'Rare Edition', an IB plicata, still looks good and sells well today. The story of Joe's medians, however, must wait for another day.

Just before moving to California in 1969, Joe explained to me how he had made many out crosses (crosses between two named varieties from other hybridizers) wanting to get some new blood into his hybrids. Keith Keppel explains that "Liz Aulicky had offered use of her land to grow seedlings, so seedlings from his 1967 New Jersey crosses were planted at Liz's in 1968.  His 1968 seeds were sent to me and were planted in California, lined out in 1969.  When he arrived in California in 1969, that year's crosses were made on what I was growing....it was with great trepidation that he used such 'tender California stuff' as 'Launching Pad' and 'New Moon', because he figured the seedlings would not be hardy back east.  We had to twist his arm to get him to put 'White Lightning' on the market.  Also in 1969, Liz sent what she had selected from the seedlings blooming from his 1967 seed crop.   'Princess', 'Liz', 'Shining Light', 'Vamp' and 'Hooray' were amongst her selections."  

Here are a few examples of his wonderful pinks through the years.

'Princess'

'Chanteuse'

'Playgirl'

'Paradise'

At last spring's Clara B. Rees Iris Society show, there was a wonderful stalk of 'Fashion Statement', also out of his pink breeding:

'Fashion Statement' Photo by Riley Probst

Every time that I see a lovely pink iris, I always judge them against the Gatty pink standard.  Near the end of his life, Joe released 'Haute Couture', and with its pleated ruffling, it suggested a different direction in form.  To date, it is the only variety that I know with this distinctive deep pleating way down into the falls.  

'Haute Couture'

Joe's first California native Tall Bearded iris was 'White Lightning' and quickly he took the line forward with increasingly lovely creations. Some of the 'White Lightning' children are pictured below.

'White Lightning'  Photo by Keppel

'Lemon Punch'

'Dream Affair'

Joe was not all soft colors, as the next two pictures indicate:

'Finalist'

'Show Biz'

Along the line Joe had some good golds, though they did not seem to attract as much attention as his other colors.

'Bold Gold'

Joe was also generous. He would share pollen and plants, and two of my introductions had a Gatty seedling a parent.

'Gauguin' (Williamson)--from a Gatty seedling

Despite his years in California, Joe never lost his charming New Jersey accent, and he maintained his eye for lovely form.  One of Joe's great successes was the white 'Friendship', and one of his loveliest irises still in commerce today is the deeply ruffled white, 'Arctic Express'.  Who needs color with form like this?

'Arctic Express' Photo by Superstition Iris Garden

Although I still grow many of Joe Gatty's irises of lovely form,  I failed to get his delicious recipe for cheesecake, which I regret to this day.  

Editor's Note:  Do you grow any of Gatty's lovely irises? How about you East Coasters?