Photo Essay: The Beauty of Siberian Irises

By Mike Unser

A small sampling of Siberian iris photos I've taken in years past showcasing the beauty they bring to the garden.  Siberian irises make exceptional garden plants and are easy to grow and care for. They are especially beautiful when grown in large masses. For many decades the color range was limited, but recent advances have opened up entirely new color classes for them and amazing new varieties appear every year in reds, golds, pinks, oranges, browns, and blends. New forms and patterns are being explored by hybridizers as well, including multiple falls, heavy ruffling, and edge bands that give a plicata effect. Exciting times for fans of this iris species.

Spurias in Oregon - Part I

By Kevin Vaughn

2017 was not the best iris year in Oregon. Our rainy season was a VERY rainy season, with over 45” of rain from October-April. Bearded irises that appreciate dry weather were not at all happy and a bed of Pacific Coast Natives were virtually wiped out after being flooded. The spurias were another story. In spite of the rain, the bloom on the spurias was especially good and every plant bloomed almost in excess, making up for their bearded cousins.

Spuria iris seedling by Kevin Vaughn (photo by the hybridizer)

For example, several years ago I planted 8 cultivars in a bed bordering a huge Douglas fir stump, in an effort to obscure this stump. It worked like a charm and I defy you to see the stump now and there were close to 100 stalks in that very small garden.

As much as I enjoy growing irises, hybridizing is my raison d’etre. I can’t help but look at a plant and not think of a way in which to improve it. Before I left MS, I was crossing a lot with my spuria ‘Banned in Boston’. It had lots of qualities I like in a spuria as the blooms are wide and the strong striping of dark purple on the falls is very distinct. The stalk is wonderful as the blooms open nicely with no crowding and all the flowers open well. The last year in MS, I crossed ‘Banned in Boston’ with ‘Destination’ and ‘Missouri Orange’, hoping to get a spuria with the basic color of ‘Banned in Boston’ but with a large orange signal to contrast with the purple striping. These seedlings bloomed in ’13 and ’14 and were a fairly motley bunch, mostly sort of dirtied purples and bronzes. Sometimes hybridizers have to hold their noses and make a cross that doesn’t look that good to the eye, but you know has “wonderful genes”.

Spuria iris seedling by Kevin Vaughn (photo by the hybridizer)

So, I dutifully crossed the best flower from each of the two groups of ‘Banned in Boston’ X orange crosses in ’14 and ’15. Most of these seedling bloomed this spring and although I didn’t get the planned-for ‘Banned in Boston’ with orange signal, what came out was a very nice crop of brown spurias with stripes of brown on an orange background. Although most of the seedlings had striping only on the falls, a number of the seedlings also had striping on the standards as well as the falls. This pattern had occurred in some of the other colors of ‘Banned in Boston’ seedlings but it seemed especially striking on these brown over orange combinations.

To be continued on Part II...

From the Editor: This article first appeared in Spuria News, the bi-annual newsletter by the Spuria Irises Society. Reprinted by permission of the author. The Spuria Iris Society is a section of The American Iris Society, and is dedicated to expanding the public's knowledge of spuria iris. For more information about growing spuria irises and/or becoming a member of the society please visit their website.

Favorite Macro Photos of 2016, Part 2

By Mike Unser

I love photographing irises and capturing their beauty to enjoy all year long. I also love to do close up shots of them to highlight the incredible beauty of their architecture. Here is a selection of my favorites from the 2016 season. Click on the photos to see the full size version.

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'Black And Gold'

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'Oural'

'Pinata'

'Barely There'

'Goldkist'

'Little Dream'

My Favorite Bloom Photos of 2016

By Mike Unser

I had so much fun taking iris photos this year. My own beds were full of great blooms, a nearby friend's garden was having its best bloom season ever, and I got to travel to Presby Memorial Iris Garden for their peak bloom, which was a dream come true. The following are those few photos, of the hundreds upon hundreds I took this year, that I thought were particularly beautiful.

Favorite Macro Photos from 2016, Part 1

By Mike Unser

I love photographing irises and capturing their beauty to enjoy all year long. I also love to do close up shots of them to highlight the incredible beauty of their architecture. Here is a selection of my favorites from the 2016 season. Click on the photos to see the full size version.

'Anne Leslie'

'El Paso'

'Finest Hour'

'Millionaire'

'Mme. Louesse'

'Pink Plume'

'That's All Folks'

'Golden Flare

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!