Diversifying Six-falled Tall Bearded Irises

by Mel Schiller

It may come as no surprise to some people that Bailey loves to work with novelty irises. Six-falled tall bearded (TB) irises fall under this bracket. Bailey prefers to use the term six-falled instead of "flattie" because you wouldn't refer to a six-falled Japanese iris as a "flattie'" so why apply this term to bearded irises? Here are a few seedlings that have shown up in his seedling patch over the last few years. 

F58-ZZ: Painted Caravans sib X Bold Pattern

This seedling came as a surprise from this cross. Neither of the parents are six-falled. Although the flower pictured is not completely open, you can see the nice haft pattern with the lighter band on the falls. A really pleasing combination. 

H14-A: Chaos Theory X Fiasco

Bailey made this cross before but it had only yielded two seedlings. So, he decided to repeat the cross and successfully germinated over sixty seedlings. Quite a few seedlings have yet to bloom. Of those that have bloomed, every single one has been six-falled. It was well worth repeating the cross!

H14-D: Chaos Theory X Fiasco

A sibling to the one above. Of note in this cross is the stability of the flowers. Nearly all blooms open with six falls that have six beards and three style arms. This is very useful as Bailey has had no success using flowers that have more than three style arms. This is no doubt due to the pod structure being compromised when there are multiple style arms in the centre of the flower. 

H14-L:Chaos Theory X Fiasco

Again, another sibling to the two above. This cross yielded so many quality seedlings that it was hard to decide which to select. As the pool for six-falled TBs is limited, Bailey feels there is no harm in keeping as many as possible. Although most will never make it to introduction, they are good stepping stones to achieving stable and quality six-falled TBs. Just like F58-ZZ, this one exhibits a nice haft pattern with a lighter band on the falls. 

H17-AA: Untamed Glory X Full Disclosure

These next couple seedlings are from a cross that was made at Mid-America Gardens in 2018. Thomas Johnson sent the seeds to us in Australia. This very beautiful, heavily ruffled pink had its maiden bloom this spring. The heavy ruffling caused flowers to stick a bit when opening. However, Bailey is a sucker for ruffles so this seedling had to be kept.

H17-C: Untamed Glory X Full Disclosure

This was Bailey's favourite maiden bloom seedling of 2021. The pattern reminds him of a seashell. This one exhibits good growth habits with disease-resistant foliage and nicely branched stems that carry seven to nine buds. 

H18-A: Fiasco X Zip Zing Zowie sib

This cross was made to eventually get six-falled broken colours. Bailey wasn't expecting to get a six-falled iris in the first generation. Bailey may use this one to backcross to broken color or other six-falled irises he is breeding.

I43-5: Sergey X Full Disclosure

This is one of the less interesting seedlings to come from Bailey's six-falled TB hybridizing program but is still worth keeping. Nearly every seedling from this cross was a blue, six-falled TB. You wouldn't expect 'Sergey' to give such a high percentage of six-falled seedlings. However, the results Thomas Johnson has had with 'Sergey' led Bailey to believe that it would be a good iris to incorporate into his program. Although 'Sergey' seems to be a difficult parent, Bailey still tries every season to get seed from it. 

Most of the seedlings that Bailey produces will never make it to introduction, including the ones pictured here. With a lot of patience and perseverance, the underrepresented six-falled bearded irises could become just as diverse as other types. 

From Smokin Heights we send warmest wishes and Happy Holidays from Down Under!

Novelty Irises: A Lace Story

by Sylvain Ruaud

We can't say that 'Chantilly' (David Hall, 1943) is a very pretty flower. For color, its okay. A light lavender iris, with shoulders clearly marked with yellow that infuses the heart. But for the shape, it is rather mediocre, with recurved and drooping sepals (falls). In fact, what catches the eye are the edges of the floral pieces that are finely curved, like lace. Hence the name, CHANTILLY, which does not refer to cream, but to the famous activity of which the eponymous French city has long been proud. As soon as it appeared, this iris became popular thanks to this frizzled flower edge, original for it's time.

'Chantilly' photo by Mikey Lango

However, the serrated edges were not entirely new in the 1940s, because this aspect had appeared for more than ten years in the seedlings of the Sass brothers. The brothers considered it more of an anomaly. But the visitors to their nursery found it pretty; and Hans Sass eventually decided to register two curly varieties, 'Midwest Gem' in 1936, and then 'Matula' in 1935. Several iris hybridizers seized the opportunity to start development of this ornament. Especially Agnes Whiting, who used 'Matula' extensively to pass on the lace factor to her descendants. She registered several lacy varieties, such as 'Gold Lace', 'Mirabelle', 'Etude' and especially 'Pathfinder' (R. 1948). Tell Muhlestein, on the other hand, used 'Midwest Gem' instead and ended up with 'Gold Ruffles'. Dr. Phillip Loomis went another way to develop the curly edges of his flowers. He found that his pink orchid 'Morocco Rose' (1937) was able to transmit the relevant factor. 

'Pathfinder' scanned from the 1955 Schreiner's catalog 

'Morocco Rose' scanned from the 1937 Quality Gardens catalog

But was David Hall, breeder of 'Chantilly' and great hybridizer, particularly of pink iris, who reached a really and deeply serrated iris. After 'Chantilly' his efforts led to introduction of 'Limelight' (1952) then 'June Bride' (1952). However it was another variety, the medium pink 'May Hall' (1954), not frankly cut, which proved to be the best for the transmission of lace. Although we don't know why, pink irises propagate this phenomenon well. From this variety, breeders like Orville Fay and Nate Rudolph introduced characteristic lacy edges in their irises. This is the case for 'Truly Yours' (Fay, 1949), a soft yellow iris. The yellow becomes white the closer one gets to the edges, which are finely laced. Iris judges did not fail to appreciate the progress of 'Truly Yours' and awarded it the Dykes Medal in 1953. The same award honored 'Rippling Waters' (Fay, 1961) in 1966, a mauve variety with nicely chiseled edges. It has become one of the pillars of modern hybridization. Rudolph's rose-colored irises have identical features; notably, the delicate soft pinks 'Pink Ice' (1962), 'Pink Fringe' (1967), and 'Pink Sleigh' (1970).

'Pink Fringe' scanned from 1977 Schreiner's catalog

'Pink Sleigh' photo by Christine Cosi

Of course both origins, 'Chantilly' and 'May Hall', not to mention 'Morocco Rose', have been crossed, directly or via their descendants, to obtain remarkably embroidered petals. Gordon Plough used this route to introduce lacy irises into his lines. Opal Brown did the same. We owe Plough, for example, for 'Butterscotch Kiss' (Plough, 1957), not only very curly, but also marking the appearance of a new hue barium yellow, among yellow irises; 'Rainbow Gold' (Plough 1960), a golden yellow iris which we find in the pedigree of many well-known varieties like 'Bride's Halo' (H. C. Mohr, 1973), 'Milestone' (Plough 1965), 'Starring Role' (D. Palmer, 1973) and 'Trader's Gold' (Plough, 1982). Opal Brown got 'Buffy' (1969) and its offspring 'Queen Of Hearts' (1974). 'Queen Of Hearts' the latter just missed the Dykes Medal in 1981.

'Starring Role' photo by Mary Hess, Bluebird Haven Iris Garden

'Queen Of Hearts' photo by Sylvain Ruaud

Schreiners Gardens also reacted to lacy possibilities by crossing 'Midwest Gem' and 'Chantilly'. From this union were born, a few generations later, quality curly varieties like 'Lime Fizz' (Schreiner, 1969) and the famous, splendid, ultra-curly 'Grand Waltz' (Schreiner, 1970).

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'Grand Waltz' photo by Christine Cosi

Serrated edges are now very common in large irises. Common features also include widely-branched stems, soft undulations, and sepals (falls) that widen at the base. 'Grand Waltz' (Schreiner 1970) is no stranger to this expansion. Its' children and grandchildren are numerous and often reproduce the ornaments of their illustrious ancestor. One of the most cut out is—without question—the famous 'Laced Cotton' (Schreiner, 1980) which could very well have been added to the American Dykes Medals awarded to the products of the firm of Salem, Oregon. It missed the supreme distinction in 1986. Paradoxically, 'Song Of Norway' won the most votes from accredited judges. It is a stiff variety and rather stingy in curls! 'Laced Cotton', a pure white self, is entirely bordered in very fine serrations, and this character interested a great number of hybridizers. 

'Laced Cotton' photo by Christine Cosi

Schreiner's subsequent crosses not only produced 'Queen Of Angels' (1995) with its jagged edges, but also 'Carte Blanche' (1996) and 'Arctic Age' (1999). 'Mystic Lace' (Aitken, 1990) takes from 'Laced Cotton' the delicate curls of its petals, and from 'Mystique' (Ghio, 1975) its pretty indigo blue gradient. 'Pure As The' (Innerst, 1989) is also an abundantly frizzled white. 'Rhonda Fleming' (Mullin, 1993) is a superb bright mauve flower with a white center, both frizzled and wavy; 'Lady Bird Johnson' (Mahan, 1996) combines the of qualities of refined pale blue color and perfect shape with frizzling and waviness. The same goes for the lavender blue 'Fancy Stuff' (O. Brown, 2001). 

'Queen Of Angels' photo by Christine Cosi

'Mystique' photo by Mary Hess, Bluebird Haven Iris Garden

'Pure As The' photo by Klaus Burkhardt

Outside of the United States, 'Laced Cotton' has been used extensively. It is the star parent of the Slovak Ladislaw Muska who has produced many interesting embroidered cultivars such as his fetish bicolor 'Don Epifano' (R. 1989) and the aptly named lavender 'La Dentelle' (1995) which can be described as frizzy. 'Oedipussi' (1990) is the contribution of the German Harald Moos to the glory of 'Laced Cotton' and its cut petals. 'Zlatohlavek' (Seidl, 1997), is the yellow - and Czech - version of 'Laced Cotton'. Finally, let's not forget 'Cumulus' (Cayeux, 2001), a lavender neglecta, which includes in its genealogy the prestigious names of 'Laced Cotton', of course, but also those of 'Condottiere' and 'Silverado'.

'Cumulus' photo by Christine Cosi

'Laced Cotton' is, however, only one of the descendants of 'Grand Waltz' with its heavily embroidered edges. Rick Ernst's products, all cousins, are part of this large family. They include 'Different World' (1991), 'Rainbow Goddess' (1994) or 'Tracy Tyrene' (1988). Let's also mention 'Ruffles And Lace' (Hamblen, 1982), whose name says it all; 'Lilac Breeze' (Tompkins, 1987), a lovely bluish pink; and many Schreiner products, such as 'Fabulous Frills' (1976), really crepey; 'Michele Taylor' (1984), and her cousin 'Prettie Print' (1980), a pure soft mauve wonder gracefully bubbled with bright mauve lace.

'Different World' photo by Christine Cosi

'Tracy Tyrene' photo by Christine Cosi

Today, lace-edged irises are fairly common. 'Chantilly', with such a well-chosen name, has greatly inspired hybridizers from all countries. They have abundantly exploited its performances and offered to the public more and more beautiful flowers whose standards and falls are adorned with the most charming ornaments.