"Talking Irises" GARDEN MAGIC FILLS MY SOUL-The Irises of Kat Zalewska

By Susanne Holland Spicker

"WELCOME TO MY GARDEN" 

The Irises of Kat Zalewska

'HAZELBRAE' (Zalewska 2015)

If you're not familiar with award-winning iris hybridizer Katarzyna "Kat" Zalewska, it is my pleasure to introduce her to you.  When I first saw the magic of her beautiful iris garden, I wanted to share her video with our AIS blog readers. She has graciously agreed.

Kat lives in the English Midlands, in the county of Staffordshire and is proud of the fact that she is the first Polish female iris hybridizer since before the second world war. Kat says that hybridizing is her true love and passion. Her iris garden has approximately 600 varieties of tall bearded irises (TB) and more than 100 dwarf bearded (DB) varieties.

Kat Zalewska seedling 18-13-KZ-B

She says she was hooked when she received her first iris from a neighbor. It wasn't long before she "realized how many varieties there were" and her "interest in botany took hold." She says, "After my first stuttering attempt, I became completely focused on creating my own varieties." 

'PEAR IN WHISKEY' (Zalewska 2016)

Her first crossings were in 2012. However, she says that this "first attempt was not too successful," as most of her "seed pods were damaged in a thunderstorm."  It is not uncommon for her to spend months trying to come to a decision for a suitable name for her cultivars. However, being inspired by both history and her travels, "sometimes a name will spring to mind" as soon as she sees a variety bloom for the first time.

                  'WANILIOWE JEZIORO' (Zalewska 2015)

In the last two years she has registered 11 cultivars. The number of seedlings she has hybridized in the past two years, however, has been a few thousand, a number of which she is still assessing. 

Kat Zalewska seedling

Even though she has "become more interested in crossing dwarf bearded varieties as each year passes, she mainly focuses on hybridizing tall bearded irises.  

Kat Zalewska Seedling 18-13-KZ-D

As yet, Kat has not exported any cultivars beyond the European Union, and currently, there are no growers in the USA, but she would "very much like that to happen," as would I!

                     'VIOLET VENUS' (Zalewska 2015)

As a gifted photographer, Kat's irises provide her with wonderful subject material. The British weather is very temperamental, so the best time to take photos is dictated by that rather than the time of day. She has an old Lumix camera, which, as she states, "serves its purpose." She commissioned a talented young director to produce the beautiful iris garden video that begins this article.

'CRYSTAL CREEK' (Zalewska 2016)

She writes: "A number of hybridizers concentrate on specific characteristics of irises and this heavily influences the fruits of their work. I recognize that different regions have different tastes and I try and embrace this.

Kat Zalewska seedling

Someone once said, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are gardens."  I wholeheartedly agree, and as a fan of Kat's garden and her stunning iris cultivars, I am hopeful some of her beautiful flowers will make it to the United States.  In the mean time, I look forward to viewing her exceptional flowers on various Facebook groups featuring irises, or on her website: 
www.Irisland.eu where more information about her and her hybridizing program can be found.

Kat Zalewska seedling 

Thank you, Kat, for sharing your spectacular iris garden and giving us the opportunity of getting to know you better. Your passion for hybridizing has helped to make the world more beautiful.

Kat Zalewska seedling

If you have any questions or comments for Kat, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you! Leave your comments or questions here and she'll respond.  

Growing Irises from Seed

by Tom Waters

We usually propagate irises by division: digging up a large clump, breaking apart the individual rhizomes, and replanting. This method is easy, and because most irises increase rapidly, within a few years you will have plenty of them. This post is about a different way of propagating irises: planting seeds. This is a process that has some challenges, but also has some wonderful rewards. If you've never thought about growing irises from seeds, or have wondered about it but are unsure how to start, read on!

Why?

If you are hybridizing, you will necessarily be growing irises from seed. Hybridizing refers to cross-pollinating irises to produce new varieties. When you cross two different irises, the result is a pod of seeds. Each of the seedlings will grow into a new individual, not exactly like any other iris. Propagating by division only creates exact copies of the original plant, whereas progagation from seed creates only brand new plants, different from either parent. Even if you are not intending to embark on serious hybridizing program to create new varieties to sell commercially, making crosses and raising seedlings can be fun and interesting.

Woohoo! Iris seeds just arrived from Czechia

But hybridizing is not the only reason you might want to raise irises from seed. Some types of irises may just not be obtainable from commercial growers as plants, but you may be able to acquire seeds from a collector or from a seed exchange. This is especially true of iris species, the wild irises from different parts of the world. It can be very difficult to import live plants from other countries, but importing seeds is usually much easier. I've gotten seeds of iris species from collectors in the Czech Republic and from seed exchanges run by the Species Iris Group of North America (SIGNA), the British Iris Society (BIS), the Scottish Rock Garden Club (SRGC), and the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS). Although the seedlings from a given offering of species seeds will all be different, in subtle or obvious ways, they will all still be plants of that named species, unless the person providing the seed misidentified the plant, or unless it was accidentally cross-pollinated by a different species growing nearby.

Growing irises from seeds also has some other advantages: you get a wide variety of different plants, so you can choose the ones that do best in your climate or whose appearance you prefer. Growing from seed is also a way to eliminate virus infection, should that be a problem.

Finally, growing irises (or any plant) from seeds is a very satisfying experience. It connects you with the whole process of growth, from its very beginning. There's nothing quite like seeing the first bloom of a plant you've grown from seed yourself.

How?

The process of growing irises from seeds is not (usually) very difficult, but it does require patience and attention to factors that you might not have considered if your only experience of raising plants from seeds is growing vegetables or annuals. There have been many articles written on special ways to grow iris seeds; you can find a number of them on the web. In this post, I am not going to suggest one particular method as superior, but just give you an overview of the basics, so that you can get started and learn what works for you.

There are two requirements for germinating iris seeds:

1. They must experience several months of cold temperatures, followed by a warming period.

2. They must have adequate moisture.

Seeds planted into pots sunk in the ground
 (gravel on top protects from washout
and animal interferenece)

The simplest way to meet these two requirements is to plant the seeds outdoors in the autumn or early winter, and let nature take its course--assisting with supplemental water if natural precipitation is insufficient. Seeds can be planted straight in the soil, or in pots sunk into the ground or just left on a porch or in a cold frame. A planting depth of 1 cm or 1/2 inch is suitable for most seeds. Germination usually occurs around the time of iris bloom in the spring.

Some growers prefer to give the seeds their cold treatment ("stratification") indoors, by putting the seeds in baggies with slightly moist vermiculite, perlite, or other sterile medium and refrigerating them for 60 days or more. The advantage of indoor stratification is greater control over the conditions, and the possibility of getting germination a few months earlier. The disadvantage is that you need to be prepared to grow on the seedlings indoors under grow lights for some time, until they are ready to be hardened off and planted outdoors.

Newly sprouted seedlings!

I prefer the outdoor method, as it is less bother and easier to manage with large numbers of seedlings. If I had an extra refrigerator to use for seeds, I might prefer indoor germination.

Whatever method is used to germinate the seeds, they should be transplanted to a semi-permanent seedling bed outdoors when they have at least three leaves. Some may bloom a year later. The year after that, most should bloom and you can decide which ones to keep and which to discard.

The reason the period of cold temperature is needed is that irises, like many perennials from temperate climates, cannot easily survive a winter while still small seedlings. When germination occurs in the spring, rather than in the fall, the young plants have the best possible chance of survival. In contrast, most annuals are fast-growing, opportunistic plants that can grow, flower, and produce seed whenever there is a few months of warm weather.

Dormancy

Even if the requirements above are met, not all the seeds will sprout the first year. With garden variety bearded irises, the percentage will usually be more than 50%, and can approach 100%. Most of the remainder will sprout the following year. At the other extreme, aril irises may sprout a few at a time over a period of 10 years or more. Why is this? It is nature's "insurance policy" against calamities and harsh conditions of various sorts. If all seeds sprouted at the same time, a drought, flood, fire, or other disaster could destroy the whole population. By having the seeds sprout over the course of several years, it is virtually guaranteed that some will survive.

For the gardener, however, such protracted dormancy is a frustration. Few of us want to wait a decade for the seeds we plant to sprout! In irises, dormancy has at least two causes: the hardness of the seed coat, which makes it mechanically difficult for the seedling to emerge, and chemical germination inhibitors inside the seed itself. In nature, the action of water and the cycles of freezing and thawing serve to gradually weaken the seed coat and to leach away the chemical inhibitors.

Some growers have success by planting seed fresh, before it has a chance to dry out. For some types, at least, this can bypass dormancy and result in immediate germination. Of course, one then needs a way to care for the seedlings over winter.

A variety of techniques are used to overcome dormancy artificially. One can attempt to leach out the germination inhibitors by prolonged soaking or use of running water. One can overcome the hard seedcoat by abrasion or chipping (cutting away the seedcoat to expose the embryo). This "forced germination" procedure is often recommended for difficult oncocyclus seeds. The ultimate procedure is to excise the embryo under sterile conditions, and germinate it on a nutrient agar medium. This "embryo culture" can be used to germinate seeds that will not germinate any other way, but it is very demanding work and the young seedlings are very vulnerable.

Whether you choose to use any of these techniques for overcoming dormancy will depend on whether the basic method is giving adequate germination for the types of seeds you grow. I think the best advice is to try natural germination first, and then move on to progressively more invasive and difficult techniques if you need to.

The Payoff

I encourage everyone to trying growing irises from seeds at least once, whether it's making a cross or two in your own garden or ordering a packet of seeds from a seed exchange. It's an adventure, and the first bloom of an iris you've raised from seed yourself makes it all worth the wait!

Here are three seedlings from the same cross, arilbred 'Aztec Prince' (Tasco, 2009) X Iris pumila:

2016 Summer Rebloom in KY, Zone 6

by Betty Wilkerson

In my zone 6, Kentucky garden, summer rebloom is anything that blooms between the end of spring (approximately the third week in May) until the beginning of cycle rebloom in the fall (approximately September 15).  My last post discussed the late stalks, which I consider to be rebloom.  Now, on to the full summer bloom.  

The very first summer stalk I found was on 'Artistic Showoff.'  It is a sibling to 'Echo Location' and usually starts rebloom late, some six weeks after the spring bloom is over.  This year an established planting is also producing stalks later in the summer.  

'Artistic Showoff'' (Wilkerson 2013) 

After sending up a late beautiful stalk with over 11 buds, 1907-10Re has four more stalks. Unfortunately the last two, blooming in the extreme heat of July, have heat stunted stalks.  The stalks do not reach full height and the blooms are stacked on top of each other.  

1907-10Re (Wilkerson seedling) 

 'Summer Honey' has won "best specimen" in a fall show in Virginia.  The exhibitor was Mike Lockatell.  It has two stalks on one clump this summer.  One row was used and the other row is a bit under grown as the adjoining field imposed upon the plants.  It is usually well branched.  The first stalk was hit with a strong thunderstorm so the first couple of blooms were a bit mauled.  I am lining out the rest in hopes of more stalks next summer.  

'Summer Honey' (Wilkerson 2013)

'Over and Over' is really dependable in my garden when it comes to rebloom.  It's been in three different beds over the course of nine years and has rebloomed in all three locations. It has very clear and clean white standards and falls with a trace of blue/lavender along the edges.  Currently, a new clump transplanted in the fall of 2015 has two blooming stalks.  In the fall it is a very good foil for my own 'Star Gate', so I try to keep them planted together.  

  

  

'Over and Over' (Innerst 2003)

There was another stalk on 2611-04Re.  This is a total of eight stalks in approximately ten months, two stalks in the fall of 2015, four in the spring of 2016, one late stalk right after spring bloom ended and another in the early summer.  Another sibling, 2611-06, is showing color and should be open in a couple of days.  It appears to be much like 04Re.  

2611-04Re (Wilkerson seedling)

We've had a hot summer, but it's also been wet.  There have been about three weeks in which the night time temperatures have not been below 70 degrees.  This may have an effect on the fall rebloom.  If night temperatures are as important as we've come to believe, there may only be late fall rebloom, which can be frozen back unless the freezing temperatures hold off.  

My primary goal is to have rebloom before the late fall hard freeze.  Although I'm not really crazy about having blooms open in extremely hot weather, I can see cutting some stalks to bloom indoors.

Inside or outside, I've found my garden to be a wonderful place this year. Hope you have all enjoyed your gardens, too! 

Reblooming Cross: 2611: Zone 6: Southcentral KY

by Betty Wilkerson

A few years back, my breeding program switched from rebloomers in general to trying to produce summer rebloomers.  I'd gone to bed one night and sat straight up in the bed, thinking about irises that would bloom during the summer.  I jumped out of bed and started the research, worked for a couple of hours before I got tired enough to go back to sleep.

I guess I should emphasize the word "trying."  This change in goals really slowed things down.  One of my planned crosses, in 2011, was to use 2130-01Re, a summer rebloomer, as a pod parent with another summer rebloomer, 'Over and Over'.  That cross was made but has not provided any rebloomers, yet.

2130-01Re  (Wilkerson seedling) ('Again & Again' X 'Echo Location')

2025-02Re (Wilkerson seedling) is a lovely white from 'Total Recall' X 1625-01Re ('Star Gate' x ('Violet Returns' x 'Breakers')

Since I had another stalk with blooms, I crossed it by 2025-02Re. 2025-01re, a sibling to 2025-02Re, is a summer bloomer, but, as is often the case, it wasn't blooming when I needed it.  Several of the 2011 seedlings bloomed in the spring of 2015.  All were a reddish purple, similar to the darker area in the falls of 2130-01Re, not really attractive. Only two seedlings looked different and one of those two rebloomed. 

This reblooming seedling, below, is 2611-01Re. It has perfect show bench branching, something I've been working toward for thirty years, and good form! Once branching is lost, it is hard to regain. Theoretically, most of the things I cross to this should have a very good chance of producing good branching.  In theory, many of these should rebloom.  So far, I've only seen the one.

2611-01Re (Wilkerson seedling)

2611-01Re top view (Wilkerson seedling)

My goal is to have a line of irises that start their rebloom a bit earlier. This seedling does not open until mid September. Although I'll take whatever I can get, I don't expect to see this one bloom on September 1.  It does look like we either have fall rebloomers or summer rebloomers.  Only a handful will bloom from spring through fall.

Hey, Listen Up: Advice to Young Siberian Irises

By Bob Hollingworth

If only irises had ears, what could we achieve? At last it’s May here in Michigan, the heavy winter snows have finally melted, the daffodils are in full array, and the Siberian irises are awake again and throwing up shoots that are now several inches tall. The long heavy snow cover this winter was a wonderful mulch and they have come through in excellent shape with no obvious losses – perhaps the only positive from this winter, which our meteorological expert at the university described as “a once in a lifetime event and you can bet on it.” He’d better be right. Even now it’s hard to believe that only two months ago the seedling rows in the photo taken last week were under 12-18 inches of snow that had been there since late November.

Siberian seedlings, late April 2014

So as the annual cycle turns, it’s time to start thinking of what we shall see in another few weeks as bloom is at its peak. And particularly, from a hybridizer’s viewpoint, how will some of the recent seedlings that seemed notable last year perform this year? Will that rather puny but lovely seedling take off and grow now? Will the one with only three buds throw a few branches as it grows up? Is that exciting photo from last year for real, or did a bit too much Photoshop give it artificial glamour? Experience indicates with certainty that not all these wishes will come true, but one success can make up for several disappointments  Getting all the good qualities together in one plant just ain’t easy.

So let’s walk down the newer seedling rows, make some mental wishes, and talk to the plants about what they need to do to succeed in life. Here we have a tetraploid seedling (11R9B3) that combines the red and yellow shades nicely. The flower looks fine, and the plant is robust, but last year, like so many tetraploid seedlings, it bloomed a bit low in the foliage – will it rise up this year?

11R9B3

Growing next door is a promising yellow tet seedling (11R1B12), of which there are no large number around. This has the same problem – massive growth but needing  just another two inches of stem to be perfect. Just grow up a bit will you guys? You can do it with some positive thinking.

11R1B12

Seedling 11Q3B1 was a complete and pleasant surprise among the new tets, since it bloomed a good foot higher than its siblings, ending the season with stalks 45” tall, but the flowers, although pleasing, are really not all that original. What I really wanted to see was the plicata-like pattern on a yellow ground. And here it is, on a sister seedling, 11Q3A7, but that one bloomed much lower. So will this seedling in its second year elevate its performance to match its sib? Just look over at your sister there – if she can do it, so can you. Surely you aren’t going to let her beat you. Go for it.

11Q3A7

11Q3B1

And a little further along here’s a plant (11Q7B5) that was treated with the chemical colchicine, which changes the genetics and induces tetraploid flowers. It seemed that a corner of the plant might be tetraploid and the flowers looked pleasingly different from the general run, but they gave no seeds in crosses with established tetraploids. Just a matter for patience, optimism, and effort again this year. It didn’t work out last year, but I you I know tried, and that’s what counts. This time you’ll make it for sure...

11Q7B5

Continuing with red and yellow mixtures, several diploid seedlings bloomed for the first time last year with interesting colors (12Q3B3, 12S3B2, 13P4B6). Of course, they will need to grow and flower well, but that’s another hurdle to be cleared.

12Q3B3

12S3B2

13P4B6

Ten years ago these would have been to die for, but in that time we have seen lots of such combinations introduced, primarily by Marty Schafer and Jan Sacks, so to be taken seriously, these must have something different that makes them not just “me too.” We shall see. Dare to be different, but keep in mind that three falls is quite enough; four is just a bit too different. And all of you, if you’re going to fade after the first day, try to do it slowly and gracefully. Then we get to 12S8B4. Not much to say here except that's exactly what I had hoped for, just keep it going. Great deep color contrast, nice bud count. A petite plant, but no matter, there’s room for those in the garden too. Wow, you’re looking great, but that foliage might be a tad untidy, could you straighten it up just a bit?

12S8B4

An area that continues to fascinate me for whatever reason is the multipetal Siberians. They present a special challenge in that each flower can have a different combination of flower parts and some look much tidier than others.

12S2B21

Seedling 12S2B21 was one of several in a cross I made for smaller multipetal flowers that on first bloom last year seemed to have come out very well, and, for once, most of the flowers were similar and quite tidy with just one layer of falls under a central bouquet of multiple standards and florets. Fingers crossed that it does as well again this year – and puts on a bit more growth. Perhaps you’d like a little extra fertilizer?  

11M7B5

Another goal is either a yellow amoena or pure yellow multipetal. It seems that seedling 11M7B5 is taking us well along to this objective. Just stay tidy and grow up a bit, and one day you could be queen of the show.

So we shall find out in just a little while which, if any, of these seedlings has paid attention to my advice and encouragement (threatening plants does no good I find and makes for a bad atmosphere in the garden). Discovering which have responded is what make anticipation so delicious. Although I might not let on to the plants, there is a price for not paying attention: and that’s a one way trip to the compost pile where heedless irises go. Their better behaved companions move on into the next stages that can end in getting their own name, an introduction to the wider world, and a shot at fame.

Planning and Luck In The Iris Garden

By Griff Crump

Not all good results come from planning.  Sometimes, they are just gifts.  But in either case, we should be grateful.

Looking around among my seedlings, I find instances of both, sometimes in combination.

When I first saw 'Lumalite' (J. T. Aitken, R. 1995) at an iris show, I was so taken by its glowing appearance that, with the exhibitor's permission, I took it outside into the daylight to see if the effect lasted.

'Lumalite'

I acquired it as soon as I could, and crossed it with, among others, 'What, Again?'. 

'What, Again?'

I confess that I had no plan at this point --  just curiosity to see what the glowing effect of one combined with the curious color composition of the other would produce.  What I got was a gift: 'Elfin Sentinel'.

'Elfin Sentinel'

I was delighted with the flower and registered it, but it had a shortcoming (literally) that caused me not to introduce it:  The bloom barely topped its foliage.  Looking at its brilliant colors and clear patterning, however, I wondered what a back-cross to its parent 'Lumalite' would bring.  For one thing, I wondered if the slight blotchiness of 'Lumalite''s falls could be erased.   And it worked!  The new seedling retained 'Lumalite''s glowing heart, cleaned up the falls almost entirely, and added ruffles.  I introduced it as 'Bright Sprite'.

'Bright Sprite'

'Tis said that ignorance is bliss.  I can attest to that.  At a meeting of one of our iris societies several years ago, two good long-time hybridizers of my acquaintance were discussing the rebloomer 'Best Bet' (Schreiner's 1988) and the difficulty of keeping it alive (at least, in our area).  Both agreed that they would never use it in hybridizing, because of that fault.  I said nothing, since I already had a cross from 'Best Bet' that hadn't yet bloomed.  When it did bloom, it was a perky, hardy little border bearded amoena that, because of its colors and its parent's unhappy reputation, I registered as 'Against the Tide'.

 'Against the Tide'

Because of 'Against the Tide''s hardiness, I never feared to use 'Best Bet' in my breeding, and it is in the background of a number of my introductions, including  'Deep Purple Dream', the rebloomer 'Haunting', Ranks of Blue', 'Royal Pageantry' and a very prolific 2013 offering, 'Night Bird':

'Deep Purple Dream'

'Haunting'

'Ranks of Blue'

'Royal Pageantry'

'Night Bird'

And if one looks in the Iris Register at the 64 other entries involving 'Best Bet', it's obvious that many other hybridizers, as well, were either unaware of or undaunted by 'Best Bet''s bad press.
 

Another example of when the planning worked was the crossing of Barry Blyth's 'Knighted' (1987/88) with seedling 962N: (952Y3: (Champagne Elegance x 93L1: (Wabash x yellow Wabash sdlg.)) x Best Bet).

'Knighted'

Sdlg 962N

With strong amoena heritage on both sides of this cross, I looked for an amoena outcome, and wasn't disappointed.  Besides 'Royal Pageantry', which we have seen above, a near twin, Seedling 02S2, was produced.  I hesitated to introduce two such similar flowers, but have reconsidered, since garden visitors want it.  So, I plan to introduce it shortly.  Two photos of 02S2 follow:

Sdlg 02S2

Of course, a plan doesn't always work.  I had great hopes for the cross of 'Aura Light' (Blyth, R. 1993) by 'Romantic Evening' (Ghio, R. 1994).  The broad, flared, well-ruffled falls of both, with their heavy substance and bold colors, and the heritages suggesting the possibility of an amoena . . .

'Aura Light'

'Romantic Evening'

. . . and yes!  The cross produced amoenas 01S2 and 01S3, so alike that I can only tell them apart by keeping their plantings well separated, with rich, overlapping broad mahogany red falls  ---

Sdlg 01S2

Sdlg 01S3

--- BUT . . . 'Aura Light', for all its spectacular bloom beauty, is just a tad short in stature, and it passed it on to its kids, so that, in my estimation, these two seedlings don't have quite the proportion of height to bloom size that they should have for introduction.  But, with planning and and a bit more luck, do I hope that they'll still figure in something beautiful?  You betcha!