A Trip Down Memory Lane - Part Two

 By Maggie Asplet

Gosh, it seems like only yesterday and I was writing part one.  So, on with the rambles from an old lady.

Part one had us visiting other places and not just spending all our time at Mid-America Iris Gardens.  Mind you, we didn't mind not leaving, but just so many irises to see and you can never look at them too many times.

A beautiful sunset from the paddock down the road from where Thomas & Kirk live.

(Paddock is Kiwi speak for field.)

The learning experiences, the sharing of knowledge, or perhaps I should say listening to the experts knowledge, is just so invaluable, and just shows you how "so little I know".

Something that some might thing rather trivial can be of great value to another person.  Photos do make explaining yourself to someone else so much easier.  During my last trip I took particular notice of the watering system Thomas used and what connections etc.

Watering system at Mid America

My watering system.  The fitting are much the same and I must say having the picture from my trip sure made it easier when trying to explain what I wanted.

For me, the very best part is learning from others.  Others that were always so willing to share their knowledge and experiences.  

First, I will look at the work of Lynda Miller and her work with MTB's.  They are stunning, just such a delicate bearded iris on such elegant stems.  I think it is fair to say that these are perhaps my favourite of the bearded irises.

Lynda discussing irises with Bailey (from Smokin Heights, Australia)

Here we have 3 of Lynda's seedlings

One of Lynda's registered MTB's.

A sight to behold, watching Keith Keppel evaluate his irises, then discussing with him why he makes the choices he does.  So very talented when it comes to hybridising.  Those years of experience tells him just what the outcome "may be" like, whereas I am still in the category of not knowing at all.

His iris patch, although it decreases in size each time I visit is just amazing.  If it were me having to make a choice of which seedling to keep, I think they would all be staying.

Photo on the left is Keith evaluating his seedlings

One the right you have Wendy (NZ) and Melissa (Australia) taking photos in Keith seedling patch.

I feel that to stop speaking about these different people is like not acknowledging them at all and there are still more that have had an impact on my irises and what I am trying to achieve.  I feel like there is a part 3 coming, as I would also like to just talk a little about attending the Regional meetings.

Each trip that I make, I always try and attend the Regional meeting in Oregon as there are many people there that I met in my first ever trip in 2015 when 23 New Zealanders went to Convention.  So many great friends were made.

From these friendships and from one person introducing another, we had the privilege of Patrick and Margaret Spence coming to our convention (Gisborne, New Zealand) in 2018.  Such a great time and then great to catch up with them again in the States.

While Margaret was here, she liked a top I had and wanted to know where I got it.  To cut the long story short, she now has a top the same as mine.  I had packed mine, never told Margaret - Guess what happened at the Regional Meeting.

I'm the one wearing glasses, oh we both are.  I'm the one with the cell phone in my hand.

This now leads me into the attending Regional Meetings and as this will be expanded quite a bit, I think this will be a good place to end.

SO, Part 3 it will be, covering some of the other amazing people and the Regional Meeting.

It is my great hope that 2022 will see the return of us from down under.

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.

Winter Watch for Irises

 By Hooker Nichols

The Winter Watch season is about to begin for us particularly in the Southern states. You might ask yourselves what is he talking about? Many times people in our areas tend to continue replanting irises until near time for the first frosts.

Image by Jeanette Graham

Here in northern and eastern Texas we have an average first frost or freeze date of November 22. They usually even bloom the following spring. Keep a constant watch for any late plants heaving out of the ground due to constant freezing and thawing of the soil. If this happens, just gently step on the rhizomes and push them back into the ground.

Now is the time to plant your iris seeds. This will ensure that the young plants will not germinate prematurely and be killed by the freezing temperatures. Be sure to keep your seedbeds slightly moist through the winter.

For you who are hybridizers, this is the time we plan our future spring crosses. Be sure to use only irises which have the best growth and blooming characteristics in future endeavors. You should pay closest attention to bud count and branching.

Reblooming characteristics may be incorporated too. For those of you who are exhibition fans, remember that a Best of Show specimen begins the moment you plant that iris in your garden the previous year. Winter garden care is the key to wonderful spring bloom. Wishing all a safe holiday season and a better outlook for Spring 2021.

Smokin Heights Hot Sellers so far for Season 20/21

 By Mel Schiller

Wow what a year so far and it isn't over yet! 

In my lifetime I think this year would have to be the windiest by far and as a tall bearded iris grower it spells disaster, especially living on a hilltop. Oh the challenges....I must say, as I type this blog, that we had a forecast of 8mm of rain yesterday and overnight we received much more....27mm.....the weather patterns are all over the place.

Anyway as we are in full swing with our iris season, time spent hybridizing has been down as it has been too wet--I never thought I would say that! Surprisingly the iris are coping well with the extra heavenly water we are receiving. The bloom stems are above and beyond normal this year. We are noticing also that the registered varieties are blooming not according to their registrations. Things that bloom early are blooming mid to late. Late bloomers are blooming mid season; all of this has never happened, until this year!

As the orders are coming in, we are noticing a pattern among purchases. Arils are among the top selling varieties this year and, of course, the broken coloured varieties too. 

As it stands here are our top 10 bearded iris for this season.

10. 'Diamonds and Rubies' (Blyth 14) TB What a statement this iris creates!

9. 'Eyes On You' (Black 12) OGB (1/2 Bred) An easing growing Aril variety.

8. 'Spiced Tiger' (Kasperek 96) TB A glowing broken coloured iris. We love it!

7. 'Line Drive' (M Sutton 07) IB A fabulous lined Intermediate iris: it is so pleasing to the eye!

6. 'Rim Of Fire' (Sutton 11) TB An extremely popular iris with that fiery red band on the falls.

5. 'Wicked Good' (Black 12) TB A beautiful blue and black bi-colour iris. 

4. 'Lancer' (Shockey 95) OGB A nice contrast in colour. 

3. 'Nigerian Raspberry' (Kasperek 95) TB Oh so pretty!

2. 'Serengeti Spaghetti' (Kasperek 99) TB An easy growing variety. 

1. 'Sand Dancer '(Tasco 10) OGB A favourite of ours and it is oh so different.

It is great to see so many people enjoying their gardens and wanting to make an impact with the bearded iris being a highlight to there garden. We personally love to plant iris with roses, lavender, alstroemeria, snap dragons, and aquilegias.

We are mid season at the moment and have met so many new people to iris. We hope you all continue with your love of gardening and creating a pleasant space for wind down time from this ever hectic, anxious world we now live in. Until next time....Happy Gardening 💜

On the Road Again: Mt. Pleasant Iris Farm

By Bryce Williamson 

Taking my leave of Aitken’s Salmon Creek, I decided to head back to Highway 14 and up the Columbia River gorge to my next and final stop of the 2019 iris trek to Oregon and Washington. While looking for a good lunch spot, I drove into several of the little towns around the Columbia, found them charming, quaint, and full of interesting small shops, promising to myself that on a less pressured trip I would take time to explore. In one of those little towns, I found busy, ethnic eatery. Looking back, I cannot help but wonder if they will still be in business if and when this horrible Corona 19 pandemic ends?

After getting back on the road, I knew that when Highway 14 narrows from four lanes to two that I was getting close to Mt. Pleasant Iris Farm. Cutting to the left across the highway into the driveway, I waved to Dale, busy mowing grass, I parked as I always do, by the barn, and I first stopped to admire the changes to the nearby pond, and then went down to the garden.

The 2018 trip was highlighted by two things. I enjoyed the large clump of my ‘Jesse’s Song’ integrated into a border. I had saved the image for later use in The American Iris Society’s photo contest, but it did not place.

The second, and more exciting part of the 2019 trip was to see the new iris species ‘Azure Blue’.

Chad, in a recent exchange of emails, reports 'Azure Blue' is alive and that he was able to get seed from it this year, seed that is now planted. I don’t know where Chad Harris gets all his energy to maintain such a large garden, but it is always a treat to visit. One of these days, I will even get to the garden for Japanese iris bloom.

Because the garden is further north and located in an unusual climate pocket along the river, the tall bearded irises tend to bloom later in this garden.

'Belle Fille' 

'Blinded by the Light'

Siberian 'Pretty Polly'

Siberian 'Ships Are Sailing'

'Bingo Marker' MTB

Siberian 'Concord Crush'

'Wishes Granted'

After viewing irises, Chad, Dale, and I sat on the patio and had time for pleasant exchange of ideas and information. Dale is a county official and his insight into dynamics of the area was interesting.

As we were talking, I mentioned that since I had never driven all the way up to Bonneville Dam and that was on the agenda since I was staying at the Best Western Columbia River Inn. That in turn lead to their recommendation that I go back to the Washington side of the river to the town of Stevenson for dinner at a Mexican cantina, El Rio. To get back and forth between Washington and Oregon, it is necessary to cross the Bridge of the Gods.

Bridge of the Gods

But their strongest recommendation was that the next morning I should drive back to Portland Airport on the Oregon side of the gorge on Columbia River Highway Scenic Highway and stop and see the various waterfalls. I took their recommendations to heart and the following images are from that morning’s drive.

Vista House on the scenic highway

Little did I know when I flew home making plans for another trip in 2020, a trip that was not going to happen in these troubled times. I am cautiously hopeful that I will be able to visit next year.

 

 

 

Classroom Iris Program: Virtual Iris Show

Something different this Monday and for the first time, we have a post with an imbedded video. Enjoy.

This Virtual Iris Show was put together by Churchill School of St. Louis County, MO.  The School has a Classroom Iris Program (CIP) sponsored by the Kirkwood Iris Society of Kirkwood, MO.  Credit goes to Jean Morris, Region 18 Youth Director, Janet Kieffer, Teacher/Tutor, Mary Brotherton, and Ellen Knubley of Churchill.

On the Road Again: Aitken’s Salmon Creek

By Bryce Williamson

At this time of year, I should have just returned from my annual Oregon/Washington trip to the iris gardens, but this year, sadly, is not normal. I am writing, instead, about my trips in 2018 and 2019 and the focus is Aitken’s Salmon Creek.

M. Smith 14-16E

Terry Aitkens showing me some of Siberian seedlings from a different bloodline.

A lilac that was almost a small tree.

Ah, if they would only grow in California...

In 2018 I was scheduled to meet my sister, her oldest daughter and family for dinner, so I went to Aitken’s last, but in 2019 I went there first since I thought I had shorted the garden the previous year. I always enjoy this garden not only for the irises—and a wide range of irises are gown there—but also for all the other flowering plant materials including Terry’s orchids.

Many of us wonder about the next generation of American hybridizers, so I was delighted to learn that Markie Smith’s grandson is now hybridizing and introducing irises.

Here are some irises and some other plants from the last two year’s visits.

Aitken 14-T-ZZA

'Black Cherry Blast'

'Cabbage Patch'

'Catching Fire'

'Soul Mate'

'Sunny Morning'

'Unconditional Love'

'Visigoth'

Some Siberians were looking good too:

'Judy, Judy, Judy'

'Lemon Blush'

'Simon Says'