Grace Sturtevant - The Grand Lady of American Iris Culture

by Jean Richter

Grace Sturtevant was a singular figure in the early history of iris in the U.S. She was a hybridizer of considerable repute, and an early adopter of scientific methods towards iris breeding. In addition, she was instrumental in the founding of the American Iris Society.

Grace Sturtevant was born in Boston in 1865, the daughter of agriculturalist Edward Lewis Sturtevant. Her mother passed away when she was 10, and it fell to her to run the family household and look after her three younger siblings. She had considerable artistic talent, and illustrated her father's records (which were later published as "Sturtevant's Edible Plants" after his death). She hybridized her first iris in 1910, and became seriously interested in iris hybridizing in 1914. She opened a small nursery, Glen Road Iris Gardens, in 1917. Glen Road Iris Gardens was active until 1932, and in that time she introduced numerous iris, mostly tall bearded iris but also intermediate, miniature dwarf, and Siberian iris.

Several of her more notable 1918 introductions include 'Mme. Cheri,' 'Sherbert', and 'Sindjkha'. The latter iris is particularly widely distributed, and can be found in numerous gardens. My housemate Gesine Lohr had the experience of rescuing some un-named iris plants from a friend's newly-purchased home - iris that later turned out to be 'Sindjkha'.

                                                           'Mme. Cheri' (Sturtevant 1918)

'Sherbert' (Sturtevant 1918)

'Sindjkha' (Sturtevant 1918)

Much of Grace Sturtevant's philosophy on hybridization can be found in the pages of her Glen Road Iris Gardens catalogs. One particularly notable quote: "The greatest pleasure in life is the recognition of the finest." She was a harsh critic of her own creations, selecting a far smaller percentage of her iris for introduction than was common at the time. Always striving to improve on her introductions, she often in later catalogs urged her customers to discard her earlier varieties as inferior to her more recent ones. 

She had a particular interest in yellow iris, and below is one of her best yellow introductions, 'Chalice' from 1924.

 Chalice (Sturtevant 1924)

She also had considerable interest in plicata iris, and here is one of her more famous plicatas, 'True Delight', also from 1924.

'True Delight' (Sturtevant 1924)

Another quote from her catalog: "Color is the first quality that attracts the attention of the gardener; it is often the last. From the very beginning color has therefore remained foremost in the selection of varieties for introduction." Below are two of her introductions exhibiting unique colors: 'Vishnu' from 1924 and 'Cameliard' from 1927.

                                                             'Vishnu' (Sturtevant 1924)

 'Cameliard' (Sturtevant 1927)

One of her later introductions, 'Pink Jadu' was a unique color in plicatas in 1932.

Pink Jadu (Sturtevant 1931)

In addition to her hybridizing activities, Grace Sturtevant was instrumental in the founding of the American Iris Society in 1920, and served in a number of leadership roles early in its existence. She also received numerous awards for her hybridizing, including the Gold Medal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1924, the AIS Gold Medal in 1935 and the Foster Memorial Plaque in 1938. Several years after selling off her iris-growing property due to ill health, Grace Sturtevant passed away in 1947.

(from the January 1948 AIS Bulletin)

British hybridizer Arthur Bliss, a close associate of Grace Sturtevant, honored her by naming one of his introductions after her in 1926.

'Grace Sturtevant' (Bliss 1926)

Reds and Yellows for the gaudy corner of the PCI garden

By Kathleen Sayce

Reds and yellows combine to make particularly richly colored flower displays. Here's a sampling of a few PCI hybrids in this group. The typical pattern is red to dark red falls and yellow to orange standards and style arms. In some hybrids, this combination shows up on all flower parts. 

PCI  'Wildest Imagining'

Start with a dark yellow to orange base color with darker veins, in PCI 'Wildest Imagining', then add more color to the petals, on the edges:

PCI 'Eye Catching'

Then darken the falls, and standards and style arms with intensely colored flowers including:

PCI 'Rancho Coralitos'

PCI 'San Justo'

Then intensify the colors:

PCI 'Wino' has particularly intense yellows

End with a hybrid that is particularly attractive, with red petals and golden veining on the falls. Not shown in this photo is the attractive velvety surface of 

'Sunburn', which makes it glow in sunlight. 

PCI 'Sunburn'

The Korean Iris by Jim Murrain

    Of course it's not the only Iris species native to the Korean peninsula but it is the only Iris named for Korea. Iris koreana is a bright little thing. If you are looking for a small Iris that is not too small, and not too large, Iris koreana is just right. The leaves are wide enough that it won't be mistaken for grass but narrow enough to be in perfect proportion to the stalk and flowers. It also remains semi-evergreen so you needn't fret about finding it come spring.

    A clean bright yellow with no brassy tones it shines in the garden. In a lightly shaded bed or maybe morning sun and afternoon shade it will reliably perform its dance. At about seven inches in flower it remains dainty but the strong color of the flowers make sure you will notice it when in bloom. In Kansas City it flowers with the MDBs, Miniature Dwarf Bearded irises.

    Iris koreana is a recent introduction to North America. Darrell Probst first collected it in 1997 on the South Korean shore of the East China Sea. It is related to the tiny Iris minutoaurea which flowers at only three inches but shares its big sisters bright color. Although equally easy to grow it is also easy to lose in the garden because it is so tiny.

    Joe Pye Weed's Garden has introduced a vigorous and free flowering form of Iris koreana named 'Firefly Shuffle'. With heavy bloom and consistent increase you will soon be able to share this "just right" iris with your friends.