Rebloom With the Dwarf Irises

by Ginny Spoon

One night, I had a dream that our entire front yard was in bloom with dwarf irises. Not only were they a carpet of color, but they were blooming in the autumn. It doesn't have to be a dream though, there are many miniature dwarf (to 8") and standard dwarf (8-14") irises that will rebloom  in our cold climate zones. Our garden is located in zone 6b, and many dwarf irises have been reported to rebloom as far north as Canada.

         'Blue Hues'  (standard dwarf bearded) -- photo by Ginny Spoon

Our 'Blue Hues' is a prolific rebloomer for us and even when the temperatures go below freezing it will keep blooming sometime into late December.

'Blue Hues' after a cold snap in mid November--photo by Ginny Spoon

       'Rosalie Loving' in early December -- photo by Ginny Spoon

The dwarfs don't wait until it snows or freezes, they start their rebloom earlier in the fall since their spring bloom is earlier than the tall beardeds. They continue to rebloom until the freezing temperatures last longer than a week. Then they take a winter nap until they awaken in the spring.

'Forever Blue' is another dwarf that reblooms well into the cold season and has been reported to have multiple rebloom in some areas. Chuck Chapman is the hybridizer of this lovely iris and he lives and hybridizes irises in Canada.

                                              'Forever Blue' -- Photo from Iris Wiki

Working with the blues and teasing out some turquoise, we got this pretty dwarf rebloomer, 'Teagan'.

  'Teagan'  -- photo by Ginny Spoon

'Carmel Celeste' is one of my favorite yellow dwarf rebloomers.  It was hybridized by Rick Tasco, who hybridizes in California. 'Ray Jones' by Don Spoon is another bright yellow rebloomer that sometimes puts up multiple stalks on the same rhizome and is a prolific bloomer.

       'Carmel Celeste' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

'Ray Jones' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

There are many colors available in the reblooming dwarf irises. Here is one that is green, a newer introduction by Don Spoon, 'Lime Pie' (2017).

'Lime Pie' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

The miniature dwarfs also love to rebloom in cold climates. 'Sapphire Jubilee' (Ginny Spoon), 'Ditto' (Hager), 'Storm Compass'  (Chancellor/Rust) and 'Trimmed Velvet' (Don Spoon) are just a few that we grow.

 MDB 'Sapphire Jubilee' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

          

 MDB 'Trimmed Velvet' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

   

  MDB "Storm Compass'-- photo by Ginny Spoon

For more information on reblooming irises go to the American Iris Society website: www.irises.org and go to link for the reblooming iris society. They also have a checklist that lists the irises that rebloom and the zones reported for rebloom.

More Reblooming Irises From Eastern Hybridizers

By Ginny Spoon

Many of us would love to have a fall bloom of irises like the one in the spring; however, I find it a bit more relaxing to see them in the autumn. In spring we seem to be always in a hurry, getting the beds weeded, seeing visitors, going to a meeting or just having garden flower overload. Below is photo of our garden in the spring. The beds in the foreground are the reblooming beds and in the fall there are many of them in bloom.

Don Spoon and Perry Dyer at Winterberry Gardens in May--photo by Ginny Spoon

In my last blog I mentioned hybridizers in the east who have introduced varieties that rebloom well in cold climates. Sterling Innerst, a Region 3 hybridizer who has passed away now, but left us with some beautiful cold climate reblooming irises, is one many of us remember fondly. Some of my favorite Innerst rebloomers include 'Again and Again', 'Lunar Whitewash', 'Twice Delightful', 'Over and Over' and 'Colorwatch'. 

   'Again and Again'--photo by Ginny Spoon 

   'Over and Over'--photo by Ginny Spoon

Another eastern hybridizer from Region 3, Joan Roberts, who has her garden in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, has also introduced some beautiful reblooming irises. We grow many of hers, including 'Nine Eleven Remembered', 'Amazing With Grace', and 'I Repeat'. 

'Nine Eleven Remembered'--photo by Ginny Spoon

'Amazing With Grace'--photo by Ginny Spoon

One of our own Region 4 hybridizers, J. Griffin Crump, who has his garden in Alexandria, Virginia, has introduced some reliable and lovely cold climate reblooming irises. We grow many of his including "Stealth Fighter', 'Haunting', and 'Autumn Nectar'.

 'Stealth Fighter'--photo by Ginny Spoon

'Autumn Nectar'--photo by Ginny Spoon

'Haunting'--photo by Ginny Spoon

Our Region 4 most remembered and beloved hybridizer and champion for rebloom, Lloyd Zurbrigg, who is now hybridizing with the angels, has perhaps introduced the most cold climate rebloomers. His last introduction, 'Gate of Heaven' is my favorite. 'Immortality', 'Harvest of Memories', and standard dwarf 'Baby Blessed' are probably his most well known.

'Gate of Heaven'--photo by Ginny Spoon

'Immortality'--photo by Ginny Spoon

We are thankful to another of our Region 4 hybridizers, Mike Lockatell of Central Virginia, who saved many of Zurbrigg's seedlings. Mike has introduced some amazing rebloomers of his own. 'Metro Blue and 'Double Dare' are two that we grow.

'Metro Blue' (Gate of Heaven X Daughter of Stars) photo Wiki

Our Future Iris Hybridizers

by Ginny Spoon

Who will carry our iris hybridizing program into the future? One way we can insure new varieties of irises in the years ahead is to nurture our young members of the American Iris Society and teach them how to hybridize.  As a retired professor, Don still enjoys teaching, and he finds time to teach anyone who wants to learn to hybridize an iris along with a genetics lesson as well.

Don Spoon (left) teaching Ray Jones to hybridize in May of 2007.  Photo by - Ginny Spoon

'Kaw' (Ray Jones 2014) Photo by - Ginny Spoon

As you can see, that lesson was well taken. Teaching them to make careful records of their crosses, how to mark the cross and how and when to plant the seeds is also important.

From the left: Don Spoon, Ramon Jones and Mac Shawe. Photo by - Ginny Spoon

Ray and Mac may not be our youngest members, but they inspire others with their enthusiasm to learn.

Kristen Lang with her mother. Photo by - Ginny Spoon

Kristen Laing, who is now 19 years old, became our youngest garden judge in Region 4 at age 12. She also does some hybridizing. 

 Colin Campbell first learning to hybridize in 2012. Photo by - Ginny Spoon

Colin became and AIS judge at age 15 and he has been teaching other youth members how to hybridize. He has also registered and introduced his first irises at age 19. Anyone who has met Colin knows how enthusiastic he is about irises. 

Colin's first introduction, 'My Missus Carter' 2018. Photo by - Colin Campbell

No, the fairies don't make crosses, but sometimes an insect can pollinate it. These young people inspire us.  Photo of Winterberry Gardens with our local dance troupe. Photo by - Ginny Spoon

Ross Eagles (left) and Don Spoon enjoying the irises in the rain. Photo - by Ginny Spoon 

Ross Eagles came with his family to visit us one day and caught the iris virus. Don taught him a few things about hybridizing and now Ross has his first seedlings. One of them garnered an EC and Best Seedling at the spring show in Fredericksburg, VA.

Here is the iris that was Ross' Best seedling and EC winner. Photo - by Ross Eagles

Our youth members at work. Photo by - Ginny Spoon

No matter what your skill, be sure to teach our young people what you know. They can't learn everything on the internet and our world will be all the poorer without the skills being passed along.

Reblooming Irises: An Autumn Feast

By Virginia Spoon

Our garden in northern Virginia, zone 6, at an elevation of 1100 feet with alkaline soil, is almost a perfect location to grow bearded irises. In the autumn the colors of the reblooming irises blend with the leaves of the mountain maples, the black gums, persimmons and dogwoods.

Mountain Maples in the fall in our backyard.  Image by--Ginny Spoon

Reblooming SDBs, 'Eric Simpson' with 'Ray Jones' in background.  Image by --Ginny Spoon

As I am writing this article in mid October, the rebloomers are putting on quite a show along with the changing leaves. Our weeping cherry tree is changing color and the winterberries are starting to lose their leaves while our resident Mockingbird is tirelessly guarding his hoard.

The weeping cherry tree and winterberries at Winterberry Gardens. Image by --Ginny Spoon

Each day brings a new surprise while stalks appear as if by magic. I thought 'Lord of Rings' matched the changing leaves of the cherry tree so well. 

'Lord of Rings' (George Sutton 2003) reblooming in October at Winterberry--Image by-Ginny Spoon

It is so peaceful to wander around the garden and enjoy the sounds and colors  and even the smells of autumn. Our Katsura tree now smells like burnt brown sugar and somewhere nearby, someone is burning leaves. A customer called a few days ago and asked about fragrant irises that matched their color. I remembered a few, but I had some rebloomers open and I checked the fragrance of 'Persimmon Pie' and remembered why we named it that. Also, 'Mango Parfait' was reblooming and it smelled like a fresh mango.

'Mango Parfait' (Don Spoon) reblooming in October at Winterberry. Image by--Ginny Spoon

What would a fall garden be without the chrysanthemums? There are perennial mums that come  back every year and their colors blend in well with the rebloomers. Ours grow beside our entrance and I must remember to plant some among the irises next spring.

Perennial mums at Winterberry. Image by-Ginny Spoon

Rebloomer, 'Doubleday'(George Sutton 2001) Image by--Ginny Spoon

  Winterberry Gardens, our woods in autumn --image by Ginny Spoon

Enjoy the crisp fall weather and all of the sights, sounds and smells because ... Winter is coming.

Our resident Mockingbird guarding the winterberries in winter. Image--Ginny Spoon

                               

Developing More Color Patterns Into Rebloomers

by Ginny Spoon

'Little John' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

One of the goals of an iris hybridizer is developing new hybrids with richer colors and new color patterns. When we crossed 'Damsel' with 'Queen Dorothy' one of the results was our 'Little John'. It was a cross of a non reblooming iris with one that was a reliable rebloomer  (Queen Dorothy) in our colder zone 6. 'Damsel' is a lavender pink with a tangerine beard and has not been reported to rebloom in any zone, so that is what we call a rebloom carrier. You can see by the photo that is where 'Little John' gets its lovely color combination.  'Queen Dorothy' is a plicata and have gotten  plicatas and variegated flowers out of crosses with 'Little John'.

'Liquid Amber' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

Taking our 'Little John' and crossing it with another warm climate rebloomer, 'Lady Juliet' (zone 7), we got our reliable zone 6 rebloomer 'Liquid Amber'.  Don has long admired the West Coast hybridizer, the late  Monty Byers, who used cold climate rebloomers for crosses with the warmer zone rebloomers to develop better form and color patterns. Raymond Smith from the Midwest and Lloyd Zurbrigg from Canada and then the east coast also used this method to produce more modern cold climate rebloomers.

'Daughter of Stars' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

Our Wister Medal 'Daughter of Stars' is a good example of a cross with a cold climate rebloomer ('Clarence') by a carrier ('Mind Reader') producing not only a zone 6 rebloomer but a lovely luminata pattern as well. The lovely pink 'Vanity' by Ben Hager is another carrier that has been reported to rebloom in the warmer zones is in the parentage of many cold climate rebloomers. 'Starring' a beautiful non rebloomer by 'Daughter of Stars' produced a lovely cold climate rebloomer, 'Starring Encore'.

'Starring Encore' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

Immortality' --  photo by Ginny Spoon

Taking Midsummer's Eve X Fancy Woman (another carrier) we got BB 'Twiggy' a much better formed pink.  Both 'Twiggy' and our 'Love Goes On', both prolific rebloomers here, have produced early rebloomers with more saturated colors and more modern form. 'Love Returns' (Twiggy X Love Goes On ) is a good example. 'Midsummer's Eve' has 'Immortality' in its parentage.

 'Vanity' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

Don tried over 25 crosses of pinks with the cold climate rebloomer 'Immortality' before he finally got our BB RE 'Midsummer's Eve' While not the best form, 'Midsummer's Eve' has been the parent of many reliable and beautiful cold climate rebloomers.

 'Twiggy' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

'Love Returns' -- photo by Ginny Spoon

I have to relate a story about when 'Little John' was just a seedling. When Don was first hybridizing, and before we were married, he planted his seedlings surrounding his office of the Georgetown Observatory on the campus at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. where he taught Biology and Ecology. He also planted his excess seedlings in the Historic Colonial Farm in Accokeek, MD just across the river from Mt. Vernon. 

When the seedlings were blooming we would go and evaluate those we thought worthy of introduction. When I first saw 'Little John' it was love at first sight. We didn't have any tools with us and I wanted to take a piece home with me, but the ground was so dry that it was as hard as concrete. I would not be deterred so I took a rock and chipped out a few rhizomes and planted them in our garden in Cross Junction, Virginia. The next spring, we had a show stalk with 9 buds and perfect branching. Don said, "Get the shovel, we are going to get the rest!"

   

            Future introduction, reblooms in zone 6 -- photo by Ginny Spoon

This is a cross of a reblooming seedling from Daughter of Stars X Autumn Explosion. So, from a cross of a non rebloomer back in the parentage that produced a strong cold climate rebloomer, then crossed on another cold climate rebloomer, we have quit a lovely pattern and color combination on a reblooming iris.