Editor’s Note: In recent blogs, Bryce Williamson wrote how the first good pink plicata, April Melody (Iris Stories: April Melody and Iris Stories: April Melody 2), expanded the range of colors in that group. Today’s hybridizers have been combining plicata patterns with other tall bearded iris patterns, taking plicata irises in new and exciting directions. Keith Keppel here shares a peek at some these developments in his Salem, Oregon, garden. Please remember, however, that these seedlings represent work in progress and most will not make the cut to naming and introduction based on plant growth or other factors.
By Keith
Keppel
Any time the
plicata pattern overlays a colored ground, there is a change in the ultimate
color effect. Here in 12-103H, the blue plicata is superimposed on a yellow
amoena. Note how the fall edging appears more purplish, and on the hafts, where
the yellow is strongest and the blue heaviest, it takes on a reddish tone.
Pattern of
plicata, pattern of ground, plus color of pattern, color of ground. So many
possible combinations! This is what makes breeding plicatas so much fun: a row of seedlings is a floral kaleidoscope.
Image by
Brad Collins
Twenty-plus
years ago we began to see an influx of "gilt edge" standards on
darker colors. (Think....Slovak Prince, etc.) The edges are now also on
plicatas. 11-75A is an example. Complicated pedigree, but the pollen parent is
a sib to Mixed Signals, thus goes back to Reckless Abandon which is a good
source for the trait.
Image by Brad Collins
We've had interesting style arms on plics
before, such as very dark blue on blue to purple plicatas, but now, some
different color combinations are beginning to show up. This is 12-99D, from a complicated pedigree
including Ink Pattern and Reckless Abandon as grandparents, otherwise all
numbered seedlings. With styles like these,
you almost don't mind if the standards don't stay closed!
Image by Barry Blyth
Another
variation in ground color patterning -- 14-34B, from ((Drama Queen x Tuscan
Summer) X Vista Point):
Image by
Brad Collins
A puny
first-year plant which will probably never amount to much.....but love the
pattern and colors! The ground color fall spot is fun, plus the wild markings.
Somehow makes me think of a witch doctor's mask.
Image by by
Brad Collins
08-14A,
Drama Queen X Tuscan Summer. Another with colored "blot" in the
falls. Actually there is also a yellow band on the fall, combining with violet
to give the oxblood red marginal band.
Image by Brad Collins
A Cosmic
Voyage seedling, 14-38C. A somewhat
more subdued spot, surrounded by cream rather than white ground, and obscured
as well as upstaged by the dark anthocyanin patterning. An increasing number of
similar ground patterns are beginning to occur, often overlooked unless you
specifically search for them. In a lightly plic-marked flower the blot would be
far more obvious.
Image by
Barry Blyth
Beware: a
pretty flower picture does not guarantee a desirable garden plant. It's like
going to an auto show: we're immediately drawn to the flashiest colored,
stylishly made new models, but before putting in an order for one straight off
the assembly line, we need to ask a few questions, and the same applies to
irises. How many miles per gallon (how many flowers per season)? Does it
perform well under varying road conditions (does it prosper in the garden when
stressed during differing weather situations)? What about design flaws like
impaired visibility, premature air bag deployment (poor substance, weak stems)?
A glamour shot of a single flower does not tell the whole story.
This is an
unmarked 12-97 series seedling involving Reckless Abandon, Sorbonne, Class
Ring, and unnumbered seedlings
Image by Barry Blyth
And finally,
adding a touch of pumpkin: 14-35B, from
((Barbados x 07-204P) X Cosmic Voyage):
Image by Brad Collins
