Really Late Fall: Kentucky Zone 6

by Betty Wilkerson

My garden is a working/hybridizing garden with the goal of breeding some of the newest and best reblooming irises for the cooler zones 5 and 6. The 2016 bloom season has truly been one of the most beautiful iris years in my recent memory.  How lucky could I get? After a late spring and summer full of rebloom, I get early and late blooms!   Fall was in no hurry to leave my Kentucky garden, and I was in no rush to have it leave. There have been a couple of fall seasons when my body was weak, but my love affair with iris has not grown any weaker as the years pass. No hard freeze until November 11.  Thanks, Mother Nature!

'Luminosity' (Byers 1991)

 'Luminosity' is a bright beacon in the fall garden.  As the fall sun grows lower in the sky, more and more stalks appear in the clump.  It doesn't bloom this strong every fall, but when it does blooms there are usually several stalks.  The stalks are perfect this year, showing me it could be a good choice for future breeding.

Gate of Heaven (Zurbrigg 2004)

 'Gate of Heaven' was reported in an earlier version, but it did continue to bloom all the way to the freezing frost.  There were eight or ten fall stalks.  I've moved a clump of this and another of 'Immortality' near the new rebloom perennial bed and, therefore, easy to use in the spring, as that is when I do my breeding.  

2612-03Re (Wilkerson seedling)

2611-03re (Wilkerson seedling)

 Several of my reblooming seedlings performed well this fall.  2612-03Re will be a good one if the stalks can grow taller in the future.  It grew three stalks.  2611-03Re is one of my favorites from the 2611 cross as it has a brownish cast which pales after opening.  It has perfect branching, a great bud count and it's tall.

'Cool Character' (Wilkerson 2013)

 'Cool Character' was beautiful this fall.  The standards are a very pale lavender when first open and pales to pure white.  Falls are white with a band of purple.  Multiple tall, robust stalks with a great bud count.  I was a great contrast with 'Star Gate' which blooms beside it.

'Lunar Whitewash' (Innerst 2004) 

 'Lunar Whitewash' has been one of the great reblooming promises of the modern ages.  I've used it several times in breeding and will probably do so again before I'm finished.  The branching is not always poor, as expected, but it's not always good, either.  It bloomed this fall even though it had only been moved to this spot in the spring.

Below are three pink or pinkish irises that bloomed this fall.  Unfortunately, they probably used up most of their energy, and they may not bloom in the spring.  If I'd known the cold weather would be so long in raising it's frosty highlight, I'd have made some crosses early in the fall!  Such is not my practice.  Sherri's pretty chicken was at large in the one picture.  

'Cameo Blush' (Weiler 1998)

'Priscilla of Corinth' (Miller 1994)

'October Splendor' (Sides 1997)

'Cool Character,' (2013) Start Gate' (2005) & 'Echo Location' (2007) (Wilkerson)

The three in the last picture are all Wilkerson introductions.  They are some of my best creations.  I look forward to posting more reblooming seedlings as the 2017 year is near!  My 2016 seedlings will be sprouting between late February and late April, but most likely they will begin in mid March.

For winter research I recommend going into the Blog archives here, and going to The Reblooming Iris website @ www.rebloomingiris.com.  All of the iris groups on Facebook have a search feature that will help in iris research.  I also recommend looking at the websites of people who sell reblooming irises like http://www.walking-p-bar.com/ & www.schreinersgardens.com, not to buy, but to research what is available.

One Year Later: A Brief Report

By Vanessa Spady
As much as I adore Spring, when iris really have their season, I enjoy the anticipation and excitement of Fall, watching and waiting for rebloomers to appear and show off their special genes. Inspecting my garden, I am surprised and delighted by which blooms are flagrantly coloring my otherwise drab fall landscape, and also checking my database to see which rebloomers are lazily missing their fall display, opting instead to nap through the seasons without the parade and dazzle. Of course I’m playing a guessing game why some rebloomers are in full riot and others...not so much. Location, watering throughout the year, when and how much fertilizing, what kind of bed, and how much direct daylight are variables at play, so it will of course remain something of a mystery. The flowers in bloom keep me excited for the big event in Spring, and the enigmatic sleepers keep my problem-solving mind engaged in the mystery. What’s not to love?

As for the garden overall, somehow a year has elapsed since Chris and I began our project of raised beds, kiddie pool beds, and re-purposed tire beds. It was a hot, dry year, during which I blithely purchased a coffee-house and bakery, so I didn’t chronicle the progress and processes of each kind of bed with the same detail I gave to, say, our hybridizing. But, I do have a report of how things went, which ideas worked, which need tweaking and which I really loved. For the sake of accuracy, I am showing you the beds as they are, warts and all. I am clearly behind in my weeding and clean up, so you don't need to remind me, I know, I know!

The kiddie pools, well, those were the most mixed results of the group. I loved that they were portable, and off the ground. We did have moisture control issues with them, though. A bit too wet when it was rainy (which we mostly resolved with more drainage holes), and hard to keep evenly (and adequately) watered with drip alone during the hot months. I lost 40% of the rhizomes in the one set of kiddie pools. The other set had a different kind of drip, and had more regular watering, and grew 700% more weeds, but I think I only lost two out of 40 rhizomes from those pools. I will try the pools again, adjusting the type of soil, the drip emitters themselves, and the amount and frequency of watering… maybe we can get better results from all the pools this year.

This bed started out with a few more rhizomes than we have now, but we caught that it wasn't getting enough water pretty early on. Now we just have to watch for it getting soggy in heavy rain. Please disregard all the weeds. They are on my to-do list, I promise.

The raised beds were easy and successful, but we did not treat the wood for fear that any sealants/paints used to preserve the wood would emit harmful gasses into the soil and damage the roots or rhizomes. That means I may only get one more year out of the beds before the wood falls apart. The raised beds performed brilliantly, with good drainage and the roots seemingly remained cool. The performance from those beds was excellent.

The raised beds were greatly successful, and when we add more this year, we will be using more amendments. Once again, please do not let the weeds distract you from the iris.

To my surprise, the painted tires made fantastic beds. Although we only put two or three rhizomes in each tire, they all did quite well, and I will have to separate all of them this year. So, an upside is their health and performance, and a downside is that you can only fit a few rhizomes in, and they need to be separated yearly. One other reason I really like the tires is that I can say “everything in this tire is ____ rhizome” and not worry that my Revere crept into the Huckleberry Fudge. No growing from one zone into another. Plus, for creative types, you can paint the tires fun colors. I don’t simply because I want the blooms to be the most colorful feature in the garden. (And I chose a light color to reduce the heat to the tire itself.)

Despite heavy use of Preen, the weeds came in this Fall with gusto. Turns out everything grows well in the tires. We will definitely do more tires this year!

I will be planting my 400+ new rhizomes differently than this first batch. I am going to add more amendments to keep the soil softer (even this good loamy soil gets hard in our extreme summer heat), and instead of planting by bloom season (left to right, early, mid, and late blooms), I am planting by colors. Whole beds of whites, next to beds of pale yellows, followed by beds of bright yellows… I am excited to see if we can create a panorama of color throughout the season.

We also will be adding another 20 or so raised beds for the seeds from our 2016 hybridizing. We ended up with well over 1400 seeds, and even limiting ourselves to 16 seeds planted per pod, it is going to be a significant undertaking. They’re all happily in their soup containers in our project refrigerator. Mid-January, we will start their planting. That leaves me how long to get my database updated and ready? Oh boy, I’d better get going!

In the meantime, back outside I go, to see my rebloomers. The promise they make for an amazing Spring is my inspiration to keep going, even when it gets cold and windy. What can I say, I’m a sucker for the big show!

And, because I love sharing photos, here are some current rebloomers!

'Orange Juice' (Michael Sutton, R. 2009). Seedling #R-687-A. TB, 33" (84 cm). Midseason bloom and rebloom. Standads orange flushed pink at midribs; style arms orange; falls creamy orange, white area at end of angering beards; pronounced sweet fragrance. 'Return Address' X 'Tropical Delight'. Sutton 2010.

'For Your Love' (Larry Lauer, R. 2002). Seedling #365-2. IB, 18" (46 cm), Early midseason bloom. Ruffled white with light blue cast; style arms light blue; beards yellow with white end and base; pronounced sweet fragrance. 'Chubby Cheeks' X 'Pacific Destiny'. Lauer 2002.

'Chatter' (Joseph Ghio, R. 1992). Sdlg. 88-11C. TB, 34" (86 cm), Early to Midseason bloom. Standards yellow orange overlaid fuchsia rose; Falls yellow orange ground, fuchsia rose sanding at edge; beards burnt tangerine. ('Romanticist' x 82-113G, 'Chuckles' sib) X 'Storyline'. Bay View 1993.

Fifteen Tall Bearded Irises For the Beginner

By Bryce Williamson

            It is exciting to go to an iris show or an iris garden, view all the lovely flowers, and then decide to add modern varieties to the garden. Like most things there is a “however” attached. And for the new-to-iris gardener the “however” is what to acquire. The issue is further complicated by new iris varieties selling for large sums of money. Thinking about this problem, I came up with a list of 15 Tall Bearded irises that have proven their worth over time and are reasonably priced. While the list, presented in alphabetical order, is not perfect, it is a starting point for an iris collection.

 

Photo by Rick Tasco

‘Absolute Treasure’ (Tasco, 2006). One of the huge reasons for growing irises is that they provide great blues and violets in a garden, color rarely seen in other flower families. This wonderful light blue approaches true blue; it is an award winner with an Award of Merit in 2010 and a Wister Medal in 2013. What I like most about Absolute Treasure is whether I see it on a one year planting, or in multi-year clumps, this variety produces tall, well branched stalks that hold up the large, ruffled flowers without needing to be staked.

 

Photo by Rick Tasco

‘Arctic Express’ (Gatty, 96). Joe Gatty produced so many lovely irises and had such a great eye for form. It is no surprise, then, that Arctic Express is noted for its deep ruffling. An American Iris Society Award of Merit winner in 2000, this is the gold standard for current whites. I am a strong believer of the importance of white flowers in the garden; an older variety that has also been proven to be time tested is “Carriage Trade” (Gaulter, 1977).

Photo by Rick Tasco

‘Decadence’ (Blyth, 20). An iris creation from Australia that is noted for being loud, brassy, and ever so colorful. Visitors to a garden always are immediately drawn to this variety with its large, laced flowers. This is not one of those varieties that you have to be a connoisseur to identify—it attracts attention to itself and it is a one of a kind. Decadence won an Award of Merit and the Wister Medal. This bright and ever so colorful iris will become an instant favorite.

Photo by Jeanette Graham

‘Dusky Challenger’ (Schreiner 1986). I first saw Dusky Challenger as a seedling in Oregon where it was attracting attention. With good form and superior branching, it made a climb up the American Iris Society award—Award of Merit in and Dykes Medal in 1992. To burnish its luster, Dusky Challenger has occupied the top position on the AIS Popularity Poll for years; it was quickly voted into the Tall Bearded Iris Society’s Hall of Fame.

Photo by Rick Tasco

‘Golden Panther’ (Tasco, 2000). When I first grew this iris, I thought it was only OK, but it was also growing in the shadow of a huge pine tree. Moved to a better location, it has thrived. An Award of Merit winner in 2004, Wister Medal in 2006 and the Dykes Medal in 2009, I do find that its color varies from garden to garden and season to season. Sometimes it is clearly a gold and other years it is much more bronze. In either case, it is a bright beacon in the yard with easy growth habits.

Photo by Paul Black

‘Happenstance’ (Keppel 2000). When putting together a list of irises for the beginning gardener, I knew that I would want to have a pink on the list. At the time of its introduction this iris received good press and was well liked—an Award of Merit in 2004 and a Wister Medal in 2006. Ten years later it is still very popular due to its strong stalks, good growth habits, and ability to bloom in many areas of the country. Too often pinks are not the best of garden plants.

 

Photo by Evan Underwood

'Jesse’s Song' (Williamson, 1983). Not the boldest colored plicata in the world, but time has shown this variety to be a great garden iris. Winning an Award of Merit and then a Dykes Medal in 1989, Jesse’s Song has been a hit in the garden and at iris shows. Last year it was in second place on the American Iris Society’s Popularity Poll and it tied for the most Queen of the Show awards in the US. One of the first irises voted into the Tall Bearded Iris Society Hall of Fame, Jesse’s Songs likes to grow and bloom in all parts of the country.

Photo by Evan Underwood

'Lady Friend' (Ghio, 1981). When it was introduced, Lady Friend did get some attention, winning an Award of Merit in 1985; however, while many of the other Award of Merit winners from that year have disappeared from gardens, Lady Friend is still widely grown and continues to be on the AIS Popularity Poll. The main reason is that it is a variety that grows and blooms with ease; secondary reason is that it is one of those unique colors. For those reasons, it is widely grown and appreciated.

 

Photo by Barbara Nicodemus

'Ozark Rebounder' (Nicodemus, 2003). I was searching for a dark-to-black iris for this list and this became my selection for three reasons. First, Ozark Rebounder has good form in the dark violet to near black color range; second, it grows well around the country; and the third reason is that it reblooms. With reasonable garden culture, it will bloom again in the fall, providing a splash of color. An Award of Merit winner.

Photo by Marilyn Campbell

'Persian Berry' (Gaulter, 1977). Larry Gaulter is in my opinion one of the underrated hybridizers with four wonderful, still grown, creations to his credit—Laurie, Mary Frances, Carriage Trade, and Persian Berry. And Persian Berry, winner of an Award of Merit, is one of those unique varieties—it has never been improved upon. With its lovely color and its distinctive shoulders, it is easy to spot this variety from a far. A home about 3 miles from me has a clump in the front yard and once it blooms, even from a distance, I can spot it. Very distinctive.

Photo by Amazing Iris Garden

‘Queen in Calico’ (Gibson, 1980). Another Award of Merit winner, this “pink” plicata ranks high in that color class. Still lovely these many years after its introduction, I been told that in some climates it may not perform at its best. I recommend talking to a local iris grower or your local club before buying this one, but if it will grow and bloom for you, you will be more than happy.

Photo by Paul Black

‘Queen’s Circle’ (Kerr, 2000). The Emma Cook pattern had been around for years, but Fred Kerr took that pattern to new heights in this wonderful creation. I consider this one of the best Dykes Medal winning irises in recent years. With lovely, large, ruffled flowers, fine branching and bud count, the plants grow and bloom all around the country regardless of climate. No wonder it won a Wister Medal in 2006 before winning the Dykes in 2007.

Photo by Rick Tasco

‘Stairway to Heaven’ (Lauer, 1993). Softly colored, but there is nothing soft about the stalks and plants. A Dykes winner in 2000, Stairway to Heaven grows and blooms with ease, making large clumps in no time. Branching and bud count are also good as this dependable and easy to please garden iris. Popular in all areas, this has been voted into the Tall Bearded Iris Society’s Hall of Fame.

Photo byJeannette Graham

‘That’s All Folks’ (Maryott, 2005). Bill Maryott’s last iris introduction before he transformed himself into a daylily hybridizer and the last one was the one that swept the awards. Winning a Wister Medal in 2011 and the Dykes in 2013, That’s All Folks is noted for strong growth, ramrod straight stalks, and huge, colorful flowers. I am a firm believer in yellows in the garden since they bring a shaft of sunlight even on inclement days. These eye catching flowers will attract attention in the garden.

Photo by Steve Sayers

‘Thornbird’ (Byers, 1989). Lloyd Austin, with his Space Age irises, changed flower form, but it was Monty Byers who stormed the American Iris Society and ended winning three Dykes Medals with Space Age varieties. Thornbird won an Award of Merit in 1993 and the Dykes in 1997. It is also a Tall Bearded Iris Society Hall of Fame iris. It is one of those varieties that the colors can vary widely from area to area and climate to climate, but it is always a garden favorite.

My thanks for the photographers who contributed to this blog. Without their help, it could not have been finished. Lloyd Austin, mentioned in the comments about the iris Thornbird, will be the subject of three upcoming blogs about space age irises, their creation, and a fourth blog will discuss those irises today.

Photomontages of our 2016 Tall Bearded Irises

by Dawn Mumford

'Dazzling Gold' D. C. Anderson, 1977, 'Broadway' Keith  Keppel, 1979,  'Showcase' Schreiner's, 1973

'Orange Titan' J. T. Aitken, 2007, 'All My Dreams' Paul Black, 2009, 'Winning Hand' Joseph Ghio, 2011,'Barbara My Love' William Maryott, 1998, and 'Orangutan Orange' Brad Kasperek 2009 

I was a commercial artist in a past life (before marriage) and have always understood "Collages" to be pasted and glued objects fixed to a background to make a somewhat new abstract design. So strictly speaking what I make is really a "Photomontage" because it is digital pasting of similar objects together to make a new photo. The software I use calls it a collage but that isn't correct. It may be called collage because of the evolution of the English language. But back in my day it would be called a photomontage.

'Purple Pepper' D. C. Nearpass, 1986, 'Syrian Hills' Schreiner's, 2012, and 'Global Crossing' Robert Van Liere, 2011

This year I took pictures every day of the many irises that opened that day.  The pictures above were taken May 13, 2016.  Then I made montages of them.  I find these montages to be good in many ways.

1.  The montage is taken on the day the blooms open so it records bloom date.

2. I try to group the photos for the montage in colors that could later be used to plan iris beds.  
3. I know that I can use these irises in a single bed because I know they open at the same time.   

'Sea Of Joy' Schreiner's, 1985, 'Decadence' Barry Blyth, 2011, 'Gypsy Lord' Keith Keppel, 2005, 'Showcase' Schreiner's 1973, and 'Tumalo Sunset' Schreiner's  2009. 

This montage shows colors opposite each other on the color wheel so that is called a complimentary color scheme.  Using colors that are across each other in the color wheel will give you maximum contrast because orange will make the purple look darker and vica versa.  

'Master Touch' Schreiner's, 1980, 'Sea Power' Keith Keppel, 1998, 'St. Louis Blues' Schreiner's, 1979, 'Crowned Heads' Keith Keppel, 1996, and 'Snowmound' Schreiner's, 1976

This montage was taken May 31, 2016.   Sometimes some of my irises put out more than one open bloom at a time.  I love the effect. The visual appeal is dramatic. The one trouble is that they will all close together as well. This color scheme is called Analogous meaning they are colors close to each other on the color wheel. 

'Gay Parasol' Schreiner's, 1973, 'Polka' Thomas Johnson, 2009, 'Eagle's Flight' Schreiner's, 1985,'Elizabethan Age' Lowell Baumunk 2005

These flowers bloomed on May 14.  I guess you could say thy all are in one color family (red violet) but they are all subtly different or dramatically different. Again, I think a bed with these colors in it would be pretty. If you wanted more contrast you could add a yellow or an orange or pink.     

'Queen In Calico' James Gibson, 1979 'Vizier' Joseph Ghio, 1997, 'Fashion Diva'  Thomas Johnson, 2009, 'Romantic Gentleman' Barry Blyth, 2002, and 'Grand Classic' Richard Tasco, 2007

Arranging these photos together in a montage shows the slight difference in color of all these red wine colored irises.

'Modern Classic' F. Knocke, 1975, 'Highland Lord' Richard Tasco, 2009, 'Pledge Allegiance' Schreiner's, 1983, 'By Dawn's Early Light' Robert Van Liere, 2013, 'Blutique' Virginia Messick, 1998

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of purples and blues in the iris world but that doesn't mean that they look the same.  The picture above shows some of the differences. 

'Sea Power' Keith Keppel, 1998, 'Grecian Sea' Anton Mego by Bruce Filardi, 2008, 'Slovak Prince' Anton Mego, 2002, 'Conjuration' Monty Byers, 1988, 'Skywalker' Schreiner's, 1996, 'Like Wow' Schreiner's, 2012

More blues and purples taken May 26, 2016. An interesting note about 'Conjuration', it is at least 50" tall here in our garden.    

'Salzburg Echo' Schreiner's, 2009, 'Overjoyed' Joseph Gatty by Keith Keppel, 1993, 'Expose' Joseph Ghio, 2003 

I don't have a lot of yellows but I love the ones that I have.  

'Batik' (Border Bearded) Allan Ensminger, 1985, 'Millennium Falcon' Brad Kasperek, 1998, 'Kinkajou Shrew' Brad Kasperek, 1999, 'Ocelot'z Lot' (Border Bearded) Brad Kasperek, 2012, 'Blutique' Virginia Messick, 1998, and 'Tiger Honey' Brad Kasperek, 1993,

I have started collecting "Broken Color" iris like those pictured above.  I find them fascinating.  I now have about 29 of them. 

There are many software programs that you can use to make collages or more correctly photomontages.  The one I use is no longer available but a search on line reveals lots and lots of programs that work. Smilebox and Shutterfly both have one.  

I have found collages or photomontages to be extremely useful as explained previously in this blog. Give them a try. Let me know if you do them and which software you have. How well does it work and how easy is it to use? If you comment on this article it will let others know what other software is out there and tell me and others who read this blog about it.