Treasures found while attending Convention in New Zealand

By Maggie Asplet

I have been attending our Conventions here in New Zealand since 2008 and have always taken the opportunity to make sure I either meet new people, or see new things.  Basically, just to have an awesome experience.

2019 did not disappoint.  Although not entirely relating to irises, it is about people with a passion and some of the real treasures you meet in life.

Arriving in Timaru on Friday 15 November with plenty of time prior to the opening of our Convention in the evening, Kerry (member from our Gisborne group and first time attendee) and I set off walking to find a supermarket and also find where our venue was for the evening festivities.   Easy part was venue found, only a 5 minutes walk.  

That sorted, we continued in what we thought was the correct direction to find a supermarket.  Starting to doubt ourselves we stopped a nice young man who had just picked up his son from school.  After a short discussion as to where the supermarket was, he asked why we were visiting.

The very proud vege gardener 

And his young son, the budding new gardener

Well, that was the wrong thing to do (for him) as he got an ear full about our addiction and having contracted the iris virus.  From this, we learnt that this nice young man and his son also had a virus - that of growing vegetables.  He said "do you want to come and see my place? It is just around the corner."  We took the opportunity to do this and then spent the next hour in his garden and looking at what you can go on the small 1,000 - 1,200 sq meter section.

All this work is in the hope that he will hold onto his title of being the best vege grower in the South Canterbury area.

As you can see, most of the back yard is covered with garden

As you can see, every space is used - lettuce growing so can be picked just as you want it

It is fair to say that this family has a virus, it maybe different from ours, but you never know because our paths crossed, maybe they will just more interest in our passion.  Oh, and we never did find the supermarket, we decided we didn't have time for that and went back to our lovely motel.

Our second treasure is actually a member of the NZ Iris Society, Michael Midgley.  He made the mistake of sitting at the back of the bus, and any of you who know me, know that is exactly where I like to sit.  So, Kerry and I got to spend two days in conversation with Michael as we traveled around the tour gardens. An absolute wealth of knowledge.

One of Michael's passions is alpine plants and growing them.  At the conclusion of the convention our trusted convention conveyor, Marilyn Rathgen  took a few of us on a 1 1/2 hour drive to his house, across some of the most beautiful country to finally end up at Lake Tekepo, the home of Michael.

Beautiful view of Lake Tekapo

And the view from Michael's house

The convention guest speakers, Gary White and Andi Rivarola were part of this rather special group to experience something just so beautiful.  The knowledge shared, the passion very noticeable and created the desire to go home and try and create a miniature alpine garden.  Still in the process of thought only ... got the tub in place but nothing done to it yet.

The group braving the weather - from left - Kerry Smith (Gisborne) Michael Midgley, Wendy Davies (Gisborne), Andy Rivarola (Frozen), Marilyn Rathgen (our tour guide) and Gary White (busy taking photos) me on the other side of this photo

Alpine Garden and how the rocks are arranged - these rocks are from the area

The plants do have name tags, just buried in the garden

Last view of the alpine garden

That evening was spent sitting around the dinner table sharing a meal, glass of wine, and plenty of talk.  Just brilliant.

I was lucky enough to bring home a couple of little alpine plants that Micheal carefully dug up - some Iris maritima and Iris sintenisii, both of which I am very pleased to say are growing and will be transplanted to my alpine garden.

Michael has registered two irises in the past - Iris 'Merel' a Siberian registered in 2000 and SPEC-X sibtosa, Iris 'tailormade tekapo'.  This was registered in 2014 after having won the Begg Shield (A NZ award) in 2013.

Iris 'Tailormade tekapo'

I would like to encourage anyone that is reading this, if you have not attended an iris convention, then you are missing out.  You just never know what you might come across.  Perhaps you will meet one of our iris treasurers.

Iris Society of Australia National Convention hosted by the South Australian Iris Society

By Mel Schiller

The National Iris Convention for Australia is going to be hosted by the South Australian Iris Society on the 22^nd to the 27^th of October this year!

We are hoping that you all have your sights clearly set on coming to South Australia to visit our wonderful historic homes and gardens in and around Adelaide.

The lovely Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens will be a delight to visit and the Mt. Lofty Summit will provide a local platter lunch with panoramic views over Adelaide.

Cleland Wildlife Park will showcase Australian Marsupials such as Kangaroos, Koalas, Wallabies and Wombats, along with Dingoes, Snakes and Reptiles, and maybe an Echidna. Many of the animals can be fed by hand and petted.

Accomodation will be at the Arkaba Hotel with a variety of activities and free time throughout the 5 days of convention.

The South Australian Iris Society Show is the largest Iris Show in Australia.  This year Bailey can take credit for producing the Convention Iris Mid North Star. A lovely strong lemon scented Emma Cook patterned iris which will be for sale at the show.

Mid North Star (B Schiller 2020)

An enlightening trip up North on the bus to visit Smokin Heights and Roots ‘N’Leaves will show our visitors our wonderful country side. There is every possibility of viewing Kangaroo’s, wombats and many Eagles in their natural habitat and as an added bonus of viewing Iris in these gardens!

Travelling through the picturesque Adelaide Hills to the Jacobs house to view the Trial Garden of the South Australian Iris Society you may even have the pleasure of seeing a koala or two and plenty of native birds in their natural habitat. Other gardens will be viewed throughout this day also, David Barrington and his Pacific Cost Iris. Colleen Modra grows a selection of natives, heritage tomatoes and Iris and Frosty Flats which is a lovely lush herbaceous garden full of over 800 roses as well as many flowering bulbs and plants.

We look forward to our visitors from overseas coming to South Australia for a fun filled 5 days of gardening fun!

ITALIAN IRISES, GREAT AT LAST!

By Sylvain Ruaud

Italian iris hybridizers have in recent years done more interesting work, which is also the case for French hybridizers. Augusto Bianco gradually elevated his business to the rank of the most important in Europe, and has distinguished himself several times in major competitions. People like Luigi Mostosi, Roberto Marucchi, Lorena Montanari and Tiziano Dotto have been joined by young people eager to find their place in the sun. At the commercial level, several new specialized nurseries have opened up these last few years, which shows the growing appetite of Italians for iris. We will try to explain how Italy procured its current place in the world of irises.

 

'Mew Pizzica"--image by Augusto Bianco

At first, that is to say in the years after the second world war, Italy created a place quite original. Whilst elsewhere in the world hybridizers were becoming aware of the need to register their varieties via AIS, in Italy it wasn’t the case. Hybridization was the prerogative of some great aristocrats who saw it as a hobby that could enhance the beauty of their gardens. Their creations were hard to come by and they did not see the need to formalize their introductions via registration, so it was an activity much more for fun than scientific or even commercial. They were few, these gardeners who practiced hybridization. The first was Mary Senni, a lady of American descent who married Count Giulio Senni in 1907 and who, in the 30s to 50s, played a prominent role in public dissemination of information on the progress of iris hybridization in Europe and the United States through the articles she published in the Journal Il Giardino Fiorito. Countess Senni was in close contact with the most important breeders of the time, so that in 1931 a variety was dedicated to her by the French breeder Millet. She practiced hybridization in her Roman garden and her own varieties were favorably received by connoisseurs.

Later, several other ladies followed suit. Starting with Gina Sgaravitti. She made herself known with 'Beghina' which could be found in many European gardens. Of Venetian origin, her marriage with Teresio Sgaravitti brought her to Rome where she had to look after a large garden. Over the years, the garden became a sort of nursery, with even a catalog exclusively devoted to iris. Flaminia Goretti, wife of George Specht, dedicated her life to iris and it is thanks to her, in large part, that the Florence Iris Garden, the International Competition and the Italian Iris Society was created. Nita Radicati, wife of Stross, took part in the creation of Iris Garden of Florence and directed the Review "Il Giardino Fiorito". Together with her friend G.G. Bellia, she is behind the creation of the San Bernardino di Trana Experimental Garden, near Turin, which has since become the Giardino Botanico Rea, houses a superb collection of historical irises and has just been rehabilitated. Those who are interested in literature may know the Italian writer Italo Calvino, whose story "The Baron Perched" has toured the world. Many people do not know that his mother, Eva Mameli Calvino, made her name in the field of botany and, in particular, in the field of irises. During the 30s - 50s she devoted a large number of articles to them in the Journal Il Giardino Fiorito. She also experimented with hybridization, even sending many of her new seedlings to the new Florence Competition she helped launch. These ladies have remained very little known outside the small circle of Italian iridophiles, and this situation is largely due to the fact that, until recently, hybridization was, in Italy, considered a hobby, practiced by intellectuals and others in high society.

To make the connection between the beginning of iris hybridization and the modern period, I only see Giuseppe Giovanni Bellia, a Turinese iris lover, and a part time hybridizer. His unregistered introductions were spread from the 1960s to the 1980s with varieties that remained confidential and only present in some precious Italian collections.

  

The emergence of Augusto Bianco, occurred in the early 1990s when we see iris hybridization taking off.

Nevertheless, Italian varieties have long been reserved for hobbiest for their country of origin. They had trouble making themselves known beyond the Alps. My garden has for a long time been proud to have many new Bianco irises, acquired through friendly exchanges. Many of these irises were never recorded due to all kinds of reasons (fragile plants, flowers without much interest, colors fading rapidly in the sun...), but after this period the most successful iris then had a European destiny, even global. The triumph of 'Vento di Maggio' (2011) at the Florence competition in 2013 is the culmination of an already long career for Bianco, marked by solid and elegant varieties.

 

'Vento di Maggio'--image by Augusto Bianco

The awakening of Italy was first manifested in 1999 when 'Settimo Cielo' (V. Romoli, 1999) took the lead over the American iris 'Swingtown' in the Florentine competition.

Several other breeders have also made themselves known by collecting additional awards in the Florence competition.

Here is the list, from 1996 to 2003:

•                      Antonella Affortunati : 'Samuele' ; 'Bagnolo' ; 'Battiloro' ; 'Capoliveri'

•                      Mauro Bertuzzi : 'Nebbia di Romagna' ; 'Recondita Armonia' (2) ; 'Fiore di Maggio' ; 'Macedonia' ; 'Notte di Lugo' ; 'Anemico'

•                      Tiziano Dotto : 'Egeo'

•                      Stefano Gigli : 'San Giovanni' ; 'Castelfranco' ; 'Viola di Nuovo' ; 'Ale Viola' (2) ; 'Amico Mio' ; 'Barbablu' ; 'Tramonto' ; 'Vinaccia'

•                      Roberto Marucchi : 'Libarna' ; 'Sorriso di Alice' ; 'Cheyenne my Dog' (2); 'Mattinata Fiorentina'

•                      Lorena Montanari : 'Valeria Romoli' ; 'Fratello Sole' ; 'Ballerina Silhouette'

•                      Luigi Mostosi : 'Citta di Bergamo' ; 'Traffic Light’

•                      Stefano Paolin : 'Vymarna'

•                      Valeria Romoli : 'Buongiorno Aprile' ; 'Verde Luna' ; 'Celeste Aïda' ; 'Zefiro Rosa'; 'Agrodolce' ; 'Luna Rossa'

•                      Leonardo Urbinati : 'Montefiore'

•                      S. Volani : 'Tabarro'

 

'Ballet Silhouette'--image by Christina Cosi

Since 2003, Italian breeders have expanded in numbers and established themselves well in the competition for the Fiorino d'Or

• Mauro Bertuzzi (see above) : 'Tenue Tenerezza' ; 'Aria di Maggio'
• Angelo Bolchi : 'Lingua di Drago' ; 'Voglio Tempo'
•  Davide Dalla Libera : seedling DAL 758-4/7 ; seedling DAL 08-4/2 ; 'Spicy Violet' ; 'Red Surge'
• Tiziano Dotto (see above) : 'Sara' ; 'Esabella' ; 'Baba Jaga' ; 'Almast'
• Angelo Garanzini : 'Pietra Focaia' ; 'Anima Cara' (3) ; 'Rubizzo' ; 'Anima Triste'
•  Simone Luconi : 'Lucomone I°' ; 'Donella G.'
• Roberto Marucchi (see above) : seedling U 39-1
•  Lorena Montanari (see above) : seedling 7/06 A ; 'Come un Uragano' ; 'La Vita e' Bella' ; 'Buon Compleano' ; 'Il Canto delle Sirene'
•  Valeria Negri : 'Notte Profumata'
•  Stefano Paolin (see above) : 'Canto del Cherubino'

For a long time, confined to their Florentine competition, the Italian breeders have only recently tried to make themselves known internationally, and their irises have been brilliantly represented elsewhere in Europe. This is how Angelo Garanzini's 'Cielo Alto' ranked second in Paris in 2015.

The long list above proves that in Italy, now, irises have reached an important level. And this is confirmed by the fact that several new nurseries have opened recently, which shows that it is not only professionals (or semi-professionals), but that the general public is also interested.

Nevertheless, it remains a good idea to suggest that all hybridizers take systematic registration of new varieties to heart, as many of the ones mentioned here have still remained in anonymity.

(1) See my previous column.

(2) Varieties receiving an additional award (1996/2012):

1997 = 'Piero Bargellini'

1998 = 'Te alla Pesca'

2000 = 'Rosa Vanitosa'

2001 = 'Marcel Hayat'

2003 = 'Bianca Micheletta';

2004 = 'Dolce Acqua'; 'Dragone'

2005 = 'Tango Bond'

2009 = 'Certosino'; 'Ci Sei';

2011 = 'Tenebroso'; 'Sahariana'

Subsequently the following varieties have been awarded:

2017 = 'Tropical Delizia'; 'Campo di Marte'; 'Rosso di Sera'

2018 = 'Mille Tre'; 'Mille Due'; 'Valdarno'; 'Long Play'.

 

'Long Play'--image by Augusto Bianco

(3) Winner of the "Premio Firenze"

What is a Dwarf Bearded Iris?

…and why are dwarf lovers so persistent?

 Tom Waters

'Icon' (Keppel, 2008)

In the beginning, there were no class definitions. The meaning of the term “dwarf bearded iris” was taken for granted, as all the ones being grown in gardens were similar in appearance and distinct from their taller relatives.  If you were botanically inclined, you could turn to a reference like W. R. Dykes’s The Genus Iris to get a list of dwarf bearded species, and safely assume that your garden dwarfs were hybrids or forms of those species.

The 1939 AIS Checklist attempted to be somewhat more helpful by giving a height range in addition to the list of species, setting the boundary between dwarfs and intermediates (which were stated to be hybrids between dwarf and tall bearded irises) at 17 inches. This doesn’t make sense, though, if it is taken as a definition, rather than just helpful descriptive information. What if two of those dwarfs species were crossed and produced a hybrid over the limit? Or what if a dwarf and tall were crossed and produced a hybrid under the limit? Giving both a definition in terms of ancestral species and a definition in terms of height is inviting contradiction unless it is clear whether ancestry trumps height or vice versa.

Perhaps in recognition of this, the AIS adopted a new classification in 1947, based decisively on ancestry. A hybrid involving only dwarf species would always be a dwarf; a hybrid involving only tall species would always be a tall. A hybrid involving both dwarfs and talls would usually be intermediate, but might be deemed either dwarf or tall if that was the group it most resembled. Although this last provision was strangely vague, the definition at least allowed hybridizers to cross dwarfs amongst themselves and register the progeny as dwarfs, without worry about a height limit or other factors.

This classification system was introduced at the same time as Walter Welch was organizing the Dwarf Iris Society (then called the Dwarf Iris Club) and stirring up interest in dwarf hybridizing, so there may have been some impetus to clarify definitions for this reason. Although dwarfs had been widely grown in both Europe and North America for as long as tall beardeds, they had not historically received a great deal of attention. Gardeners took them for granted, and although new hybrids were introduced from time to time, there were no hybridizers who focused on them exclusively or had planned breeding programs solely to produce new dwarfs. Welch turned that around, first by organizing a program of round robins, whereby enthusiasts (many of them recruited from gardening clubs and publications, not just iris societies) could discuss dwarf irises by mail, and then by creating the Dwarf Iris Club in 1950. I believe this was the first specialist iris society devoted to a particular type of iris. With the blessing of the AIS, the Dwarf Iris Club even trained and appointed its own judges, just for judging dwarfs!

In 1951, something happened that put the class definition under unprecedented strain. Paul Cook (a friend and correspondent of Walter Welch) introduced the first three irises of the type we now know as standard dwarf bearded (SDBs), from crossing the tiny dwarf species Iris pumila with tall beardeds. As a dwarf x tall cross, a strong case could be made that these new irises were intermediates, and indeed that is how they were registered at the time. But they were no taller than many of the dwarfs being grown at the time, so this might seem a little inconsistent. Welch and the DIS focused attention on the presence of a small branch in most SDBs, asserting that a branch was disqualifying for being considered a dwarf. Oddly, the list of dwarf species that AIS had been printing and reprinting for many years included amongst the dwarfs Iris aphylla, which is copiously branched.

The 1954 classification made
the dwarf people grumpy

Recognizing that the future might hold even more examples of such “problem children” from newfangled hybridizing experiments, the AIS suddenly reversed itself in 1954, offering a classification based entirely on height, with ancestry deemed irrelevant. This makes sense in a world where parentages have become complex or uncertain. Height is something that can be established with a ruler. Now the boundary between dwarfs and intermediates was set at a rigid 15 inches, regardless of what species the plants had come from or what characteristics they had. Welch and the DIS refused to accept this definition, appalled at the thought of 15-inch branched “intermediates” masquerading as dwarfs! Welch could be an opinionated and difficult person under the best of circumstances, and now he and his supporters had a righteous cause for contention. This caused a rift between the AIS and the DIS whose repercussions are still playing out today. From 1955 until 1973, the DIS had its own awards system, issuing the Welch Award in competition with AIS’s Caparne Award, despite the fact that it tended to be the same irises winning both awards.

Other classification issues were percolating at this time as well. There were movements afoot to recognize the so-called “table irises” and “border irises” as separate from both TBs and IBs. A committee was put together to study all these issues and propose a solution. In 1958, the AIS adopted a classification that has remained in place (with minor modifications) to this day. The dwarfs were separated by height into miniature dwarfs and standard dwarfs, with the dividing line being 10 inches. The border bearded class was created for short TBs, and the miniature tall bearded class was created for the table irises. The DIS had no interest in any of these new classes, not even the SDBs, and so the Median Iris Society was formed with the mission of promoting the five new classes between MDB and TB. A peculiar quirk of this development is that standard dwarfs are considered medians, not dwarfs, in apparent contradiction with their name.

'Alpine Lake' (Willott, 1980)
a classic MDB from SDB x pumila breeding

The 1960s and 1970s were perhaps the most exciting time in the history of dwarf iris development. Although the SDBs themselves were deemed too large to be considered true dwarfs, they had an enormous impact on breeding. Dwarf enthusiasts crossed the SDBs back to I. pumila, producing many charming hybrids, earlier blooming than the SDBs and quite distinctive in appearance, with ¾ of their genes coming from the dainty I. pumila. This became the standard cross to produce MDBs. The class was rounded out by selections of pure pumila ancestry, as well as hybrids from pure SDB breeding that happened to be small enough to fit the definition of the MDB class. These “runt SDBs” did not always meet with the approval of the dwarf purists, although there are a number of fine irises in this category. Indeed, in recent decades these MDBs from pure SDB breeding have come to quite dominate the class, in terms of sheer numbers as well as awards.

'Little Drummer Boy' (Willott, 1997),
an MDB from pure pumila breeding

In light of this history, one can understand why the DIS has remained rather protective of the little irises under its charge, and reluctant to muddle the boundary between the dwarf MDBs and the median SDBs; the dividing line between the classes was reduced to 8 inches in 1976, in part to protect the MDB class from SDB interlopers. It also explains the misgivings of many DIS members about merging with MIS, which has been suggested on a number of occasions. Any of the median classes might seem to have more cause to have its own society, given that they all have more new irises introduced each year than does the MDB class. Yet our history has set us apart, and perhaps it is the very fragility of the class in the face of the much larger (in numbers as well as stature!) median classes that inspires a certain connoisseur’s devotion amongst us.

'Pearly Whites' (Black, 2014),
an MDB from pure SDB breeding

In 2018, the DIS seemed on the brink of demise, with the president and vice president resigning, and the officers voting to merge with MIS. Rather miraculously, this was reversed in 2019, with a grass-roots rallying of the troops under the enthusiastic leadership of Charlie Carver, historic iris conservation advocate and devotee of MDBs. We now once again have a functioning society with a full slate of officers and a content-rich newsletter in final preparation for publication early this year. If you love dwarf irises and would like to be part of this renaissance, the DIS would love to hear from you!